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(CONNECT) DeepPsy has received a grant of 1.99 million Swiss francs from the Swiss National Science Foundation. This funding is intended to support a four-year randomised study on personalised treatment for major depressive disorders. According to a press release, the study will examine whether treatment decisions based on DeepPsy’s electrophysiological biomarkers can improve treatment outcomes compared to standard recommendations.

The Zollikon-based digital health company uses data on brain and heart activity to generate clinical reports aimed at improving treatment planning for depression. To this end, the startup—founded in 2021 and supported by Venture Leaders, the Swiss National Startup Team—identifies biomarkers in electrocardiograms (ECG) and electroencephalograms (EEG) that provide clues about appropriate forms of treatment for depression.

DeepPsy organises the recording, ensures secure data transmission, analyses the EEG and ECG data using its software, generates a report, and handles billing for the health insurance provider. The attending physician reviews the report, makes a decision, and conducts the treatment consultation.

The goal of this precision psychiatry is to use a patient's individual profile to identify the optimal form of treatment as quickly as possible and avoid lengthy trials with various medications. The multicenter study will examine both biological changes and healthcare costs. DeepPsy provides the analysis software; the study itself is being conducted by an independent academic consortium. ce/mm

DeepPsy untersucht EEG-/EKG-Daten, um die Therapie bei Depressionen zu verbessern. Symbolbild: Jose Petro via unsplash

(CONNECT) UniSieve AG has raised $9 million in a Series A funding round. According to a press release, the round was led by the Orano Venture Fund, which is managed by Supernova Invest in Paris. Other new and existing investors participated, including the Vienna-based Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Founderful, a venture capital firm also based in Zurich, as well as Guenat Holding, an investment company headquartered in Les Breuleux, JU. This brings the total funding raised by the cleantech company—which spun off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) in 2018—to $25 million.

UniSieve's technology is based on a fundamental process in modern industry: the separation of molecules. However, these thermal separation processes used to date are extremely energy-intensive. Their share of global energy consumption is estimated at 10 to 15 percent. UniSieve has developed high-precision membranes that replace these separation processes with a type of mechanical molecular sieve. They consist of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and zeolites. The significance of MOFs was recognised in 2025 with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

UniSieve has succeeded in transforming these advanced materials into durable gas separation membranes that can be reliably manufactured on an industrial scale. According to the information provided, their energy-saving potential is around 90 percent.

The two UniSieve founders, CEO Samuel Hess and CTO Elia Schneider, “have demonstrated their remarkable ability to translate a highly complex technological breakthrough into a solution for a major industrial challenge, while exhibiting strong capital discipline,” said Jonathan Grosskopf, Chief Investment Officer at Supernova.

The startup has so far brought its innovative class of hybrid membranes to pre-commercial maturity in two application areas: olefins and CO2 capture directly at industrial facilities. With this Series A funding, UniSieve aims to scale its technology in existing markets and expand it to additional industrial applications.

Samuel Hess is convinced that these molecular sieves will usher in “a new era in separation technology.” With the fresh capital, UniSieve can now focus on implementation. ce/mm

Die beiden UniSieve-Gründer: CTO Elia Schneider (links) und CEO Samuel Hess. Bild: zVg/UniSieve AG

(CONNECT) Researchers at the University of Zurich’s (UZH) Limnological Station in Kilchberg, working with an international team, have compiled a global genomic atlas of algae and amoebae in freshwater lakes. To this end, they analyzed 3,400 DNA data sets from 362 lakes and reservoirs in 28 countries around the world, according to a press release. Scientists from research institutions in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and the Czech Republic participated in the research.

From the samples, researchers were able to reconstruct nearly 20,000 mitochondrial genomes—the cell’s powerhouses—from approximately 3,660 species. According to the press release, the genome atlas created from this data recorded six to more than 20 times as many species as were listed in the world's leading genetic reference database. However, fewer than one in every 20 genomes could be assigned to a previously known species. “This shows just how large our knowledge gaps still are,” says Lucas Serra Moncadas, a UZH researcher and lead author of the current study, as quoted in the press release. “A large part of the biodiversity that keeps our lakes functioning has simply remained hidden from us to this day and has never been documented.”

The research team used a machine learning-based method instead of traditional DNA analysis. This made it possible to identify the so-called microeukaryotes more quickly.

The genomic atlas created in this way is intended to facilitate the monitoring of water bodies in the future. Among other things, the emergence of toxic algae—which could, for example, cause fish to die—could be identified more quickly. “For more than sixty years, we have seen only a fraction of the aquatic communities in the lakes and reservoirs that supply more than 180 million Europeans with drinking water,” explains Adrian-Stefan Andrei, head of the Microbial Evogenomics research group. "Soon, a single bottle of seawater could reveal who lives in it, what's new, and what's changing." The study was published in the latest issue of the journal *Nature Communications *. ce/eb

Forschende wollen anhand einen Genomatlas für Seen weltweit erstellen, der die im See vorhandene Artenvielfalt kartiert; im Bild der Zürichsee. Symbolbild: HeikeBarbel/Pixabay

(CONNECT) Aderis AG is setting its sights on the Austrian market by establishing a location in Vienna. According to a press release, Peter Wenauer will take over as Head of Sales to lead the distribution of the company's AI-native platform for financial and accounting processes in Austria. He previously served as managing director of the software provider DATEV Austria and has many years of experience in the Austrian financial market.

As Head of Customer Success, Oliver Pillwein will be responsible for customer support in the DACH region. His team helps companies migrate to the Live Finance platform. "Austria is our first step in Europe; other markets will follow," Aderis CEO Elian Kool is quoted as saying in the press release.

Aderis believes the financial software market is currently on the verge of a technological shift. Existing financial systems are reaching the end of their life cycle, leading to an increasing number of transitions to new solutions. At the same time, there is a growing shortage of accounting professionals, while AI is increasingly enabling the automation of key financial processes. "The market is beginning to realign itself accordingly," said Peter Wenauer.

Among other things, Aderis' platform automates accounting processes and can process financial data from multiple companies in various currencies. According to the AI software company, every number can be traced back to its source. The target audience consists primarily of medium-sized and larger companies. ce/as

Peter Wenauer als Head of Sales und Oliver Pillwein als Head of Customer Success bauen das lokale Team in Wien auf. Bild: zVg/Aderis

(CONNECT) Wirtschaftsstandort Volketswil (WiVo*), the economic development agency for Volketswil, has announced the results of its resident survey conducted in June and July. According to the survey, 85 percent of the 324 respondents would recommend Volketswil as a place to live because of its natural and green spaces, convenient location, and high quality of housing and life. At the same time, respondents would like to see more opportunities to socialise, additional dining options, a more attractive downtown area, and good transportation options. According to a press release, the results of the survey will be used as a basis for the further development of Volketswil.

“Together with local residents and businesses, WiVo* aims to advance the development of Volketswil,” WiVo* explains in the press release. “To this end, five coherent strategic directions were developed for the entire municipality of Volketswil and presented for discussion in the survey.”

While all strategic directions were deemed appealing, the two area development initiatives—Campus and City—were particularly well-received. As part of the Campus Area Development project, a sustainable innovation district with easily accessible work and residential opportunities is to be created along Zürcherstrasse. The City Area Development Plan, in turn, focuses on the industrial area along Industriestrasse between the Schwerzenbach train station and the highway. The goal is to create a vibrant neighborhood for working, shopping, socialising, and living.

“The feedback encourages the economic development agency to continue pursuing the two focus areas—the campus and the city—with dedication,” the press release states. “At the same time, the results also provide insight into the needs of the local community and will be taken into account as a basis for the site’s further development.” ce/nta

Viel Lob, klare Wünsche: ein Blick in die Umfrageergebnisse der Standortförderung Volketswil. Graphik: Standortförderung Volketswil

(CONNECT) According to a press release, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden visited the Canton of Zurich on October 5th as part of the 28th Royal Technology Mission. The trip was organised by the Kungl. Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademie, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). The delegation was led by Marcus Wallenberg and Sylvia Schwaag Serger, the chairman and president of the IVA.

The delegation visited the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. While in Dübendorf, the delegation took an interest in, among other things, the startups Embotech and Stellar Alpina, as well as student projects such as Swissloop, ARIS, Cellsius, and aCentauri.

"The visit by the king and his delegation was marked by great mutual interest and deep appreciation," Government Councillor Carmen Walker Späh is quoted as saying in the press release. "It is an honor for the Canton of Zurich to host the Swedish royal family." ce/ug

König Carl XVI. Gustaf von Schweden und Regierungspräsidentin Carmen Walker Späh beim Besuch des Innovationspark Zürich. Bild: Ralph Rosenbauer/Kanton Zürich

(CONNECT) FoodFor Labs AG has successfully placed its Brain Shots in German food retail stores. According to the company—founded in 2024 as an official spin-off of the University of Zurich (UZH)—it has already secured distribution of its brain-boosting dietary supplements in 350 Edeka and budni stores.

The 60-milliliter Brain Shots come in four varieties, each designed for specific mental needs—from focus and energy to emotional balance and an evening routine. “Simple, easy to drink, and designed for exactly the moment when you need a little help,” explains co-founder Dr. Teresa Cramer. After holding positions at an institute of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the University of Zurich, and Harvard University, the neuroscientist is now conducting research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on how our brains adapt to environmental stimuli. Cramer is responsible for FoodFor's products and the science behind them.

On October 12, 2026, the FoodFor team will appear on the German version of the startup show “Die Höhle der Löwen.” “For us, this appearance is a first major step toward raising public awareness not only of FoodFor but also of the brain and mental performance,” said Cramer. After all, “we’ve long been optimising our bodies down to the last detail—but when it comes to the brain, we usually just expect it to work.” Now the Zurich-based startup plans to take its Brain Shots from a niche market to the mass market in the DACH region. ce/mm

Die Brain Shots von FoodFor werden künftig in 350 deutschen Filialen von Edeka und der Hamburger Drogeriemarktkette budni verkauft. Bild: zVg/FoodFor Labs AG

(CONNECT) Empa aims to increase the proportion of women in scientific leadership positions. To achieve this goal, it is now launching its four-year scholarship programme, the Women Scientific Leadership Fellowship. According to a press release, the programme aims to attract and support ambitious young female scientists who are pursuing careers in research and wish to take on leadership roles in the scientific community. The programme is designed to help promising female candidates develop the skills needed for a future position as a group leader at Empa.

“By giving promising female researchers the opportunity to develop their own leadership style while gaining real-world leadership experience, we are investing in the scientific leaders of tomorrow,” says Nathalie Casas, department head and member of Empa’s executive board. “At the same time, the greater diversity in our scientific leadership team will help create a more creative and productive research environment at Empa.”

Female applicants must identify a suitable host laboratory at Empa and provide evidence of its support. Internal and external applications from female researchers who have completed a Ph.D. and have postdoctoral or equivalent research experience will only be considered if the potential host laboratory has a concrete and realistic prospect of a vacant group leader position within the next five years.

The Women Scientific Leadership Fellowship is not a one-time call for applications, but an ongoing programme. Applications are reviewed annually in both January and June. The deadline for the first round is December 31, 2026. In January 2027, up to three female researchers will be selected for the programme. ce/mm

Mirjana Dimitrievska konzentriert sich in ihrer Forschung auf die Entwicklung neuer Funktionsmaterialien in der Optoelektronik und für Energieanwendungen. Sie begrüsst die steigende Zahl von Frauen in wissenschaftlichen Führungspositionen. Bild: Empa

(CONNECT) Visorway AG has raised capital in a pre-seed round, reflecting a company valuation of 3 million Swiss francs. The company, which was founded in March 2026 and is based at Technopark Zurich, has now announced this. According to the information provided, the funding round was funded entirely by angel investors.

Visorway plans to use the new capital to expand its artificial intelligence (AI)-based services, which its customers use on the platform of the same name. In addition, the company plans to expand its network of experts.

“With AI advisors trained by real consultants and supported by proven frameworks, we put strategic quality and speed of execution in the hands of those who need them most. Anywhere. Anytime,” is how Visorway describes its business model. "But we haven't forgotten the human element. When complexity calls for sound judgment, our network of verified human experts is ready to provide that extra layer of context, trust, and care."

As co-founder and CEO Jan Appenzeller emphasises in the press release, AI should “structure work, not replace thinking. “We code how experienced practitioners actually work, deliver that work via AI, and have those same practitioners validate the results. The expertise isn’t in the model. It’s in the method.” In a blog post, the startup explains that it views its offering not merely as a product, “but as a movement to democratise expertise.”

Visorway's initial services are aimed at corporate IT sourcing teams and companies that provide sourcing consulting services. However, the company plans to “extend its approach far beyond sourcing to other professional areas” in the future. ce/mm

Künstliche Intelligenz soll Arbeit strukturieren, nicht Denken ersetzen, so die Vision von Visorway. Symbolbild:mwitt137/Pixabay

IBM Research first started its Zurich-based activities in 1956 in Adliswil, before moving to its current location in Rüschlikon in 1963. The American enterprise chose the Zurich region for its vibrant economy, excellent academic institutions and strong talent pool. ETH professor Ambros Speiser – the very first lab director – played a key role in laying the foundations of what would become one of the world’s leading research organizations.    

Throughout its history, the IBM Research Lab in Zurich has achieved many important milestones that shaped science and technology as we know it – inventions such as Trellis-coded modulation, Token Ring LAN or Smartcards were all developed out of Zurich. Amongst the lab’s most notable achievements are two Nobel Prizes in Physics, given first to Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer for their invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, in 1986, and later to Georg Bednorz and Alex Müller for the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, in 1987. In addition, the invention of the atomic force microscope by Gerd Binnig and Christoph Gerber was awarded the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2016. 

Building on this strong legacy, the IBM Research Lab in Zurich continues to shape the future of science and technology under the leadership of Dr. Alessandro Curioni, who was appointed lab director in 2015. The lab’s portfolio currently spans various research areas – ranging from algorithms and artificial intelligence to hardware, quantum computing, exploratory science and security research. 

Recent milestones include the 2024 announcement of three NIST-selected quantum-safe cryptography standards, designed to protect data from cryptographically-relevant quantum computers, and a seminal study on the assembly of a molecule with half-Moebius topology with quantum-based reference calculations – all driven by researchers from the IBM Research Lab in Zurich. The latter constituted a pivotal step on the path towards quantum advantage in chemistry.  

Collaboration plays a key role in the work developed at the Zurich lab. Embedded in a strong ecosystem that connects world-class researchers with leading institutions in Switzerland and beyond, the IBM Research Lab in Zurich has established key partnerships to drive important technological progress, such as the recently announced 10-year initiative with ETH Zurich for algorithmic development. This project is meant to foster scientific exchange and build bridges between deep theoretical foundations and practical research applications. In addition, industry collaborations with banks, life sciences companies and other organizations are an essential part of ensuring that research can deliver tangible solutions to benefit businesses. Furthermore, the installation of Switzerland’s first IBM Quantum System Two computer at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) on ETH’s Lugano campus opens up new opportunities for research projects across scientific disciplines and industries. It is a pivotal step forward on the journey of building a strong Swiss quantum ecosystem that actively shapes the global technology landscape.  

As IBM Research celebrates seven decades in the Greater Zurich Area, researchers aim to keep establishing fruitful collaborations, developing groundbreaking technologies, and ensuring the years ahead will be even more transformative. 

(CONNECT) Namespace, with offices in Zurich and San Francisco, California, has secured $42 million in a Series B funding round. According to a press release, the round was led by the American venture capital firm Scale Venture Partners. Other participants included New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), 20VC, Essence, Burst Capital, Susa Ventures, and several private investors, such as Datadog CEO Olivier Pomel. In total, Namespace has raised $65 million to date.

Founded in 2022 by former Google engineer Hugo Santos, the company provides infrastructure that enables software developers to build and test programs more quickly. These include development environments for the macOS, Windows, and Linux operating systems. To this end, Namespace operates its own server infrastructure. “We’re building the developer platform for this next wave of software development from the ground up,” said founder and CEO Santos.

The platform is also designed to accommodate the increasing use of programming agents based on artificial intelligence (AI). According to the company, more than 1,000 companies are already using the platform, and revenue has increased eightfold over the past year.

Namespace plans to use the new capital to further expand its infrastructure. As part of this, the Mac hardware fleet will also be expanded. Among other things, this infrastructure enables the development and testing of software for Apple's iOS and macOS operating systems. Namespace attributes the expansion to strong demand for its Mac development environments. ce/as

Namespace will mit dem frischen Kapital seine Infrastruktur für das Erstellen und Testen von Software für die Apple-Betriebssysteme iOS und macOS erweitern. Symbolbild: markusspiske/Pixabay

(CONNECT) Colt Technology Services (Colt), an international network provider headquartered in London, has become the first in its industry to launch a fully managed network service based on SCION technology for businesses in Europe, North America, and Asia. Colt will handle all operations.

According to a press release, the offering combines the network technology developed by Anapaya Systems AG with Colt's global infrastructure. It is designed for organisations with high security requirements, such as banks, energy providers, and government agencies.

SCION (Scalability, Control, and Isolation on Next-Generation Networks) enables companies to define and control the path their data takes. The goal is to better protect data connections from cyberattacks and disruptions and to make it easier to meet regulatory requirements regarding data sovereignty. In Switzerland, SCION is already being used for critical infrastructure, including in the financial sector.

Following a two-year trial period, the new service is now available. Colt offers two options: SCION Private enables resilient connections to existing private networks and extranets. SCION Global provides a secure and resilient infrastructure for global corporate networks.

SCION was founded in 2012 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). Anapaya was founded in 2017 as an ETH spin-off and continues to develop the technology commercially. "Organisations need new approaches to isolate critical services and protect them from attacks originating on the public Internet," said Anapaya CEO Martin Bosshardt. ce/as

Das Angebot verbindet die von der Anapaya Systems AG entwickelte Netzwerktechnologie mit der globalen Infrastruktur von Colt und richtet sich an Organisationen mit hohen Sicherheitsanforderungen wie Banken, Energieversorger und Behörden. Symbolbild: Lucent_Designs_dinoson20/Pixabay