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A Comprehensive Guide to Zurich’s Startup and Venture Capital Tech Ecosystem
San Francisco, New York, Berlin, London, Shanghai… If I asked you to list the top startup tech hubs globally, these established powerhouses would certainly top the charts. They produce the majority of the elite of tech companies and the lion’s share of venture returns. And every city is trying to become the “next Silicon Valley” — without the massive homelessness and extreme inequality, of course :)
But as an American expat (and serial entrepreneur, startup growth and strategy advisor, occasional investor, and aspiring VC) that recently moved back to Zurich, Switzerland, I must say, I was shocked at the rapid growth of the startup scene and the relative lack of notoriety/recognition that, given my opinion and experience with startups and venture, the innovation hub clearly warrants — especially with a population of only 400k.
(Are you a Swiss startup changing the world? Join our swissSTARTUPS community on Slack to network with other like minded founders, investors and innovators doing great things here in Switzerland!)
With an outcrop of both new and established private and public venture funds, a growing number of successful startup studios, and cutting edge R&D constantly spinning out of ETH (one of the top 5 engineering schools worldwide), it is no wonder the local tech ecosystem is booming. And unlike many tech centers I’ve been a part of, Zurich has managed to build a successful bridge between industry and upstarts, leading to solid corporate venture funds, partnerships, and other city and government assisted-or-funded efforts to further Swiss innovation.
Originally posted with additional content on mattward.io
Overall, I am very impressed. There are more and more startups getting launched and funded here every day and it feels like there is something in the air. So you can see how surprised was when talking with a colleague at TechStars and when I found out Zurich wasn’t one of the 34 cities where they ran accelerator programs. As someone who increasingly views himself as “Swiss-ish” — other than eating lots of bread and…
