Startups In Switzerland To Look Out For

Switzerland isn’t on many lists as a startup hub but despite its small population, it is still home to plenty of innovation and fresh ideas. Discover some of the startups that are shaking things up in the fields of health, to home security and everything in between.

Ava

The Ava bracelet allows women to track their ovulation cycle, or just learn more about their bodies. Worn while sleeping, the bracelet tracks nine physiological parameters and detects when the fertility cycle opens and closes. A smartphone app syncs with the bracelet and shows the wearer’s pulse rate, breathing rate, levels of stress and more. Ava was launched in the US in 2016 and hit European markets in early January.

ComfyLight

ProtonMail

Born from a desire to protect civil liberties online, ProtonMail provides open-sourced encrypted email for the security conscious. All its mail servers are in Switzerland and are protected by the country’s strict privacy laws. ProtonMail is the brainchild of a group of scientists and researchers who met while working at CERN.

Gamaya

By providing universal access to agronomic knowledge, Lausanne-based Gamaya aims to make global agriculture sustainable. Hyperspectral imaging technology attached to drones combines with artificial intelligence to collect information and analyse it, providing farmers with a wealth of data about their crops that isn’t evident from the human perspective. The tech points out how farmers can cut costs, grow more crops and solve potential problems such as weeds, pests, disease and nutrient deficiency.

TwingTec

Wind turbines are a fine way of producing renewable energy, but they are also big and not so easy on the eye. TwingTec offers a way to produce clean energy without the need for masses of infrastructure. A rigid, fully-autonomous kite flies 300 metres up in the air and the circular motions it makes generates energy. TwingTec aims to bring clean, renewable energy to off-the-grid places.

WildBiene + Partner

Globally, bees are in trouble. Wildbiene + Partner, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is providing a solution in Switzerland by allowing people to adopt wild bee colonies. A BeeHome with 15 cocoons is delivered to homes and the bees pollinate surrounding plants and flowers in Spring, during Autumn the bees enter hibernation and the colonies can be sent back to be renovated. A new BeeHome is delivered over winter. Wildbiene + Partner also provides farmers with cocoons to help pollinate their crops.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.