Hi-tech start-ups awarded at MassChallenge Switzerland awards ceremony
17 Nov 2017 --- Seven companies, from a short-list of 75 start-ups selected for a four-month acceleration program this summer by MassChallenge Switzerland, have been selected to receive financial prizes.
MassChallenge Switzerland, of which Givaudan is a founding partner, is a not-for-profit start-up accelerator program established to help entrepreneurs across all industries. It also rewards the highest-impact start-ups through a competition to win significant financial awards.
The winning start-ups, which are being accelerated at UniverCité in Renens, Switzerland, have been judged on their capacity for high-impact and high potential, as well as their progression through the four-month program. “Thanks to a rigorous selection process, we are have selected a high quality and varied cohort of start-ups from a range of industries, both Swiss and international,” says Thierry Duvanel, Managing Director of MassChallenge Switzerland. 
Benoît Dubuis, President of Fondation Inartis, founding and operating partner of MassChallenge Switzerland adds: “The entrepreneurial quality of the retained projects adds credibility to our programme and is a source of motivation for the seven founding partners, which includes Givaudan, who have two goals: gain first access to breakthrough technologies that are shaping the world of tomorrow, and ensure early identification of companies that may have a similar interest in their activities.”
The number of partners is expanding in 2018 when chemical industry giant BASF SE will join, complementing the other industrial partners.
Chris Thoen, Givaudan’s Head of Global Science and Technology says: “As leaders in the food and fragrance industry it’s important for Givaudan to be aware of innovation happening in different start-up ecosystems.”
“Being one of the founding partners of MassChallenge Switzerland gives us a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with hi-tech start-ups that could transform the business and shape the future industry landscape. We are excited that the MassChallenge platform will also be used as a foundation of the EIT food accelerator network as of 2018.”
The European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food Accelerator Network, is a multi-location accelerator programme delivered across Europe and supported by EIT, to support high impact food-space start-ups to maximise their success.
The winners of this year’s prizes share a total of CHF 400,000 split into two “Diamond” prizes, with a value of CHF 100,000 each, and five “Gold” prizes with a value of CHF 40,000 each. The two “Diamond” winners of CHF 100,000 are Moka Studio Sarl, a Swiss high-tech company developing a software that allows quick and easy, high-quality 3D animation, and TasteHit, a French company also working in the high-tech space, which develops and markets intelligent consumer engagement tools for online stores. This prize will allow both winners to continue their product development and increase sales.
The five remaining projects selected by the jury, awarded with CHF 40,000 each, are ChemAlive SA (Swiss) active in the field of chemical modelling, HaYa Therapeutics (Swiss) with a first-in-class biopharmaceutical therapy to treat heart failure, Infrastructure Systems Managers / Dechets à l’Or (Guinea) using technology to bring infrastructure services and sanitation to African cities, Lymphatica Medtech (Swiss) developing a medical micro-pump for the treatment of lymphedema, a chronic and disabling side effect of anti-cancer therapies, and Membrasenz GmbH (Germany) designer of novel membranes used in the production of hydrogen.
The seven winners of this year’s competition, along with the remaining top five finalists (Alogo Analysis SA – Swiss, Imverse – Swiss, MagicTomato.ch – Swiss, Precision Vine – Swiss, and Sleepiz – Swiss), also receive in-kind support that lets them stay and work free-of-charge at UniverCité in Renens until the next MassChallenge Switzerland competition, which begins in June 2018 with another 70 finalists.
