Flycatcher selected for Stage 2 of Venture Kick

After completing the first stage of the programme, the tech startup incubated at USI Startup Centre convinced the jury and was selected for the second stage, receiving CHF 40,000 in the form of a convertible loan to support further market exploration, participation in trade fairs, and lead generation.

Flycatcher is developing an innovative solution that addresses the inefficiencies of traditional inspection and monitoring methods used across infrastructure, industrial plants, fleets and remote sites. Existing systems require the clients to provide extensive historical data on recurring issues and frequent manual updates as new issues arise. Flycatcher’s proprietary technology, based on "Unsupervised Anomaly Detection", only needs to be exposed to the normal state of any system or environment to detect alterations in real-time, significantly reducing training time and enhancing security. Their AI-driven solution has already been optimised for low-power hardware and has been validated through a pilot project in the transportation sector.

Founded in 2024 in Lugano by Dario Mantegazza, Lorenzo Galli and Elia Cereda, Flycatcher builds on several years of research conducted at IDSIA (USI-SUPSI). The Venture Kick Stage 2 funds will be used to support the team's business development efforts, including customer outreach and participation in trade fairs. 

Venture Kick is a philanthropic initiative launched in 2007 by the Kick Foundation supported by a private consortium and operated by Venturelab. It aims to support spin-offs from Swiss universities through a competitive three-stage programme over nine months, that sees selected startups receiving CHF 10,000, CHF 40,000, and CHF 100,000 in successive rounds. Stage 2 winners qualify to apply for a CHF 150,000 InnoBooster grant, while Stage 3 winners gain access to additional investments of up to CHF 850,000 from Kickfund.

Read the full announcement here.