Switzerland confirms its leading position in deep tech

The Swiss Deep Tech Report 2026, published by Deep Tech Nation Switzerland with Founderful, Kickfund, Startupticker.ch, and Dealroom.co, highlights the country's leading role in deep tech with 63% of all Swiss venture capital going into frontier technologies, the highest share worldwide, ahead of the US and China.

Quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics and other advanced technologies are driving the global economy and building the foundations to solve the pressing issues our society is facing, from human health to clean energy. These frontier technologies are complex, IP-intensive, take longer to reach market maturity, and require substantial capital investment to fund research, development, testing, and scaling.

Through leading research institutions renowned for their innovation potential and quality, Switzerland generates a high number of venture-backed deep tech spin-offs, with ETH and EPFL leading the way as the top two universities in Europe. This is also a clear signal of how effectively Swiss research is converting into companies. Among sectors, artificial intelligence and machine learning have seen the most significant shift, now accounting for one in four Swiss deep tech startups, more than double the share of a few years ago, while the share of robotics startups has also nearly doubled.

Other Swiss universities and research centres are also part of this momentum. Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) supports researchers and students in translating scientific discoveries into scalable businesses through the Pro-Rectorate for Innovation and Corporate Relations, the USI Startup Centre, and USI Transfer. This support spans the full path from research to market entry, including guidance on intellectual property, coaching, market testing and fundraising strategy, helping ensure that founding teams have the knowledge and tools necessary to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. The approach reflects a broader commitment to facilitating the transition of promising technologies to market and building entrepreneurial pathways for the academic community.

Ticino is also strategically positioned between Zurich and Milan, both established centres of the broader Alpine Tech Cluster alongside hubs like Lausanne, Basel and Munich. Switzerland forms the core of this cluster, one of Europe's two leading deep tech hubs, which includes more than 1,500 venture-backed deep tech startups. Alongside the London-Paris corridor, it is one of only two European regions with the density needed to compete globally. On a per capita basis, Switzerland invests $1,470 (CHF 1,175) in deep tech, ranking first in Europe and among the top three countries globally, alongside Israel and the United States. Investment volumes in the sector have grown roughly fivefold since 2015, reaching $2.6 billion. The report also points to an accelerating trend: deep tech companies are increasingly choosing to stay and scale within Switzerland, drawing international investors to them rather than the reverse, while entrepreneurs who built and sold companies abroad are returning to start new ventures domestically.

Despite growing investment volumes, in funding rounds between $15 and $100 million, 82% of capital comes from abroad, compared to a European average of 60%, with Swiss institutional investors such as pension funds largely absent at this growth stage. At the largest rounds, $100 million and above, foreign investors supply 88% of funding, compared to a European average of 75%, with US investors alone accounting for more than half (54%) of all late-stage capital invested in Swiss deep tech startups. Unlike Germany, France or the United Kingdom, Switzerland has no state-backed venture capital vehicle of comparable scale.

The report highlights an ecosystem that has matured rapidly on the strength of world-class research and a high concentration of ambitious founders, but also points out that long-term success will depend on closing the growth-capital gap that still separates Swiss deep tech from sustained, large-scale companies built and scaled at home. Closing the gap is the explicit aim of Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, whose mission is to mobilize CHF 50 billion in venture capital and create 100,000 jobs by 2033, an effort Università della Svizzera italiana supports as one of the initiative's academic partners.

The full Swiss Deep Tech Report 2026 is available to download here.