7 new companies join the Scale Up Vaud program 

Seven companies, Akselos, bNovate Technologies, Inait, Iprova, Predictive Layer, SwissBorg and Visium join the Scale Up Vaud program in 2021. In total, 34 Vaud-based firms are part of the label, today. Despite the difficulties encountered due to the COVID pandemic, 117 new jobs were created in Switzerland by the Vaud scale-ups in 2020. For their CEOs, the support received by the Scale Up Vaud program has been particularly important over the past 12 months. The initiative has also adapted its offer, in line with the current COVID crisis. 

An annual label created in 2016, Scale Up Vaud helps the CEOs of high-growth Vaud technology companies manage the scaling-up of their business in Switzerland as well as internationally. The general slowdown in investments generated by the global coronavirus pandemic since March 2020 has prompted Innovaud to adapt its support for Vaud scale-ups. This year, the companies labeled in 2020 and 2021 have in fact been grouped together under the same label, to continue to benefit from the support offered by the program. Since March 2020, Scale Up Vaud, through Innovaud, has intensified the opportunities for exchanges and learning between its beneficiaries. Creating connections, mutual aid opportunities and peer encounters is especially important in times of crisis. 

Financial aid for technology companies in the canton of Vaud has also been welcome for scale-ups. In total, Vaud authorities guaranteed loans for a total amount of 36 million Swiss francs to start-ups and scale-ups in the canton. 

 CHF 206.5 million in investments and a Swiss unicorn 

Fundraising from Vaud scale-ups reached CHF 206.5 million in 2020: Kandou (36 million), Lunaphore (25 million), NetGuardians (17 million), Astrocast (9 million), Flyability (7 million), Olympe (2.5 million) and SOPHiA Genetics (110 million). On February 8, 2021, Nexthink announced a fundraising of 180 million. Nexthink is the new Swiss unicorn and the second Vaud scale-up valued at more than one billion francs, after MindMaze. 

“The canton of Vaud was the first canton in Switzerland to grant financial aid to technology companies, startups and scale-ups. We are pleased to see that despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, our companies continue to fight and achieve records in terms of fundraising. Nexthink, a Vaud-based leader in the digital sector, is proof that the innovation potential of our region, supported by our authorities through the Office for Economic Affairs and Innovation (SPEI) and Innovaud, is intact”, Raphaël Conz, Head of the Enterprise Unit at the Office for Economic Affairs and Innovation (SPEI). 

In 2021, the new scale-ups are shaping a trend in the field of information and communication technologies and more specifically of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The leaders of these companies are delighted to join the Scale Up Vaud program and to receive targeted support during their growth phase: “We are truly excited to join the Scale Up Vaud group and we are convinced that it will significantly contribute to our growth and long-term success”, explains Alen Arslanagic, CEO of Visium.