Ausblicke auf 2024 mit Tech Leadern aus der Greater Zurich Area

Die Zukunft der Technologie

Im Bereich der Technologie erweitert sich der Horizont ständig. Wir haben die Expert*innen aus verschiedenen Branchen gefragt, welche Science-Fiction-Technologie ihrer Meinung nach in der Zukunft Realität werden könnte. Die Antworten reichen von Durchbrüchen in der künstlichen Intelligenz über revolutionäre medizinische Technologien bis hin zur Verbesserung der menschlichen Leistungsfähigkeit.  

Frage: Which technology which may seem like science-fiction at this moment, might become a reality in the future?

• "Wearing little lenses on our eyes that are like mobile devices screens, so that we are always on and augmented by unlimited access to know-how."
  - Pascal Kaufmann, Founder of Mindfire, Starmind & AlpineAI
• "I am fascinated by the combination of Generative AI and robotics and think we might see some exciting developments in the humanoid space."
  - Sunnie Groeneveld, Founder & Managing Partner of Inspire 925

• "AI seems like the obvious choice - the current hype is bringing a lot of funding into the space that will hopefully give rise to some exciting new functionalities/uses of the tech across different industries. That said, I’m also curious to see whether the next generation of commercial VR Hardware (like the much-anticipated Apple Vision Pro) will usher in a wave of experience-focused applications across entertainment, sports, productivity, design, etc."
  - Tracy Trachsler, Managing Director of CV Labs
• "Just look at science fiction literature. Highly effective personalized medicine and upgrading human performance by biohacking or biomechatronics, for example with exoskeletons."
  - Jürg Stuker, Partner at Kickstart Innovation
• "Cold Fusion: The potential advantage of cold fusion would be the ability to achieve nuclear fusion at lower temperatures and under more controllable conditions, leading to more efficient and safer energy production."
  - Martin Neubauer, Managing Director of SwissAssociation for Autonomous Mobility (SAAM)

Was es an der Greater Zurich Area zu lieben gibt

Die Greater Zurich Area verfügt über eine lebendige Tech-Community, aber wie kommt es genau dazu? Auf die Frage, was sie an unserer dynamischen Region am meisten schätzen, betonten die Befragten die Mischung aus Innovation, einem unternehmensfreundlichen Umfeld und einer aussergewöhnlichen Lebensqualität in der Region.  

Frage: What do you love most about the Greater Zurich Area?

• "The shared ambition to maintain a high quality of life and great conditions for doing business in the Greater Zurich Area and beyond."
  - Franziska Barmettler, Head of Sustainability at IKEA Switzerland & Member of the Cantonal Council
• "The diversity of people, regions, landscapes and industries it covers, the location in the heart of Europe, and the excellent quality of life including clean air, great public transport, healthcare and education."
  - Dorothea Baur, Founder and Owner of Baur Consulting AG
• "It's unbelievable how tech at the highest level accumulated in Zurich. If you look at a list of the top tech companies in the world, basically all of them have an office of significant size in Zurich, which makes it an attractive place to live for the best talents in the world. It's also just a beautiful place."
  - Lukas Meier, CTO and Co-founder of Fixposition

• "I could write a (mini) novel about this but to in spirit of brevity: Generally nice and quality people, so easy to get around, and amazing lifestyle (including outside of work)!"
  - Brandon Cohen, Director of Talent at DFINITY Foundation & Co-Founder of Toolbox4HR Switzerland
• "While the idea of the "American Dream" seems to fade, I feel like the "Swiss Dream" is a reality. I received a world-class education at a public university amongst highly motivated students, gained practical experiences within competitive companies, and was able to set up two companies with ease thanks to very collaborative and digitized authorities. Living in Zurich - and meanwhile holding a Swiss passport - I over and over fall in love with the diversity of the country and its most scenic nature. Greater Zurich Area is attracting highly innovative companies and extremely skilled people from all over the world - for a lot of reasons."
  - Justus Spengler, Founder & CEO of Rockstar Recruiting

Wo investieren?

Unsere aufstrebende Tech-Szene wirft eine weitere spannende Frage auf: In welche Technologie oder welches Unternehmen aus der Greater Zurich Area würden unsere Tech-Expert*innen investieren, wenn sie eine Million Schweizer Franken zur Verfügung hätten? Ihre Antworten geben einen Einblick in die Sektoren, die ihrer Meinung nach am vielversprechendsten sind. Von künstlicher Intelligenz und digitaler Innovation bis hin zu nachhaltigen Technologien und Gesundheitstechnologien spiegeln diese Präferenzen nicht nur die aktuellen Stärken der Tech-Landschaft der Region wider, sondern auch ihre potenziellen zukünftigen Richtungen.  

Frage: If you had to spend 1 Mio, in which technology or company from the Greater Zurich Area would you invest?

• "I am always impressed by the quality of startups in the Bio-Technopark Schlieren."
  - Jürg Stuker, Partner at Kickstart Innovation
• "If I had $1m, I would spend it in many University spin-offs. There is nothing like Swiss Technology from the GZA area. I love Seed stage companies."
  - Alexander Fries, VC Investor & Partner at InnoQube Switzerland

Inspirationen von 2023 für das neue Jahr

Die Technologieexpert*innen in der Greater Zurich Area liessen sich 2023 von persönlichen Beziehungen, geschäftlichen Meilensteinen und technologischen Fortschritten inspirieren, was die Diversität unserer Tech-Ökosysteme aufzeigt. 

Frage: Looking back, what inspired you in the year 2023?

•  "We managed to transfer from finding product-market-fit to growth stage regardless of a slowdown in the global economy."
  - Zhenzhong Su, CEO & Co-founder of Fixposition
• "In December of 2022, I've heard of ChatGPT for the first time. I was inspired by the speed of adaption of the technology, and it will be interesting to see how fast we as a society adapt future technologies and services."
  - Veronika Sallenbach, Founder of werdinnovativ & Co-founder of StartHub Schaffhausen
• "My children Ava (11) and Ryan (7). I love seeing the world through their eyes."
  - Raffaello D’Andrea, Founder of Verity & Professor of Dynamic Systems & Control at ETH Zurich

Erfolge und Herausforderungen

Auf die Frage nach ihren grössten Herausforderungen und Erfolgen des vergangenen Jahres enthüllten die Befragten ein breites Spektrum an Erlebnissen – von der Bewältigung geschäftlicher Schwierigkeiten bis hin zum Erreichen persönlicher Ziele. Ihre Geschichten veranschaulichen die vielfältigen Pfade und Erfolge, die unsere dynamischen Ökosysteme charakterisieren.  

Frage: What was your biggest challenge and success in 2023?

•  "Unfortunately, we could not grow the way we wanted in 2023. We also struggled in the beginning of the year with our sales organisation, but we learned out of our mistakes and established a more resilient organisation which now starts to bring first results by the end of the year. We also established first contacts with some target accounts which really makes us happy."
  - Alain Stebler, CEO of Rapid Manufacturing

• "The biggest challenge has always been to find the sweet spot of doing meaningful and inspiring work while being successful and authentic as a businesswoman. The biggest success lies in achieving this better than ever in 2023."
  - Dorothea Baur, Founder and Owner of Baur Consulting
• "The biggest success: we kept innovating for our customers and consequently were able to significantly grow our trusted customer base."
  - Lukas Meier, CTO and Co-founder of Fixposition AG

Möchten Sie alle Einblicke der verschiedenen Tech-Leader in der Greater Zurich Area kennenlernen? Besuchen Sie unseren LinkedIn-Kanal und scrollen Sie durch unsere #DoorOpener-Serie!