aiEndoscopic
Zurich - Founded in 2021, medtech
aiEndoscopic combines artificial intelligence (AI) with robotic endoscopy. Its first development, intuBot, presents an all-in-one solution for airway management. It aims to make the life-saving process of endotracheal intubation, used in emergency medicine in particular, much easier and thus save lives. It is based on a collaborative project with ETH Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, and the University of Zurich. aiEndoscopic has won multiple awards and is being supported by Innosuisse. Additionally, the startup has been selected to form part of the Switzerland Innovation Park Zürich as well as to join the group of Swiss Venture Leaders Medtech 2022.
Founding team: Amanda Sara Bachmann, Peter Biro, Dave Gage, Philippe Gan (CEO).
ANYbotics
Zurich - ETH spinoff, founded in 2016, industrial robotics
ANYbotics develops robotics solutions for the autonomous inspection of industrial plants in the oil and gas, chemistry, and energy sectors, among others. They take on routine tasks in areas that are difficult to access, dirty, or dangerous. The four-legged robots from the ANYmal range originated at ETH Zurich at the start of 2009 and have been used internationally in series since 2021, for example at the Malaysian oil company Petronas, in the Brazilian mining industry, or in BASF’s chemical facilities. ANYbotics has won numerous awards and in 2021 the company was part of the winning team in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge run by America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In 2020, ANYbotics raised 20 million Swiss francs in a funding round including investors such as Swisscom Ventures.
Founding team: Samuel Bachmann, Remo Diethelm, ETH Zurich, Péter Fankhauser (CEO), Hanspeter Fässler, Christian Gehring, Marco Hutter, Andreas Lauber, and Roland Siegwart.
Bota Systems
Zurich - ETH spinoff, founded in 2020, robot sensors
Bota Systems gives robots a sense of touch via fully integrated 6-axis force torque sensors to achieve precise force and torque measurements. These enable precision control for interactive robotics applications in industry and research, reducing integration time and rationalizing the force measurement process. The company focuses on collaborative robotics between humans and robots in particular. Its clients include companies and research institutes in Europe, North America, and Asia. Bota Systems has previously been supported by the startup funding program Venture Kick, ESA BIC, and the Gebert Rüf Foundation.
Founding team: Marco Hutter, Klajd Lika (CEO), Ilias Patsiaouras.
Fotokite
Zurich, Syracuse, and Boulder (USA) - Founded in 2014, ETH spinoff, UAV
In 2021, Fotokite AG brought to market a tethered, autonomous flying drone called Fotokite Sigma. It was designed specifically for emergency personnel such as the fire department and provides a location information system that can be set up rapidly. The company’s customers include the fire departments of Paris and New York. The startup won the top prize of the GENIUS NY funding program in the USA in 2018 and has also been active in America since then. In January 2022, it raised 13.7 million Swiss francs in a financing round where the American company MSA Safety Incorporated and Swisscanto were the main investors and partners. Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital and the Sony Group Corporation were also involved to name a few.
Founder: Sergei Lupashin (CEO: Bart Slager)
MyoSwiss
Zurich, Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Germany) - ETH spinoff, founded in 2017, medtech
With its product, Myosuit, MyoSwiss has developed an exoskeleton that combines robotics with textile technology. The “e-bike” for the legs supports people with impaired mobility with activities such as standing up and running. The Myosuit was approved as a medical device in 2020. Since then, it has been used in rehabilitation centers in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and even South Korea. MyoSwiss raised 2.2 million Swiss francs in a funding round in 2020; the South Korean robotics company T-Robotics was involved for the first time. A new round of financing is currently ongoing to further develop solutions for private individuals.
Founding team: Jaime Duarte (CEO) and Kai Schmidt
Scewo
Winterthur - ETH spinoff, founded in 2017, medtech
Scewo’s two-wheeled electric wheelchair can help disabled people to overcome steps, traverse forest tracks, and reverse in a controlled manner. The BRO model was originally based on a project at ETH Zurich and the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). The first deliveries were made in 2020 and a second generation has now been launched. Around 50 wheelchairs are currently in use in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Scewo won the Medtech Awards 2021 and the German Design Awards Gold 2021. Scewo received 11.5 million Swiss francs from investors such as Verve Ventures in a funding round in 2021. The focus for expansion is on Europe and America.
Founding team: Pascal Buholzer, Thomas Gemperle, and Bernhard Winter (CEO)
Sevensense Robotics
Zurich - ETH spinoff, founded in 2018, industry robotics
Sevensense technologies enable robots to autonomously navigate complex, dynamic environments even working in close proximity to humans with the aid of artificial intelligence. These robots are currently used for logistics, production, and professional cleaning. They are based on research from ETH’s Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL). Its director, ETH professor Roland Siegwart, co-founded the company. A prototype of the Beluga robot for delivering shopping was presented in 2021. That same year, Sevensense won the ABB Robotics Innovation Challenge. ABB is a partner of Sevensense and led a funding round amounting to 7.7 million Swiss francs in 2021. A collaboration with the Japanese cloud robotics specialist Rayputa Robotics was announced in 2022.
Founding team: Fabian Blöchliger, Mathias Burki, Gianluca Cesari, Renaud Dubé, Marcin Dymczyk, Kevin Egger, Gregory Hitz (CEO), Andreas Pfrunder, Roland Siegwart
Verity
Zurich - ETH spinoff, founded in 2014, autonomous indoor drone systems
Verity is the global market leader in autonomous indoor drone systems. The technology is based on fundamental research from the ETH Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control and the company’s co-founder and CEO is ETH professor Raffaello D’Andrea. Verity drones with fail-safe technology have already attended concerts by the singer Céline Dion and the band Metallica. In 2020, the company launched automation solutions for warehouses that are now used by clients such as the furniture giant IKEA. The company’s investors include Airbus Ventures, Sony, and Kitty Hawk from Google founder Larry Page to name a few. In 2018, Verity raised 18 million US dollars in a funding round. Today more than one hundred members of staff are employed at the company’s headquarters in Oerlikon.
Founding team: Raffaello D’Andrea (CEO), Markus Hehn, and Markus Waibel.
Voliro
Zurich - ETH spinoff, founded in 2019, inspection drones
Voliro develops flying robots for safe, cost-effective, rapid handling of inspection and maintenance tasks. Voliro started at ETH Zurich’s Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) with a focus on omnidirectional flying objects where the position of the drone does not depend on its orientation. The Voliro T drone can fly, see, interact with objects in a controlled way, and even inspect curved or sloping surfaces while doing so. Voliro has been collaborating with the cement and construction materials group Holcim since 2019. At the end of 2020, Voliro completed a funding round totaling two million Swiss francs led by the Swiss venture capital investor Alpana Ventures. Backbone Ventures and Zurich Cantonal Bank also took part.
Founding team: Marius Fehr, Mina Kamel (CEO), Thimo Müller, Thomas Schneider, Anurag Vempati.
Wingtra
Zurich - ETH spinoff, founded in 2016, measurement drones
Wingtra’s drone specializes in measurements in the civil sector, such as the generation of detailed 3D data for cities. They are able to start and land vertically. The technology was developed within the framework of ETH’s Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL). Wingtra drones are used in mining, construction, research, agriculture, and city and spatial planning across more than 50 countries. In 2019, Wingtra raised 10 million US dollars in a funding round with investors such as the venture capital arm of Credit Suisse. In 2021, Wingtra launched a second generation, WingtraOne GEN II, and opened branches in the USA and Croatia. The model received approval for mapping tasks from the American authorities in 2022.
Founding team: Maximilian Boosfeld (CEO), Elias Kleimann, Basil Weibel.
Greater Zurich Area – the Silicon Valley of Robotics
Greater Zurich Area – the Silicon Valley of Robotics
Switzerland is proud to be known as the Silicon Valley of Robotics. Greater Zurich's robotics output is a key factor in this. Its universities and technology companies belong among the world’s leaders in information science, computer vision, sensor technology and artificial intelligence.
The cutting-edge technology of Swiss robotics companies is known worldwide and contributes to the excellent reputation of the location. Leading universities in engineering, pioneering drone regulations as well as an ideal testing ground in Switzerland are bound to lead to rapid progress and growth in robotics technologies in the future.
