7th Kickstart innovation program with increased focus on sustainability
More than 40 renowned companies and organizations are developing future solutions for Switzerland, Austria and other countries with local and international startups. The application phase has been running since April 26, 2022.
Kickstart Innovation, one of the leading platforms for open innovation in Europe according to its own account, launched its new program on April 26, 2022 - and for the seventh time. In the past years the innovation program has been able to attract some of the world's best startups to develop solutions for society. This is done in partnership with key industry players, including. AXA, Coop, Swisscom, the furniture, PostFinance, Sanitas, the city of Zurich, Credit Suisse, Galenica and CSS Insurance. Since 2016, Kickstart has thus supported more than 300 startups and realized over 200 deals in the form of collaborations from over 40 countries. In the process, investments of more than CHF 2 billion have been raised to date, including for such well-known startups as Planted, Neustark, AAAcell and others.
Innovation program with emphasis on sustainability
The program has been held annually since 2016, with digitization and sustainability increasingly becoming drivers of innovation across industries. "Startups offer a wide range of solutions for companies looking for new technologies and diverse innovations for their further development. At the same time, partnerships with companies foster the growth of startups with the help of expert pools and collaboration opportunities," explains Katka Letzing, Co-Founder and CEO of Kickstart Innovation. "Sustainability has now become the core of all activities. There has been a big shift here in recent years, as evidenced by the doubling of deals around the circular economy in the last twelve months."
Access to investor network
The aim of the Kickstart program is to enable pilot projects or commercial collaborations between startups and established institutions. The aim is to bring new products and services to market on a larger scale, tap new sources of revenue and invest in pioneering models and processes.
The search for the topics of the future takes place in six focus areas: New Work & Learning, Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Insurance, Food & Retail, Smart Cities and Intrapreneurship. Each area focuses on specific innovation trends and the needs of individual partners. In addition, Kickstart is unveiling a new global brand identity that represents the company's evolution into an international player committed to rapid innovation for a better future.
In addition to building partnerships, the Kickstart Innovation Program also provides access to a diverse investor network for startups and alumni conducting funding rounds. Partners with corporate venture arms are actively involved, including Swisscom Ventures and AXA Venture Partners, among others. "Over the past few years, we have been able to work with great startups and enter into both collaborations and investments, including companies like Labster and Unsupervised. I look forward to more such collaborations this year with an increased focus on sustainability issues," says Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Chief Digital Officer, Swisscom.
Further information and the application forms are here to find.
