ETH Zurich ignites 27 spinouts in 2018

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) launched a record 27 spinouts during 2018, up from 25 spinouts in 2017 and 13 businesses founded on average in the early 1990s.
ETH Zurich’s spinout portfolio attracted a total of €170m ($173.3m) in funding, up from $123.1m of capital reported the previous year. The institute has now formed 407 spinouts in all since 1996.
Twelve of last year’s crop are working on computer science and communications-orientated technologies, continuing a trend ETH Zurich has witnessed in recent years.
ETH Zurich said the rise of artificial intelligence had also been evidenced with six spinouts founded to advance machine learning-based technologies. Medical applications have also received significant attention, with eight 2018 spinouts targeting the space from a range of academic disciplines.
The university highlighted successes including an oversubscribed initial public offering for its 1998 digital microsensors spinout Sensirion that generated a total of $437m in March 2018.
ETH Zurich spinouts that have attracted equity funding last year include carbon dioxide filter developer Climeworks, which obtained $30.7m from investors including state-owned financial services institution Zurich Cantonal Bank in August.
Events drone supplier Verity Studios received $18.1m of series A capital in a June 2018 round led by Fontinalis Partners that featured Airbus Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund, respective investment units of aerospace company Airbus and consumer electronics producer Sony, as well as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft manufacturer Kitty Hawk.
Digital workplace software developer Beekeeper also lured corporate interest, raising $13m in a September 2018 round backed by another consumer electronics supplier, Samsung, which participated through its Samsung Next subsidiary, as well as postal service Swiss Post, and Edenred Capital Partners, part of corporate services provider Edenred.