Two Switzerland-based spinouts have each been awarded CHF130,000 ($131,500) in prize funding for passing all three stages of an initiative run by spinout-focused VC initiative Venture Kick.
The awardees are Skypull, a wind power technology spinout from ETH Zurich, and RetinAI, an eye care diagnosis platform based on research at University of Bern and Université de Lausanne.
Skypull is developing an airborne wind farming system that could harness gusts at more than 200 metres altitude, thus exploiting stronger winds than those encountered closer to ground by standard turbines.
The technology consists of a ground power generator connected to a drone programmed to rise to above 200 metres, at which point its motor is switched off to enable the production of kinetic energy as the drone glides in the wind.
Skypull expects the design to reduce costs by 50% and yield 95% more energy than the average wind turbine. It will use Venture…
