As in 2021, Valais has ranked fourth among the Swiss cantons in the top 100 most promising start-ups list, coming in behind Zurich, Vaud and Geneva. The four Valais start-ups that have been selected (Depoly, Dufour Aerospace, Urbio and MobyFly) are all supported by The Ark Foundation. This year’s top 100 is the twelfth edition of this annual ranking, which is the leading ranking of start-ups in Switzerland. A jury of 100 experts selected the winners at a ceremony on Wednesday evening held in Zurich and streamed online.
The top three start-ups in the 2022 ranking are all based in the Canton of Zurich. They are the fintech start-up Yokoy, followed by Planted Foods and Ledgy. The top-ranking company from Valais is Depoly, coming in at 28th place. Depoly is based at the Energypolis Campus in Sion and is developing a new method for recycling PET.
Dufour Aerospace, which plans to commercialise a vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), has ranked 56th. This Visp-based company’s drone taxis will be able to transport up to five people at speeds of up to 217 mph.
Urbio and MobyFly enter the rankings
Urbio, another start-up based at the Energypolis Campus in Sion, has ranked 75th. They are developing software that helps key players in the energy transition plan and design more efficient energy infrastructure and technologies for heating, cooling and supplying electricity to buildings.
Following closely behind Urbio is MobyFly, which has just broken into the top 100 for the first time. Based in Collonges, this start-up plans to market a new type of fast and environmentally-friendly electric boat (hydrofoil). The first working prototype has just arrived in Le Bouveret, its home port. MobyFly has ranked 76th.
Fourth place for Valais and recognition for Valais organisations supporting start-ups
In the ranking of the cantons, Zurich is in the lead (with 38 start-ups), followed by Vaud (26) and Geneva (10). Valais is in joint fourth place with Bern, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. This is an excellent result for Valais and for its various organisations that have been supporting Valais start-ups for many years, such as The Ark Foundation, Economic Promotion Valais and the Centre de Cautionnement et de Financement (CCF) [Centre of Sureties and Finance].
Venturelab has organised the Top 100 Swiss Startup Award every year since 2011. A distinguished jury of 100 investors and start-up experts selects the 100 most innovative and promising Swiss start-ups founded less than five years ago. Each member of the jury nominates 10 Swiss start-ups with the greatest commercial potential.
Source: Venturelab press release