Innosuisse Start-up Innovation Projects

Start-up Innovation Projects support science-based projects of Swiss start-ups that are about to enter the market for the first time. The subsidy contract is entered into directly with the start-up — a research partner is not necessary and is not supported by Innosuisse as a direct subsidy recipient. Eligible start-ups are Swiss-headquartered, registered in the Swiss registry of commerce, not yet selling a finished product on the market (R&D services and consulting permitted), have a scalable business model, have been established for no more than 5 years (up to 10 in exceptional cases such as time-intensive life sciences), and employ less than 50 FTE (less than 250 group-wide if controlled by another company). Applicants must have the financial means to bear at least 30% of the project costs as own contribution, plus an initial IP analysis showing no obvious patent conflicts preventing market entry. Innosuisse covers up to 70% of direct project costs. Applications are rolling and must be submitted at least eight weeks before an Innovation Council meeting; the full process (formal check → expert review → meeting decision → pitch session for selected applicants) takes around 16 weeks. Pitch sessions occur 2–3 weeks after each meeting.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Rolling.