Switzerland leads the world in deep tech investment, report finds
Switzerland pours more of its venture capital into deep tech than any other country, according to new data.
The Swiss Deep Tech Report 2025 found that 60% of all Swiss venture funding between 2019 and 2025 went to deep tech — far surpassing any other nation. The capital represents a big bet on cutting-edge science developing into global businesses.
Startups in the sector pulled in $1.9bn in funding last year, up from $1.4bn in 2023, and are on track to hit $2.3bn in 2025.
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The report was produced by the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation, a non-profit backed by telecom firm Swisscom and banking giant UBS to boost Swiss innovation. It was published in collaboration with startup data platforms Dealroom.co and Startupticker.
After analysing over 1,500 startups, the report found that deep tech companies have already created more than $100bn in combined enterprise value.
It ranked ETH Zurich and EPFL among Europe’s top four universities for producing deep tech spinouts — behind only Oxford and Cambridge.
“Switzerland has long excelled in fundamental research, but we believe the next decade belongs to the scientists and engineers who turn that research into global companies,” said Alex Stöckl, founding partner at VC firm Founderful, which also contributed to the report.
AI and machine learning startups are increasingly taking the lion’s share of deep tech investment in the Alpine nation.
In 2024, almost one-third of all Swiss deep-tech funding went to AI-first startups — triple the share recorded in 2020. The funding went into everything from software for humanoids to chocolate-sorting algorithms.
Meanwhile, fields like robotics, climate tech, and biotech — a Swiss staple — continue to grow, thanks to large rounds from the likes of Neustark, Neo Medical, and Transmutex.
Yet the report also highlights a gap: nearly 96% of late-stage investment comes from global, not local, funds, indicating an opportunity for domestic capital to catch up.
Stöckl has previously called the Swiss tech ecosystem a “powerhouse” that’s only just starting to claim its place on the global stage. Data suggests its foundations are strong.
In addition to its backing for deep tech, the country has the highest number of unicorn companies per capita in Europe and has topped the Global Innovation Index for 13 years in a row.
