MassChallenge Switzerland: Early-Stage Startup Accelerator

MassChallenge Switzerland has been a leader in helping startups across Europe grow their businesses by accelerating 720 startups across multiple industries that have raised more than $1.2Bn in funding. The flagship program is the early-stage startup accelerator, which accepts startups from any industry, and in 2024 will be comprised of the agnostic program and 3 industry-specific tracks: Sustainable Food, Sustainable Industry & Climate Solutions, and HealthTech.

Program Benefits

• They only accept startups whose solution will add value to society (for example, Millions of Tones CO2 eq. removed/avoided, Millions of Litres of water saved, lives saved), and all startups in the accelerator will be advised about how to make their business climate responsible and must intend to offset their emissions or actively reduce GHG to be considered. They’ve asked the cohort if they would recommend the program to other startups; in 2023, the average score was 9+ out of 10, from 101 responses.
• To maximize their benefit from the program, Startups will need to travel and be present in Switzerland for the Boot-Camp and Half-Time activities. These events generate connections and facilitate collaboration with the partners, mentors and investors. The remainder of the program operates online.
• Participants gain access to:
  • Unrivaled access to 15+ global corporate partners including Nestlé, Bühler, Givaudan, dsm-firmenich, Louis Dreyfus Company, Omya, Südzucker, PMI, Bystronic, SMC, Puratos, ServiceNow – totalling over CHF 260 billion in revenue;
  • World-class mentoring from 400+ experts and tailored programming provided with no equity taken in return;
  • The opportunity to compete for over half a million in non-dilutive cash prizes and other in-kind awards;
  • For Food and Climate focused startups, an additional cash prize of CHF 100k no-strings-attached for the Louis Dreyfus Company Climate Resilience Prize;
  • Switzerland-specific advice on regulations and tax, easy access to the EU market, and strong trade links;
  • A proven model that has helped more than 65% of finalists raise funds during or immediately after the program.

Switzerland Industry Tracks

• The tracks operate as part of the MassChallenge Switzerland accelerator program and select early-stage startups will receive additional specialized support and resources from the partners, mentors and VCs that will help startups grow their businesses.
• Startups can be from any geography and should select the relevant track of interest in the application form.
• Startups do not need to be in any of these industries to apply to MassChallenge Switzerland. Industry Tracks are simply an option. In 2024, Switzerland’s tracks include:
  • Sustainable Food Track
    • Brings together the largest multi-national food corporations, world-class mentorship from food experts, and tailored curriculum focused on sustainability, food and packaging to accelerate the impact of startups working in agriculture, food, & animal feed.
  • Sustainable Industry & Climate Solutions Track
    • Expert specialist mentors and corporate partners combine to enable startups that support industry to cut energy and/or water consumption, minimize waste, embed circulatory principles, employ new materials, utilize new technologies to enhance both physical and digital operational efficiency, and reduce GHG emissions.
  • HealthTech Track 
    • Leverages Switzerland’s strong heritage in med-tech, life sciences, social-care and education to help startups improve their propositions in this sector.

For more information, visit MassChallenge.