Investments in young companies remained at a high level in the first half of 2023. According to the auditing company EY, Swiss start-ups were able to raise CHF 1.92 billion in the first six months of the year, which means an increase of 4.16% compared to the previous half year.
For the third time in a row, the financing volume for start-ups in the first half of the year is higher than in the second half of the previous year. Between July and December 2022, the young companies were financed with CHF 1.84 billion.
In addition, the sum mobilized between January and June 2023 (CHF 1.92 billion) ranks third among the highest total financings since 2015, just behind the sums invested in the first half of 2022 and the second half of 2017.
However, the number of financing rounds fell drastically to 339: a year earlier it was 471 and in the previous half year it was 425. This is the third time in a row that it has declined. According to the authors of the report published by EY, this decrease mainly affects smaller financings, which is why the total amount continues to increase despite the lower number of fundraising.
In terms of volume, the five largest investments alone already amount to CHF 612 million: Haqq Association (182 million), Distalmotion (135 million), Noema Pharma (103 million), GetYourGuide (Debt) (99 million) and Alentis Therapeutics (Series C) (96 million).
The most popular sector for investors is the healthcare sector with more than a quarter of the financing rounds (96/339). This is followed by the “Software & Analytics” (83), “Hardware” (35) and “FinTech/InsurTech” (27) divisions.
In terms of geographical distribution, the Zurich region (140) and western Switzerland (101) are ahead in terms of the number of start-up financings since the beginning of 2023, followed by central Switzerland (34), north-western Switzerland (24) and the Espace Mittelland (22).
Source: KMU Portal, Aug2, 2023
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