IMD has worked with six of the top 10 Swiss startups of 2014, according to the latest annual ranking of the country’s most promising young companies.
Overall, 22 of the top 100 Swiss startups have worked with IMD, based on this year’s TOP 100 STARTUP AWARD from startup.ch.
Among the top 10, IMD has worked with:
- L.E.S.S., a new technology based on nano-structured waveguides that enables the implementation of energy-efficient distributed illumination devices;
- Abionic, which uses advanced technology to supply physicians with a novel diagnostic tool and provide patients with personal allergy profiles;
- QualySense, which develops high-end sorting solutions for grains, seeds and beans;
- Bcomp, which develops and sells high-performance semi-finished products made from natural fiber composites;
- Climeworks, which has developed an ecologically and economically attractive method to extract CO2 from ambient air;
- Dacuda, a software company offering low-cost digitization technology based on real-time image processing and computer vision.
Each year since 1999, participants in IMD’s MBA and EMBA programs have provided input and support to Swiss entrepreneurs with early-stage companies to improve their chances of funding and success. The IMD EMBA classes are currently in Silicon Valley, helping Swiss start-ups pitch their business plans to leading investors in the region.
IMD’s two current EMBA classes are working with FaceShift (36), ScanTrust (51) and SmartCardia (93), all of which made the top 100 list.
“We’ve collaborated with over 200 Swiss startups over the years. We choose these ventures based both on our belief that they’ll be successful, but also because we believe they’ll be open to intimately working with our participants. Seeing that so many of them are successful is very gratifying to us and our students,” said Jim Pulcrano, who oversees the IMD startup competition that selects the young companies with which the school works.
The top 100 list is available online at www.startup.ch/top100 and at www.handelszeitung.ch.
Only startups founded since 2009 were eligible for the 2014 ranking, although a fuller list of startups is available at www.startup.ch/list. This includes a multi-criteria filter function that allows users to create their own customized lists.
