Three EPFL spin-offs sweep the Swiss startup awards

The ranking was published yesterday evening: L.E.S.S. came in first place this year after finishing second last year. The competition, which looks at companies set up in the past five years, is judged by a panel of 100 startup experts: venture capitalists, business angels and heads of startup funds.

Winning this competition does not translate into an immediate financial payoff, but it does guarantee visibility in Switzerland and abroad. “For many Swiss and foreign venture capitalists and business angels, this ranking is becoming something of a benchmark,” said Jordi Montserrat, one of the competition's organizers. For the international audience, this five-year-old event also says something about the quality and diversity of Swiss startups in general.

So what nudged L.E.S.S. to the top of the list? "Just like Abionic and Flyability, it is now better known and has greater credibility,” said Montserrat. These startups raised money and won various prizes and awards, all of which brought them notice. Some criteria are objective: a quality product, a team of driven entrepreneurs and a substantial target market. But the success of innovative new companies depends largely on the founder’s personality, team-building skills and public presence. The experts drew on their own experience and intuition in making their selections. The top 20 finishers include other EPFL offshoots: Lunaphore, Faceshift (rumored to have been recently acquired by Apple), Scantrust, Actlight and Gamaya.

The top three finishers:

Technical lighting of the future
L.E.S.S. developed the nano-active fiber – as thin as a human hair – which greatly reduces power consumption in displays, high-speed manufacturing inspection systems and automotive lighting. According to its designers, it could soon replace LED technology for technical lighting solutions as well. This EPFL spinoff was formed in 2012 and was able to raise three million francs this year. These funds will allow the company to begin ramping up production volumes in response to growing demand from key clients, mainly in Japan, Germany and Switzerland.

Detect allergies in minutes
Abionic created an allergy-testing device that’s now ready for the doctor’s offices. A few drops of the patient’s blood are mixed with a special fluid and placed in small capsules containing allergens. Arranged on a CD-sized disc, these samples are then analyzed by a laser in under ten minutes. The device also indicates the severity of the allergy. Abionic's system, created in 2011, is already being marketed. The company is expecting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which would open the door to the American market.

The drone that bounces off obstacles
This is Flyability’s first appearance in the ranking, and it ended up in third place – whereas the top two finishers came in second and third in last year’s ranking. This company has developed Gimball, a drone modelled after insects that’s not afraid of running into things. In fact, it simply bounces off them thanks to the small spherical cage that surrounds it. This flying robot, which came out of the labs last year, can be sent into disaster zones, for example, taking video with its integrated camera and delivering precious information to rescue crews. This type of use in rescue situations won over the jury in the “Drones for Good” competition recently held in the United Arab Emirates, and the company took home a million dollar grant.

The startup ranking was inaugurated in 2011 by officials of the Institut für Jungunternehmen (IFJ) based in both French- and German-speaking Switzerland. This organization offers a broad array of courses and extensive on-the-ground experience (Venture Kick, venturelab and venture leaders) to startups coming out of Switzerland’s specialized schools. Lucerne-based journalism office Niedermann helped launch the ranking and takes part in the ranking process every year. PME Magazine and Handelszeitung are partners of the TOP100 and devote a special edition to the ranking, available at: www.startup.ch/top100.