Top Stories from Western Switzerland (September 2026)

From a 16th consecutive Global Innovation Index title to a new watch components group and fresh start-up funding across the region, discover Western Switzerland’s top stories from September 2026.

Only in Switzerland: 47 People, 100 Watches, a 12-Year Wait (A Conversation with Kari Voutilainen)

In this episode of Getting Serious, master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen recalls arriving in the Val-de-Travers during the quartz crisis, explains how he built an independent house producing fewer than 100 watches a year, and why he has stopped taking orders.

This episode is available on YouTube and Spotify.

Gaia Tech secures fresh funding from strategic investor Kielder Agro Group

Kielder Agro Group joined Bern-based Gaia Tech as a strategic investor, backing its platform that transforms agricultural side streams such as olive pomace and spent coffee grounds into functional ingredients for sustainable industrial supply chains.

Fribourg’s official magazine devotes its 2026 edition to the start-up mindset

The 2026 edition of fribourg.swiss, the Fribourg Development Agency’s official magazine, explores the canton’s start-up mindset and the support network behind it, from Fri Up and ChemTech to innovation sites including AgriCo, bluefactory, and the Marly Innovation Center.

FIT grants Tech Seed loans to Dexterous Endoscopes and Precisia Care

The Foundation for Innovation and Technology granted CHF 100,000 loans to two Vaud start-ups: Dexterous Endoscopes, whose endoscope switches from flexible to rigid mid-procedure, and Precisia Care, for its hospital data analytics platform.

New luxury watch components group Chaumont establishes its base in Neuchâtel

Vam Investment and former Bulgari Horlogerie CEO Umberto Macchi di Cellere created Chaumont Group, a Neuchâtel-based platform uniting four high-end watch component manufacturers, drawing on the canton’s concentration of precision skills, training, and industrial subcontracting.

Goodwall, Roofless Labs and Infera Neuro awarded FIF funding

Three Geneva companies received funding from the canton’s FIF innovation program: CHF 400,000 for youth skills platform Goodwall, and CHF 50,000 each for camera start-up Roofless Labs and brain-computer interface chip developer Infera Neuro.

Switzerland ranks first in the Global Innovation Index for the 16th consecutive year

Switzerland topped WIPO’s Global Innovation Index for the 16th consecutive year, leading 139 economies. This year’s edition, focused on deep science, finds that no other major country has more venture-backed deep tech companies per capita.