EPFL spin-off Edwatec wins Grand Prize at the venture 2026 awards

Edwatec, a spin-off of EPFL developing photonic systems for next-generation AI infrastructure and communications, won the CHF 150,000 Grand Prize at the >>venture>> 2026 final, held at the Swiss Tech Convention Center at EPFL in Lausanne before some 300 guests. The Vaud-based company miniaturizes optical amplification, a key component of the high-performance optical transceivers that data centers need to keep pace with the exponential growth in data driven by AI. Its innovation integrates Erbium Doped Waveguide Amplifier technology onto a photonic chip to enable high-speed, low-energy optical data communication.

Edwatec topped a field of six category winners, each awarded CHF 50,000. Among them, Western Switzerland was further represented by Actival, a spin-off of CSEM based in Neuchâtel, which won the Medtech and Healthcare category for its active dental devices designed to slowly release beneficial fluids to improve oral health. The remaining category winners came from across the country, spanning regulatory technology, consumer authentication, vaccines and agricultural technology.

The evening also marked the first edition of the Spotlight Award, worth CHF 50,000, presented to Noemon for the most innovative use of Apertus, Switzerland’s openly developed AI model. The company is developing a continual-learning approach intended to make AI cheaper to train and easier to deploy. The CHF 10,000 Audience Award went to Cinder, a therapeutic wearables company addressing pelvic pain.

With four of the six category winners relying heavily on artificial intelligence, the 2026 edition underscored both the growing role of AI across Swiss start-ups and the strength of Western Switzerland’s deeptech ecosystem.