Switzerland leads the world in deeptech venture funding in 2026

Switzerland now directs a greater share of its venture capital to deeptech than any other country, according to the Swiss Deeptech Report 2026, published by Deeptech Nation Switzerland, Founderful, Kickfund, Startupticker.ch and Dealroom.co, and launched at VivaTech in Paris. At 63 percent, the share of Swiss venture capital flowing to deeptech is the highest of any nation, ahead of China and the United States and nearly double that of Germany and the United Kingdom, up from 60 percent a year earlier.

The report also ranks Switzerland first in Europe for deeptech investment per capita, at USD 1,470 per inhabitant, placing it among the top three worldwide alongside Israel and the United States. Swiss deeptech funding has grown roughly fivefold since 2015 to reach a record USD 2.6 billion in 2025.

Several findings point to the depth of the pipeline. AI and machine learning now account for one in four newly founded Swiss deeptech companies, and Switzerland has the highest density of AI researchers in the world. The country has created 3.5 times more venture-backed robotics start-ups per capita since 2020 than the United States, and holds seven times more patents per capita than the European average, driven by its microelectronics and high-precision sensor industries.

The report singles out EPFL in Lausanne and ETH Zurich as Europe’s two leading universities for new deeptech spinouts, noting that both have extended their lead since 2023. For Western Switzerland, anchored by EPFL and a dense network of research institutes and start-ups, the findings confirm the region’s central role in a deeptech ecosystem that increasingly attracts the world’s leading investors.