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digitalswitzerland’s aim is strengthen Switzerland’s position as a leading innovation hub. This includes supporting a world-class start-up ecosystem that creates an environment where entrepreneurs grow and scale. In second part of this blog series, Jan Friedli, Project Manager at digitalswitzerland dives deeper into the trend of Superclusters.
In the first blog post, we discussed the growing trend towards hyper concentration of innovation activity, which has fuelled the rise of so-called ‘Superclusters’.
Analysing emerging research into STATION F in France, this helped to understand what exactly brought 1,000 startups into one building in less than two years. The economic impact that followed has been unprecedented, and has gained worldwide praise. Many governments are now looking to replicate this success, but they share a difficulty.
The term ‘Supercluster’ remains a very abstract concept. The question is how can we conceptualise a Supercluster? And, what exactly makes them so effective compared to traditional ecosystems?
The term itself may suggest that Superclusters are a radically new and unlike anything we have previously encountered. According to research, that is not quite accurate.
Superclusters are not new but rather an extreme form of regional clusters, which have been around for quite some time. Recall the ‘Silicon Roundabout’ in London, ‘Silicon Valley’ in San Francisco, or ‘Silicon Wadi’ in Tel Aviv.
At its core, these regional clusters have two things in common: (1) they operate in the same general area of geographical proximity and (2) they have an established social network across firms.
Superclusters, in contrast, take a leap forward on these two dimensions. They bet on (1) an extreme concentration of innovation in a single location and on (2) a closely-knit community of entrepreneurs, investors, and corporates. If STATION F is any indication, the bet is paying off.
Despite the successes, we have yet to conceptualise Superclusters in any meaningful way. Such a conceptualisation of Superclusters is essential if we hope to build them elsewhere. I argue that Superclusters need to be understood as a system of several interconnected parts that they provide to their startups, which are called ‘Capitals’.
As depicted in the below framework, I propose an analytical distinction between six different types of Capitals including human, financial, political, built, cultural and social capital – all of which are desirable for startups to have.
In summary, Superclusters are an extreme form of regional clusters, focusing on an extreme concentration of innovation in a single location and a closely-knit community of entrepreneurs, investors, and corporates. They are best understood as a system of six interconnected ‘Capitals’, each distinctly valuable to startups.
All other things assumed equal – a startup becomes more successful when it accumulates Capitals. For example, if a startup gains credibility through the Supercluster, it accumulates Political Capital. Similarly, if a startup learns from co-located peers, it accumulates Human Capital.
The idea that accumulating Capitals is beneficial is hardly groundbreaking. However, what is astonishing is the way in which the Capitals are absorbed by startups.
The empirical evidence suggests that when certain Capitals are gained, it increases the likelihood that others will also follow. For example, once a startup has Social Capital, it can more easily access Financial Capital, which makes it easier to access Human Capital, and so forth. Consequently, startups undergo a process of ‘success building on success’ – a virtuous cycle that accelerates growth.
To illustrate such a virtuous cycle, consider the following experience from the Co-Founder of a Mobility Startup:
Critics may contend that it is quite possible to attain these Capitals outside of Superclusters, and thereby trigger a process of ‘success building on success’. They are correct. This happens all the time in traditional innovation ecosystems that we have all become accustomed to.
But virtuous cycles are all about intensity – and that is the ace that Superclusters have up their sleeve.
Recall that Superclusters bet on an extreme concentration of innovation in a single location and on a closely-knit community of entrepreneurs, investors, and corporates. This makes Capitals both highly-centralized and highly-accessible.
This high-level of integration across Capitals is their defining characteristic.
Because of this integration, the virtuous cycles that startups experience are much more intense in Superclusters than anywhere else. In other words: startups grow much faster because they can accumulate more Capitals in a shorter time.
In summary, Superclusters are tremendously effective because they offer the prospect of intense virtuous cycles that cannot be rivalled by an innovation ecosystem.
As emphasised, the emergence of Superclusters indicate a new trend towards hyper-concentration of innovation activity. Given their continued success, governments are beginning to respond.
For the deeptech nation of Switzerland, this has two practical implications.
First, we must strengthen our existing sector-specific clusters. We are privileged to have a range of vibrant tech hotspots from MedTech in Neuchâtel to BioTech in Basel to FinTech in Zug. The research indicates that social capital plays the most important role in starting or accelerating virtuous growth cycles for startups. In the short-term, our limited resources are best invested in the social infrastructure of the respective clusters to create more connections between regional entrepreneurs, experts and venture capitalists.
Second, we must start building our own version of a Supercluster. Even in the digital age, the physical location continues to matter a great deal. The fact that 1,000 startups have moved to a single building in Paris in less than two years shows us this beyond any doubt. If we want to attract the next 1,000 of the most promising entrepreneurs, we must give them a reason to come.
To accomplish this, we must first learn how other Superclusters got started, namely by talking to lots of startups about their needs and defining clearly what the new community stands for. But far more importantly, we need to shed our Swiss mentality of modesty, and instead gather our courage to think big.
Of course, there are promising projects underway. For instance, the Switzerland Innovation Parks (including the EPFL Innovation Park or Biopôle) or the Impact Hub’s new Hub in Zurich (planned for 2024). These are all pioneering efforts in their own regard. With such projects, we are undoubtedly moving in the right direction – but can we afford to be bolder and faster? After all, the shift from Ecosystems to Supercluster is an imperative for the digital age, and it’s happening right now. As the most innovative country in the world, we have the ideal conditions to build Superclusters – so long as we find our courage.
The aim of these two blogs is to highlight this new trend and start a conversation. Because it concerns many stakeholders, different perspectives are needed to paint the whole picture.
We want to provide you with the opportunity to share your thoughts. So the third blog of this series belongs to you. It will crowd-source perspectives on this topic and serve as an open forum to showcase yours.
Navigate here to take this chance to shape the conversation around Superclusters!
Missed part one – read more here and stay tuned for part three!
In the meantime, please feel free reach out to our Collaborative Innovation team who are busy working to empower organisations to create impactful ecosystems for innovation or find out more about our work in Startup Ecosystem.
The mission of digitalswitzerland is to strengthen Switzerland’s position as a leading innovation hub. This includes fostering a world-class start-up ecosystem that helps our entrepreneurs grow and scale. In this three-part blog series, Jan Friedli, Project Manager at digitalswitzerland takes a closer look at the contemporary phenomenon of Superclusters.
The trend of spatial concentration of economic activity, which characterised the industrial era, is continuing well into the digital age. This is particularly astonishing for digital startups, who deliver value digitally and whose teams can work from anywhere.
Intuitively, one would expect that the new online tools – to distribute digital innovations and to facilitate communications – would end the spatial concentration we’ve seen during the industrial era. All digital startups from Switzerland to Singapore should be able to compete seamlessly in a single global marketplace.
Paradoxically, reality contradicts this expectation. The digital future is being built regionally. Digital startups, in their thousands, are flocking to clusters. They go to places like the ‘Silicon Roundabout’ in London, ‘Silicon Valley’ in San Francisco, or ‘Silicon Wadi’ in Tel Aviv – all of which have been expanding rapidly since the turn of the millennium.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Simply congregating in broader regional ecosystems is not enough anymore. Startups are increasingly looking to come together under the very same roof.
This desire for hyper concentration of innovation activity has fuelled the rise of so-called ‘Superclusters’. While their designs vary widely, most Superclusters allow entrepreneurs to work in co-working spaces and provide an abundance of in-house resources and funding opportunities – often in the same building. Consequently, they are commonly referred to as ‘schools’ or ‘factories’ for startups.
To illustrate, let’s take a look at STATION F – arguably the most important Supercluster in Europe. When in 2016, an abandoned train depot in East Paris was remodelled, the world’s largest startup facility was born, stretching 51,000m2 across a ‘share’, ‘create’ and ‘chill’ zone.
Under one roof, the self-proclaimed ‘startup campus’ hosts over 3,000 desk spaces, 100 venture capital funds alongside 30 industry-specific accelerators from large corporates including Facebook, Microsoft, L’Oréal, and adidas. The campus admits startups into a fixed-term programme, which features mentorship and educational components, with a single goal: produce world-class startups. STATION F officially opened its doors in June of 2017, after being unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron.
In less than two years, over 1,000 startups have joined from all over the world.
Seen as a symbol of Europe’s tech renaissance, the unparalleled growth of STATION F has earned it global praise. It has established itself as the heart of the French tech-innovation scene – all with an impressive economic impact: French startups raised $4.8bn in VC funding in 2019, up nearly threefold since 2015.
As this example shows, the innovation capabilities of Superclusters and the investment appetite from VCs are too astonishing to ignore. Policy makers, academia and practitioners have started to pay attention.
There is no doubt that something extraordinary happens in Superclusters, yet what exactly goes on has long remained mysterious.
In 2020, I committed myself to shed light on this contemporary phenomenon. Via the London School of Economics (LSE), I conducted a comprehensive study about the world’s biggest startup campus – France’s STATION F.
Over multiple months, I gathered empirical data by interviewing numerous startup founders – in industries ranging from Agriculture to Advertising to Aerospace – with the aim of understanding these ‘Superclusters’ from the ground up.
In light of the practical relevance, the research was chosen as the Best Dissertation of my graduating class at LSE, and is currently under consideration for publishing.
While the Full Study is academic in nature, it provides an initial answer to some of the most pressing questions on Superclusters, such as: Why are startups so eager to join? How can we conceptualise a Supercluster? And, what exactly makes them so effective?
The first question will be discussed in the first blog post, while the latter two questions will be picked up in the second post, where I will also conclude with practical implications for Switzerland.
Let’s first understand the appeal of Superclusters. When over 1,000 startups come together under one roof in less than two years, we can be sure something astonishing is happening. But, what exactly drove all these startups to undertake the considerable effort to relocate to Superclusters?
Primarily, startups join Superclusters to amplify their growth. According to the study, 91% of entrepreneurs value the centralised nature of Superclusters, which allows for an equally concentrated selection of resources and co-located stakeholders (e.g. VCs). Startups thus have better access to funding, talent, and resources that they would elsewhere.
Additionally, startups benefit from peer-to-peer assistance for tackling ‘common challenges’ (e.g. setting up a legal entity, tracking customers). At STATION F, 83% of entrepreneurs contend that mature startups are willing, and even feel obliged, to help less experienced startups with such problems. Being in the same building – and within walking distance from other entrepreneurs – enables this knowledge exchange to flourish.
«The idea of STATION F is to have everything in one place. Everything that a startup needs. […] Your lawyer, your VC, your mentor – everybody’s here!» – Aerospace Startup
«It goes back to the principle of, you know, 90% of your problems have been solved by other entrepreneurs.» – Smart City Startup
«We thrive because we help one another and because we are one desk away. […] When my CTO has questions, he walks over to the other CTOs.» – Talent & Recruiting Startup
Secondly, startups join Superclusters to attain corporate legitimacy. According to the research, 75% of entrepreneurs feel that the association alone validates and legitimises their companies, which opens doors to potential customers and venture funding. In fact, 41% of entrepreneurs claim that clients and investors actively seek them out precisely because they are part of a Supercluster.
«For your investors, you need to be able to grow quickly. And for customers, you need to appear as a credible partner. And being here is important for both because you appear serious.» – Agriculture Startup
«In the past, we spent our days in the tube to go meet clients in their offices. Here at STATION F, we managed to have a lot of them coming to us. […] The clients were not so interested in us, but they came because of STATION F.» – Talent & Recruiting Startup
«When you’re here, you have the STATION F label and it simply opens doors. […] It’s easier to get in touch with VCs. It’s a quality label.» – Mobility Startup
Thirdly, startups join Superclusters to tap into the collective momentum. 66% of entrepreneurs believe that the working atmosphere has an energising effect. Specifically, the success of other entrepreneurs (e.g. completing a funding round) helps entrepreneurs envision their own success and creates an implicit expectation that they are eager to fulfil. It’s widely held that this ‘momentum’ can only be experienced in Superclusters where startups work side-by-side. Additionally, 42% of entrepreneurs value the emotional support from the community because building a startup is a lonesome journey full of uncertainty and stress.
«I felt that energy in the room just by virtue of being physically next to these startups. […] This feeling of innovation and of hustling.» – Supply Chain Startup
«One startup – just right across me – raised some six million euros. Just right next to me! […] I think that really helps because you can foresee yourself. Like, in one or two years, I might be like that.» – Travel Startup
«Startups are lonely. And when you’re in communities, you remove this element of it. You feel like you are part of one big team, even though you’re a group of many small teams.» – Smart City Startup
In summary, startups join Superclusters to amplify their growth, to attain corporate legitimacy, and to tap into the collective momentum. For these reasons, 1,000 startups have come together under one roof in less than two years. This, alongside the economic impact that followed, is unprecedented.
It would be wrong to assume that Superclusters – such as STATION F – are isolated exceptions. On the contrary, they indicate a new trend towards hyper-concentration of innovation activity. A new imperative for the digital age. Their continued success simply underscores this fact. Places everywhere – from Helsinki to Lisbon to Hamburg – have recognised this new imperative and have begun building their Superclusters.
Before discussing the ramification for Switzerland, we need to first sharpen our understanding by asking ourselves: How can we conceptualise a Supercluster? And, what exactly makes them so effective?
In the second part of this three-part series, I will outline my perspective on these two questions, and conclude with practical implications for Switzerland.
Erasmus sounds universal and is almost part of everyday language. While many people imagine a study trip to a foreign university, few know that behind this name, lies a system and network of cooperation and mobility that’s unique and irreplaceable in Europe.
Its potential for the Swiss education system and its international attractiveness is massive.Why? International cooperation means access to networks and collaborative structures which enhance the education system and contribute to its development, attractiveness and level of excellence. Giving education an international dimension provides stakeholders at every level with significant value added – the students, the institutions and the education system as a whole.
While the momentum recently observed in the field of mobility and international cooperation has been curbed by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. The importance of exchange, mutual understanding and openness to the world is clearer than ever.
Switzerland has not been associated with Erasmus+ since 2014. The Swiss Programme for Erasmus+ was introduced at short notice to replace mobility activities in higher education, vocational, school, adult education and extracurricular youth work. This solution has facilitated the development of certain activities, while nevertheless limiting the possibilities for international cooperation. Today, this limitation penalises stakeholders in the education system and places Switzerland in jeopardy of becoming marginalised.
And especially the Higher Education Institutions (Universities, Universities of Applied Sciences and Universities of Teacher Education). In this field, the Erasmus+ programme provides an invaluable framework within which universities from 34 countries create joint educational and research initiatives, promote innovation in teaching and learning, and carry out peer learning activities. The programme has been substantially shaping the European Higher Education Area for years and was significantly expanded in 2017 with the establishment of “European Universities”. Such an initiative provides new and transformative systemic impetus for European higher education and enhances the competitiveness of the entire European Higher Education Area.
Strategic networks shape the future university landscape. Student and staff mobility cements the intense cooperation between universities and is firmly anchored in the programme. Both in the current programme generation 2014-2020 and in the coming period 2021-2027, however, the promotion of systematic and strategic cooperation comes to the fore as a clear response to the needs of universities. In future, cross-border cooperation is to take place with a small number of high-quality partnerships between higher education institutions. This will strengthen university networks and enable more comprehensive cooperation across subjects, departments, education and research. Swiss institutions are in the midst of this development, but are dependent on access to important networks, which is linked to participation in international education and research programmes.
The Swiss solution has its limits and marginalises Switzerland. Without an association with Erasmus+, Switzerland has only limited opportunities to participate and its involvement in shaping the European Higher Education Area is very restricted. A clear indication of this is the low level of participation of Swiss institutions in multilateral Erasmus+ cooperation in the years 2014-2019: Austria with 174 and Switzerland with 24 projects.
The Swiss Programme for Erasmus+ has worked in the short term, but the gap with Europe is widening. The effects of non-association and the limited possibilities of the Swiss solution are becoming apparent. The growth in mobility figures has generally slowed, in some areas the figures have slumped, and programme maintenance has become more complex. As a comparison, Austria records 26% more mobility under Erasmus+. The planned digitisation of the Erasmus+ programme administration will further increase the gap.
The digitisation of Erasmus+ has been progressing rapidly since 2014.The “European Student Card Initiative” brings together all initiatives aimed at digitising the administrative processes of programme administration. These include the Erasmus+-funded cooperation projects for the digitisation of programme administration, such as Erasmus Without Paper (EWP), but also the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) projects, which ensure the online authentication of students.
The digitisation of the Erasmus+ administration is the great revolution of the next generation of programmes and a game changer.
If Switzerland stands apart, this increases the risk of Swiss institutions being marginalised and additionally excludes them.
With regard to Erasmus+, the Federal Council will carry out a careful analysis during the second half of the year, on the basis of which it will define the parameters of a possible negotiation mandate for association with the follow-up programme to Erasmus+.
In May, the Swiss Parliament decided that a legal framework must be put in place. The Federal Council submitted the Botschaft for the urgent federal law on the corona tracing app on 20 May. This week, the Swiss Parliament finally gave green light to officially make the app available for the general public. The app will be published by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). According to a survey, 70 percent of the Swiss population welcomes its introduction.
This blog takes a closer look at the App and what we can expect from it, the current status of the worldwide release of digital contact tracing apps and the critical questions that are still open.
The new proximity tracing app has raised high hopes to get back to normal. The SwissCovid-App is designed to alert users who have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for the coronavirus. It notifies the user if he or she has been less than two meters away from an infected person for more than fifteen minutes.
As great the potential benefits of such an application are, it is crucial to be also aware of potential risks. It is crucial that the data collected for contact tracing may never be used for other purposes – or linked to other data to identify and possibly further profile individuals.
Regarding the SwissCovid-App, the technical aspects are fulfilled. The App fulfills the criteria of “privacy by design”, does not track the user’s location, only the proximity between users of the app based on Bluetooth. In a first blog about proximity tracing apps, I summarized the formal criteria that must be met for a trustworthy app: voluntary, transparency, privacy by design, decentralized storage and processing of data, temporary, necessary, proportionate and scientifically validated. However, to be effective, the app must be used by as many people as possible. Trust in the app is therefore essential.
Within a very short amount of time, a team of developers and researchers has developed a complex distributed app that meets the highest technical, security and data protection standards. The SwissCovid App is based on the Apple-Google API. This makes Switzerland the first country in the world to use the Google and Apple interface for proximity tracing. By joining forces, Apple and Google are setting the global standard – which in turn was decisively shaped by the Swiss researchers from ETHZ and EPFL. They were able to win over the two tech giants for the decentralized approach, which offers maximum data and privacy protection.
To this date, at least 48 contact-tracing apps are available globally. Australia, South Korea, France and Singapore, for instance, have already implemented contact tracing apps. Many other governments are testing or considering them. This public list gives a good overview of the various contact tracing apps and digital tracking measures in use around the world. The approaches differ considerably from country to country. There are roughly two camps: the centralized and decentralized approach
For instance, France and the UK currently use a central protocol. Under this system, data is entered into centralized computer systems operated by the government. In Switzerland, the protocol and storage of data is decentralized. This offers users more privacy and control over their information by keeping it on their phone. Many countries in Europe, for example Germany, opt for the decentralized approach based on the Swiss model, which is also promoted by Apple and Google.
South Korea’s contact-tracing approach uses video surveillance, credit card data and geolocation information. This extensive collection of data and intrusive surveillance is problematic from a data protection perspective.
With only a quarter of the population having downloaded the app, Singapore is now even going a step further. The government is working on a contact tracing method using a portable, wearable device that could be distributed to everyone in the country.
The parliamentary decision to create a legal framework for the app has allowed a broad public debate on the potential benefits and risks of digital contact tracing, and the clarification of open questions about the process. It underlines the dimension of voluntariness by prohibiting companies and others to force people to use the app. After a test phase, which involved around 15’000 people, the testing of the security, as well as functionality of the app, we will have soon an app available that meets key privacy and security issues from a technical point of view, while at the same time being introduced in a clear and legal framework that protects the rights and freedoms of citizens. In addition, the Federal Council should be able to stop the app when it is no longer necessary or when the app proves to be insufficiently effective. These points are of crucial importance and, in combination with transparency and communication along the process, have helped to create trust. Thus, the Swiss App could potentially serve as a global role model for responsible digital contact tracing. As part of a broader strategy (test, trace, isolate), digital contact tracing could make a significant contribution to the common good and be an act of solidarity
However, the real test to prove its effectiveness starts with its public release, expected at the end of June. It is an experiment. No one knows today how many people will actually use the app, what long-term impact this will have on our society and our use of new technologies. The debate and development process of the app is so far seen positive, yet its release should be followed critically. Bluetooth technology is not flawless either. It cannot be completely ruled out that so-called “false positives” – i.e. false reports of a possible infection – will occur more frequently than in classical contact tracing. Whether the SwissCovid-App will be a success story will be seen in the next days and weeks.
Digital transformation is here to stay. We must therefore constantly foster dialogue to increase awareness for all that is and will become digital. Digitalisation brings not only opportunities, but also risks that need to be addressed and taken seriously. In my series “Dialogue Interviews” I discuss these topics with leaders in Switzerland, from our member organisations to digital shapers and the brightest minds in the fields of technology and innovation.
In this edition, I talked to two interesting personalities from the Swiss space industry: Cyril Kubr, Deputy Managing Director at the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (BIC) and Luc Piguet CEO and co-founder ClearSpace SA.
Nicolas: Cyril, you co-manage the European’s Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (BIC) in Switzerland. I don’t think many people would naturally associate Switzerland with space. Tell me, what does Switzerland have to do with the ESA?
Cyril: Switzerland is a founding member of ESA. Besides our contribution to solar wind sails for the first moon landing and atomic clocks, Switzerland has a lot to offer the modern space industry. At the beginning of this millennium, ESA opened its first BIC in Europe with the aim of making space technologies commercially usable on earth. At the same time, innovative technologies on earth should be applied into space.
Nicolas: What role does the Swiss BIC play for ESA?
Cyril: We started in Switzerland in 2016 and you could call us an ESA BIC 2.0. Unlike the BICs in other countries, we have a virtual setup. We are a geographically distributed incubator. During bi-monthly community events, startups can exchange ideas with each other. In addition, we offer more money to startups and we have a large and attractive partner network that offers our startups technical and business support. This is highly appreciated by the startups.
Nicolas: What makes the space industry so exciting and unique compared to many other startup ecosystems? What are key technologies and why are they important for the country?
Cyril: Thanks to new space, the space industry has become part of the global – and intergalactic – business world. Furthermore, space is a topic close to the heart of most people. Currently we are looking at cyber security, AI, robotics, new materials and advanced manufacturing as some of the technologies, amongst others, that could help Switzerland become an even bigger dot on the global space industry map. ESA BIC Switzerland wants to contribute to the creation of high-tech jobs in Switzerland and a place for Switzerland in further niches in space technology.
Nicolas: Thank you Cyril, very interesting. Luc, you are co-founder and CEO of a Swiss startup called ClearSpace, based in Lausanne. I’ve heard you have very ambitious objectives with your venture, can you tell us more about what makes your venture so unique?
Luc: We are addressing a critical pain point for the future of commercial and scientific space exploration: Space debris. Our goal is to provide a space tow truck service for agencies and satellite operators for the removal of failed satellites from orbit. Longer term, we see many other applications for the robotics systems and platforms we are developing.
Nicolas: As a general question, what makes Switzerland a good place, or not, for a space venture like ClearSpace?
Luc: In Switzerland we have a great pool of highly talented engineers covering machine learning, autonomous navigation, robotics and other core technologies. This combines powerfully with the sense of uncompromised quality, precision and practical approach of our Swiss vocational training system. We are uniquely positioned to imagine and deliver on ambitious projects such as ours.
In addition, Switzerland has a culture of pioneering and entrepreneurship, a “can-do” attitude that has developed throughout our history. Switzerland is an incredibly influential country compared to its size. I believe that the main limitation to the role of Switzerland in the space industry is our imagination and ambition.
So yes, Switzerland is a great place for a venture like ClearSpace.
Nicolas: Elon Musk and Jeff Besoz are having a race to Mars and the universe, while Israel recently went to the Moon. Where would you place Switzerland and your venture in the worldwide race? Can we compete with the best and develop a prosperous economy around the space industry?
Luc: A couple of decades ago, space missions needed massive budgets from large space faring nations like the US, Russia or China. We have now entered the accessible space age, where a startup operating out of a garage can launch a constellation of small satellites for a few tens of millions to provide services globally.
The biggest fortunes focus on Mars-shots using revenues made through their incumbent businesses because they understand the value and potential of the space economy. And as space becomes more and more accessible the opportunities will keep growing. In this game institutional support through ESA or other financing mechanisms is critical to build a competitive position globally.
We believe that it is time for the Swiss space industry to engage in missions, reimagine the future and change the rules of play.
The best, and really the only place to start a conversation about my work is to explain some of the values I hold most closely, which are fundamental to every project I undertake. Here are just a few:
The translation of these values is visible in many places, but perhaps most fundamentally in my work with blockchain technologies. Blockchain allows the storage of information through systems that embody two essential characteristics: transparency and immutability.
The Humanized Internet looks to capitalize on these qualities to “defend the rights of vulnerable people, and give every human being worldwide secure, sovereign control over their own digital identity.”
Think about how many things in your life require proof of identity. Just consider dealing with the healthcare system, the financial system, employment opportunities, the education system, and much more. Identifying documents are also necessary to prove credentials, whether it’s a license to operate a motor vehicle, to open a business, or to practice law and medicine. The necessity of immutability here is self-explanatory. You do not want this fundamental information to be susceptible to alteration, either by the owner in an attempt to engage in some sort of fraud, or by an outside, predatory party.
The second quality, transparency, is what allows us to ensure the validity and utility of this information. To be clear, transparency does not mean a lack of security. It means that the information can be shared, when and how the owner chooses to. Moreover, it is intrinsically related to immutability. The fact that the information cannot be changed guarantees the transparency of the party offering the data or information. Blockchain allows us to create a system that is, by upholding these two essential qualities, fully secure and able to protect personal data.
The protection of individual identity is not the only application for technology like this. Through my work with Syniverse, we are creating a system that provides a single source of truth in clearing and settling processes, enabling not only trust and security in all transactions but efficient and fair dispute resolutions. The applications for use in other transparent public transactions are limitless.
Also, along with Syniverse, we are working on ways to allow for transparency without disclosure through Zero-Knowledge Proofs. Many of us have likely been in a situation where some third party has shared a secret, and each of the initial two parties are dancing around the topic trying to see whether or not they will be betraying a confidence by discussing what they know. A zero-knowledge proof is a way out of that situation: it’s a way to prove to the other party that you know something without having to disclose that you know it. The impact of such potential, of course, extends far beyond attempts to avoid spreading gossip.
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential for blockchain, and I’m excited to see where we will take it next.
Local and global connectedness is one of the success factors of a startup ecosystem. This is especially evident looking at a mature ecosystem like the Silicon Valley, which boasts a high level of interconnectivity on a local and global scale (Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019, Startup Genome). The better connected and transparent the local ecosystem, through the support of investors, experts and founders-helping-founders, the more agile and mature it becomes. Naturally, global connectedness is crucial to scale solutions on an international level and stay at the forefront. These are the two main challenges the Swiss ecosystem needs to tackle: unite and grow its local connectedness and its global presence. Most of the leading ecosystems arise around big cities like San Francisco, Beijing and London. Most of them have a bigger population than Switzerland. We should not compete as individual cities like Lausanne, Basel and Zurich. We should compete as one nation! Already a well-established brand for quality, chocolate, and beautiful landscapes but not yet for its fast-evolving Swiss-made DeepTech startups. This is something that needs to change, and we need to change it together – as Switzerland.
Israel is a great example of what is possible when a country succeeds to connect locally. With a similar population size as Switzerland, it has managed to brand itself as a startup nation and combine its hubs of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Beer-Sheva under one flag. Israel started this process over 30 years ago and has a 15-year head start on Switzerland. It is interesting to see how most people know and promote the story of the startup nation and its main success stories like Mobileye, Soda Stream, and Netafim. And it encompasses even technical B2B startups that are also rightfully promoted as success stories. In Switzerland, we are not there yet. According to a recent study, the best-known Swiss startups are Farmy, Amorana and Doppelleu (Startup Studie 2019, Rod). Unicorns and workhorses like Getyourguide, Mindmaze, Avaloq and Sensirion are hardly known. For the world to hear about amazing deep tech startups still to come, we need to expand the narrative beyond chocolate and mountains!
Part of digitalswitzerland’s role is as a national platform for the Swiss startup ecosystem. We help connect the various hubs within Switzerland and strengthen the connections both within and outside the country.
For example, almost three years ago, digitalswitzerland initiated Kickstart Accelerator – at a time when there were hardly any accelerator programmes. Fortunately, this has changed over the last years. Kickstart Accelerator now operates independently and digitalswitzerland founded the Swiss Accelerator Network last year. The goal is to bring together the best accelerator programmes in Switzerland. Today, over 11 accelerators work together, exchange knowledge and strengthen connections between the different hubs. In May, we jointly held the Swiss accelerator stand at the Startup Days event and also welcomed 41 scale-ups to the Market Entry Bootcamp.
The Swiss Accelerator Network is an excellent illustration of how we can work together on a national level and showcases the role digitalswitzerland plays in the Swiss startup ecosystem. We strengthen and expand ties in the Swiss ecosystem and foster its maturity. There is still a long way to go, and on this path, we must begin to speak more and more as one nation.
Last week, VivaTech was the place to be. Techies, geeks, startupers and entrepreneurs from all over the world flocked to Paris. During three days, the city celebrated innovation and the future of tech. Because real-life connections and human exchanges will never be entirely replaced by the digital space. Putting people at the center was a leitmotif for this year’s summit and topics such as Tech4Good and United Tech for Europe were on the programme. Where the «crème de la crème» of technology meets, Switzerland is never far. This year, Présence Suisse showcased #SwissTech at the SWISS Pavilion. Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), swissnex, innosuisse and digitalswitzerland were partners. Here are some of our impressions from Paris.
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To demonstrate how technologies are increasingly shaping our everyday lives, this year’s SWISS Pavilion focused on “smart living”. On stage, a young couple, Heidi (what else) and Guillaume, portrayed their everyday struggles. From opening bottles to training for a marathon, sleeping and making babies – Swiss technology offers solutions for an easier and more convenient life.
The startups which created these innovative solutions were also present at the SWISS Pavilion. Talking to them was exciting and inspiring. For them, being at VivaTech and connecting with potential partners, investors and customers was a tremendous opportunity. As Swiss startups compete with hundreds of thousands of other international startups, they need visibility and especially access to the right connections and finances as fast as possible.
In the buzz of the enormous Viva Tech summit, there are a few outstanding new technologies and startups. One that impressed us most was the Swiss startup Twiice. They developed a lower-limb exoskeleton that can help paraplegics walk again. Handcycling champion and former acrobat Silke Pan demonstrated how the Exoskeleton works. She told her very personal story and how through the new possibilities of technology, she dared to dream again: «I dreamed of finding my body back.» This is where technology changes everything and truly adds value. Tristan Vouga, co-founder of Twiice, made the point that Switzerland must be visionary in research to advance technology for the benefit of humanity.
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nother highlight at Vivatech was the presence of the four-legged robot ANYmal, developed by ETH Zurich for use in difficult terrain and during catastrophes and rescue operations.
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One highlight of the VivaTech conference was – at least from a Swiss perspective – an evening at the Swiss Embassy, hosted by Swiss Ambassador to France, Livia Leu. Secretary of State for Education, Research and Innovation, Martina Hirayama, introduced the evening by summarizing key-factors for Swiss innovation:
ETH President Joël Mesot, Solar Impulse visionary Bertrand Piccard and our very own Head of Suisse Romande, Sébastien Kulling contributed to a panel discussion about the Swiss innovation ecosystem and the place of Switzerland in a competitive international environment.
Why do a project such as Solar Impulse in Switzerland and not somewhere else? Betrand Piccard thinks that on the one hand, the Swiss have a dedication to work. And maybe because Switzerland is a small country, its inhabitants want to demonstrate that they are capable of major projects. He added: «What fascinates me in Switzerland is that technology is put to the service of quality of life and human beings. And it arouses passions!» Joël Mesot underlined the importance of research. Swiss technologies are everywhere, even in our chocolate, he said with a wink. However, there is still room for improvement and some professions and industries are less digitalised today, such as those of lawyers and medical doctors. And especially the SMEs need to catch up, pointed out Sébastien Kulling who also commented “Vivatech is a fabulous environment to showcase what Switzerland is all about: technology centred around human needs and a respect for its environment.”
In conclusion, VivaTech is definitely worth a visit. With around 124’000 visitors from 125 countries, 13’000 startups, 3’300 investors and 2’500 journalists in three days, high-level speakers like French President Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alibaba founder Jack Ma, the summit is almost overwhelming, capturing all the senses with sounds, talks, images and movement. Big players such as Google and Facebook were present, as well as hundreds of smaller, creative and innovative startups from all over the world. With above all, the promise of a better future thanks to new technologies.
Another two points stand out.
First, even though “Women in Tech” was a major agenda point during this year’s summit and gender parity was promoted through various activities, the IT and startup sector still appears very male-dominated. For a progressive tech future, a shift of mindset is needed. Today, (gender-) diversity is not just a nice-to-have but a prerequisite for successful organisations in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
Second, it becomes evermore clear that for a sustainable use of new technologies, critical scrutiny of the societal impact of new technologies is necessary. “Putting people at the center” should not remain a marketing slogan, but truly trigger a deeper reflection on what new technologies mean for our everyday lives – how we communicate, live, work and travel. Only in this way will the number of arbitrary decisions diminish and lead to greater societal acceptance. A first step towards this goal is the Swiss Digital Day, which will take place for the 3rd time on 3 September 2019: A “smaller Vivatech” in all regions of Switzerland – but for the people.
These days, digitalisation in the outdoor industry cannot be separated from robotisation. But what are the challenges that arise when moving robots out of the factory and into the field? How can the possibilities be used to solve urgent problems in complex outdoor environments? What is the impact of AI? And why should Switzerland play a key role in this development? Thomas Estier, former researcher of field and space robotics, former deputy vice-president for innovation at EPFL and co-founder of two fast-growing start-ups, offers a pragmatic point of view on trends in robotisation.
Founding ROVENSO in 2016 had a clear objective: using robots to get workers out of danger zones, especially in notoriously risky outdoor industries like oil and gas, chemical mining, waste management, power plants and construction sites. This is considered the third wave of robotisation, and it has only recently started to show results.
The first wave of industrial robotisation began with the automation of production in the 1960s by using fixed robotic arms for mass production. This is known as industrial robotics.
The second wave only recently grew in prominence with the acquisition of Kiva System by Amazon in March 2012. The e-commerce giant was one of the first major players to understand that equipping warehouses with robots was the logical next step in this field: using mobile autonomous robots to move goods within warehouses and redesigning warehouses for robots by installing flexible and moving shelving systems.
Few people know that startups like BlueBotics in Switzerland were already providing such autonomous solutions since 2001. It took 10 further years to get investors onboard and fundamentally change distribution and work processes through robotisation. In fact, the Kiva acquisition initiated an investment hype in robotics that is reaching its peak only today. From 2012, Google started to acquire start-ups in robotics, including the well-known company Boston Dynamics in 2014. Though it wasn’t able to replicate its visionary success in software to hardware, and eventually sold a number of companies (including Boston Dynamics to SoftBank), the fear of missing out on opportunities drove a lot of cash into robotic startups all around the world.
In the field of on-site security monitoring with the help of autonomous robots, which is now the focus area for ROVENSO, three Californian startups alone raised over 60 million USD. On average, this is ten times what European robotics startups expect to raise at an equivalent stage of development. So, how can a Swiss startup with a burn rate of 100’000 CHF per month compete with its US counterparts that burn 1’000’000 CHF in the same period?
The robotics community, both in the academic and economics fields, knows that Switzerland has one key advantage: the highest density of robotics talent in the world. Smaller than an average Chinese city, Switzerland still has over 25 academic laboratories in robotics, and most of them rank in the top 5% in their respective fields. In addition, the country has 73 startups working in robotics (and 167 in AI and machine learning) and Amazon, Apple, Bosch, Disney, Google, Go-Pro, Facebook, IBM, Magic Leap, Microsoft, Oracle and Samsung are all conducting research in Switzerland.
One reasons for this unparalleled concentration of talent is that Swiss engineers, regardless the university, have a multidisciplinary approach to working. Their knowledge integrates well into lean development teams that the most efficient start-ups favor. Case in point: back in 2016, the two ROVENSO co-founders Beat Geissmann and Lucian Cucu were part of the start-up accelerator HAX in Shenzhen. In China, they were able to build a second-generation robot from scratch over the course of three months. Performing simulations, drawings, programming, electronics, assembling parts and welding cables. Their multidisciplinary experience built the foundation for a strong and agile core team that could flexibly be completed with specialists.
After securing talent and funding, three more things are needed to get robots out of the factories and into the field: mobility, autonomy and a useful task to fulfill.
Mobility describes the capability of a robot to navigate any terrain that it needs to perform its mission. This is more challenging in complex outdoor environments than on the factory floor. Even a simple urban environment containing steps, holes and stairs is usually deadly for robots. To solve this mobility issue, several strategies are available: more sensors, actuators and intelligence can be added to the robot. This is the path favoured by ANYbotics for its walking robot ANYmal, a spin-off of the ETHZ lab by Marco Hutter. This comes at a cost, in energy consumption and complexity, and a higher price point, but the robot offers the mobility of a donkey, which is a serious benchmark.
For ROVéo, we chose another strategy by building a wheeled robot, the most energy efficient locomotion system in urban environments. We designed a chassis inherited from space rovers developed by EPFL. The robot can climb vertical steps bigger than its wheel size and even bigger than its own ground clearance. It can climb stairs without previously analyzing the environment, as gravity makes the chassis adapt passively without any other actuators except for motorized wheels. We solved a complex robotics problem with simple mechanical means.
The second challenge is autonomy, which means two things: energy- and motion-autonomy. With modern Li-ion batteries, providing energy-autonomy becomes easy. It is technically possible to reach eight hours of continuous operations, which covers a majority of industry use cases.
Unsupervised motion, on the other hand, is a more complex challenge. A robot needs to autonomously locate itself and determine the most efficient route to its destination, while avoiding unexpected obstacles. The first impulse would be to rely on GPS, but the technology is not ideal for two reasons: firstly, in urban environments, some areas close to tall buildings cannot reliably be covered by GPS and secondly, GPS cannot foresee unexpected obstacles. Modelling the outdoors in 2D is not feasible, so you need to build accurate 3D models by using distance measurement lasers, so-called lidars. It is worth noting that some companies claim to use artificial intelligence to solve the challenge of movement-autonomy, when in fact, statistical methods are more reliable and most often used.
Finally, it is important to find an outdoor robotics mission with clear value for potential customers. A critical question for any startup. At ROVENSO, we focus on the security surveillance market. We develop agile robots that perform security and safety monitoring of industrial sites. They patrol autonomously inside and outside buildings, detecting potential intruders and thefts. By using thermography and acoustic analysis, they are also able to safely detect anomalies like fires, liquid and gas leaks that could put people’s lives at risk. This is where artificial intelligence brings most value: by applying a combination of supervised and unsupervised machine learning to data from lidars, night vision, thermal analysis and acoustic analysis. This enables the detection of the three biggest risks to the integrity of assets and stored goods in all industries: intrusion, water damage and fire.
To make a long story short: any industrial application that has a high immobilization cost of assets is an excellent candidate for 24/7 robotized monitoring. The technology is constantly being refined and its possibilities steadily extended. Robotics can help make a difference: by taking humans out of danger zones.
Article by Thomas Estier, Co-founder and CEO ROVENSO.
Digitalisation not only creates a myriad of new opportunities, technologies and business solutions, it can sometimes also enable criminal activity that harms businesses and individuals alike. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the total cost of cyber fraud will exceed $ 6 trillion by 2021, with stolen passwords and pin codes making up more than 80% of that amount. One promising way to prevent cyber fraud, in particular identity theft, is to rely on strong authentication software products. Using technologies that are at the forefront of digital innovation, such as 3D facial and 3D graphical authentication solutions, can reliably verify who you are, what you know and what you have.
In no other field is it more important to focus on data privacy than in the authentication process. That is why Switzerland is an excellent breeding ground for companies in this sector. The Swiss company OneVisage, for example, does not monetise users’ data, but works in line with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It operates in an important and fast-growing market, in which a lot of companies usually focus on quick success. OneVisage offers a different path with Swiss-grade solutions that strongly protect individuals and their data.
The market is rapidly adopting facial authentication technology thanks to big, disruptive companies like Airbnb and Uber, who use it to verify users on their platforms. With such companies pushing the technology into the mainstream, cost-effective, versatile, highly secure and universal solutions that provide a good user experience and put a strong emphasis on data protection are needed more than ever.
OneVisage focuses on protecting individuals in mid-high value transactions by venturing away from pin codes. Pin codes can be easily stolen and make up a large part of online fraud with important financial consequences. Even a big company like Apple with its service FaceID is not completely secure: if the service fails to recognize a user, the user is prompted to enter a 4 to 6 digit pin code, which is a backdoor to any potential fraudster.
The main challenge is to provide an all-in-one-solution, which is technically challenging to achieve. Different devices come with different platforms, operating systems, sensors and features, so no one should be fooled by marketing campaigns from that claim to have it all figured out. Finding such a solution is a marathon, not a sprint and slowly but steadily reaching intermediate goals will prove more effective over the long term.
At Viva Technology in Paris and Money2020 Europe in Amsterdam, OneVisage will unveil PremierID, which is a 3FA solution excluding passwords and pin codes. This 3D facial biometric solution is ported on a Windows 10 platform and uses a 3D camera: a very important step to make it as accessible as possible. The next step is to port the technology on Linux and embed systems to make it truly universal and inter-operable.
Most people’s perception of facial authentication technology is negative and a company like OneVisage aims to change this. Protecting yourself from identity theft is difficult, and facial technology makes it almost impossible for fraudsters and thieves to succeed. It also makes it easier to verify identities by law enforcement and border control, which can result in faster and more efficient immigration processes. For now, fingerprint recognition is most widely used, but it can easily be replicated as we leave our fingerprints on many objects in our day-to-day lives. A data and privacy protective facial authentication solution is more secure, more efficient and better suited for the digitised world of the 21st century. There is really no reason not to use facial authentication technology; especially if it’s coming from Switzerland.
Article by Christophe Remillet, CEO OneVisage.
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