Venture Kick

🤝 The @SwissBiotech Associationis in excellent hands!

Congratulations to Nicolas Durand and Odile Rundquist, PhD on their appointments to key leadership positions at the Swiss Biotech Association!

🔹 Nicolas Durand, Venture Kick and Venture Leaders alumnus and founder of @Abionic_EN, has been appointed CEO, effective January 1, 2027. A seasoned biotech entrepreneur, Nicolas brings extensive experience in building and scaling startups, having raised approximately CHF 120 million for Abionic.

🔹 Odile Rundquist, a valued member of the Venture Kick jury and Partner at @bioqubeventures , will take on the role of Chief Strategy & Growth Officer as of December 1, 2026. With over 20 years of experience in life sciences and investment, she will focus on strategic growth, partnerships, and access to capital.

With their combined expertise in entrepreneurship, investment, and life sciences, we are confident that the Swiss Biotech Association is in excellent hands!

Their leadership will help strengthen Switzerland's position as a leading global biotech hub.

We are proud to see two members of the Venture Kick community taking on such influential roles and contributing to the future of Switzerland's biotech ecosystem.

👏 Congratulations to Nicolas and Odile! We wish them every success in this exciting new chapter!

#VentureKick #SwissBiotech #SwissStartupsv

🌍 Should startups think global from day one?

In Venture Kick Debates #8, we explore both sides of a strategic decision for Swiss startups: should founders aim for international markets from the very beginning, or focus on building a strong local foundation first?

On the one hand, Switzerland's domestic market is often too small for ambitious deep-tech startups. Thinking globally from the start opens doors to international customers, investors, and partners, while helping founders prepare for global competition.

On the other hand, every market comes with different regulations, customer expectations, and buying behaviours. Expanding internationally too early can stretch limited resources, while focusing on one market first allows startups to validate their approach before scaling.

At Venture Kick, we believe that for many Swiss deep-tech startups, international ambition is essential. However, as Venture Leaders alumni have shown, a global opportunity doesn't necessarily mean one global strategy. Success depends on understanding where to gain traction first and building from there.

💡 Think global from day one. But remember, international success is built one market at a time.

💬 What's your take: should startups pursue international opportunities from the beginning, or focus on mastering one market before expanding?

#VentureKick #SwissStartups

Vale Biolabs receives CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick to improve brain drug development with human tissue models 🧠 venturekick.ch/Vale-Biolabs-r…

The biotech startup has secured funding to advance its platform combining lab-grown human brain tissue, automation, and predictive AI to improve drug development.

By growing standardized human brain organoids and tracking their responses to treatments, the technology helps researchers better understand brain diseases and identify promising therapies earlier in development.

With the Stage III funding, the team will:
🔹 Further develop its automated platform and expand human brain organoid models
🔹 Generate datasets to train and validate predictive AI models
🔹 Strengthen collaborations with research and industry partners

By bringing human brain models into early-stage drug testing, Vale Biolabs is helping researchers improve treatment development and reduce the risk of costly clinical trial failures.

Congrats to Ilaria Incaviglia, Angeliki Damilou, Daniel Medina Cano, and Theodoulos Rodosthenous on this important step forward.

#VentureKick #SwissStartups

Proxiomics receives CHF 40,000 from Venture Kick to automate mass spectrometry data quality control 🔬 venturekick.ch/Proxiomics-rec…

The startup has secured funding to advance its AI-powered platform for mass spectrometry data analysis and laboratory workflow automation.

By integrating data from different instruments, its StudyGuard® technology detects errors, automates settings, and generates fully traceable results, helping laboratories reduce manual work and improve data reliability.

With the Stage II funding, the team will:

🔹 Expand computing infrastructure and develop its first StudyGuard AI models

🔹 Support customer visits, pilot onboarding, and deeper laboratory integrations

🔹 Strengthen marketing efforts and prepare for a seed funding round

By automating complex data quality control processes, Proxiomics is helping laboratories improve efficiency and generate more reliable scientific results.

Congrats to Matt Fido, Colin Jäckli, and Tudor Krähenbühl on this important step forward.

#VentureKick #SwissStartups

TCG Inventory receives CHF 40,000 from Venture Kick to accelerate Card Butler's global market launch 🃏 venturekick.ch/TCG-Inventory-…

The startup has secured funding to advance its digital ecosystem for trading card collectors and prepare for the international launch of its Card Butler scanner.

Combining a scanner that digitizes up to 1,000 cards per hour with a collection management platform, the solution helps collectors organize their cards, track their value, and eventually buy, sell, and trade through one connected ecosystem.

With over 1,400 crowdfunding backers and 15,000 people on its waiting list, TCG Inventory is preparing to bring Card Butler to market.

With the Stage II funding, the team will:

🔹 Refine the Card Butler product experience ahead of launch

🔹 Strengthen its digital platform and prepare for scaling

🔹 Support international market entry and manage hardware launch costs

By making trading card collections easier to digitize and manage, TCG Inventory is helping collectors connect their physical cards with a seamless digital experience.

Congrats to the team on this important step forward!

#VentureKick #SwissStartups