Kickstart Innovation Program 2025 launches: 95% of corporate innovation challenges in Switzerland seek for AI solutions from local and international startups

Swiss companies are progressing slowly in adopting AI compared to other countries
The application phase runs from April 3 to May 12 engaging over 80 countries
AXA, Coop, City of Zurich, la Mobilière, PostFinance, Swisscom and others are advancing in testings of AI solutions

Zurich, 3 April 2025 - The Kickstart Innovation Program is opening its application phase for the tenth time. Last year, AI applications were the main focus in 95 percent of cases, and 60 percent of the solutions also integrated sustainability and the circular economy as central elements.

"AI services such as ChatGPT are making progress, but there is often a shortfall of company-specific solutions based on self-trained models and proprietary data," explains co-founder and CEO Katka Letzing. According to an ETH-survey of 200 Swiss tech companies, only one in ten is currently using or piloting AI. The study shows that a lack of access to AI expertise is currently the biggest obstacle facing the Swiss tech industry.

Companies and start-ups alike can benefit from the new Kickstart Innovation Program, whose application phase starts today. During the nine-week program in Zurich this year, selected start-ups from five verticals will meet leading companies, organizations, and institutions to collaboratively work on new ideas, technologies as well as creative business approaches aimed at strengthening their innovation capabilities and unlocking new growth opportunities.

Last year, 95 percent of the participating start-ups had already integrated AI into their solutions. The program's partner companies include AXA, Coop, Swisscom, la Mobilière, MSD, PostFinance, Romande Energie, Sanitas, The City of Zurich, Innovaud and others.

Since 2015, Kickstart has supported more than 490 start-ups and intrapreneurship teams, facilitating over 340 deals, proof of concepts, and other commercial deals. Former participants such as Planted, Neustark and KernTec have successfully turned their ideas into market-leading companies. Planted is revolutionizing the market for plant-based meat alternatives; Neustark is making an active contribution to climate protection with its CO2-binding concrete solution, and KernTec transforms fruit pit waste into sustainable raw materials. In total, Kickstart alumni have raised over CHF 2.8 billion in capital and successfully scaled their products.

AXA, Coop, City of Zurich, la Mobilière, PostFinance, Swisscom and and other partners of the program are advancing in testings of AI solutions

According to a recent evaluation of last year's Kickstart program, AI applications were at the heart of the solutions of 95% of the 41 participating start-ups and were increasingly in demand by the participating companies for commercial deals. For example the start-ups hypt and Multimodal were able to conclude several deals with leading Swiss companies, including la Mobilère, Swisscom, PostFinance and Sanitas, with their data-based solutions.

The Kickstart innovation program covers five vertical areas: Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Insurance (including Cybersecurity), Food & Retail, New Work & Learning, and Smart Cities. Next to the Open Innovation Program, Kickstart also runs the project Mission 2030 which focuses on specific initiatives supporting long-term sustainability goals as well as topics such as AI implementations for impact, circular economy initiatives, inclusion and others.

The application phase officially starts on 3 April 2025, and invites ambitious start-ups and companies dedicated to innovation to apply and become part of the Kickstart Innovation ecosystem. “We have successfully connected with great startups in recent years, resulting in collaborations and investments with companies like Labster and Pricehubble. I look forward to more such collaborations this year in areas such as Health, Finance, Cybersecurity, Smart Cities, and others.” said Paloma Bosco, Head of Group Innovation and New Business, Swisscom.

Application link and overview of the benefits for scaleups

For media inquiries and further information: press@kickstart-innovation.com

About Kickstart Innovation

Kickstart is one of Europe's largest zero-equity open innovation platforms. Our mission is to build innovation ecosystems with purpose by fast-forwarding innovation. Kickstart brings together public and private organizations, start-ups, investors, and experts with the shared goal of developing next-generation products and services and creating a meaningful impact at scale. Each year, Kickstart engages 100 start-ups to collaborate with key stakeholders on proofs of concept, pilot and commercial projects, and other innovation partnerships. Additionally, Kickstart helps established organizations promote and accelerate internal innovation through its intrapreneurship program.

Kickstart is a spin-off of Impact Hub Zurich and was founded in 2015 by digitalswitzerland. In 2025, Kickstart runs six verticals: New Work & Learning, Finance & Insurance, Food & Retail, Health & Wellbeing, Smart Cities, and Intrapreneurship, in collaboration with partner organizations across industries: AXA, City of Zurich, Coop, la Mobilière, MSD, PostFinance, VNTR, Romande Energie, Sanitas, Swisscom, ETH Zürich, CSEM, University Hospital Zurich, Panter, SATW, Impact Hub Switzerland, Swiss Healthcare Startups, Switzerland Global Enterprise, MLL, HealthTech Cluster Switzerland, EPFL, IMD, gfm, SICTIC, Innovaud, Greater Zurich Area, Visible Solutions and more.