10 Swiss medtech startups showcase cutting-edge innovations in Boston – Venturelab

The Venture Leaders— as members of the Swiss National Startup Team— have a clear-cut goal: They envision themselves as global players and are looking to fuel their global expansion. The ten entrepreneurs of this year’s selection had the opportunity to practice their pitches for their promising medtech startups in front of a distinguished audience during the Investor and Business Development Roadshow to the Boston area. The week-long trip allowed for a deep dive into the global medtech scene and included pitch sessions, high-level networking opportunities, workshops, and individual business development activities.

Boston is one of the world’s major life sciences hubs and the ideal springboard for ambitious startups on their way to global expansion. By building a strong network during a week full of pitches, expert workshops, and inspiration, the entrepreneurs will be able to accelerate their international growth. The participating startup founders flew back to Switzerland with helpful, firsthand feedback from U.S. investors, new insights on the cultural differences that should be taken into account when fundraising abroad, and dedicated knowledge and advice from experts covering all aspects of U.S. market entry. 

Swiss medtech startups engage investors in Boston and Cambridge, U.S.A.

The Venture Leaders Medtech roadshow offered a one-week deep dive into the life sciences ecosystem for the founders of aiEndoscopic, Arbrea Labs, ArcoScreen, b-rayZ, Bearmind, EarlySight, MOMM Diagnostics, Oncobit, REA Diagnostics, and TWIICE. Joining the 2022 cohort was Gora Conley, CEO and co-founder of Annaida, who was selected as part of the 2020 team, but whose roadshow had to be delayed due to the pandemic. 

The roadshow included investor pitches, workshops, and feedback sessions with Richard Anders from Mass Med Angels; Vinit Nijhawan from MassVentures; Edward Melia, Managing Partner at Evolution Global Growth Partners; Julien Pham, Founder GP at 3CC Third Culture Capital; and Tal Wenderow, Venture Partner at Genesis Medtech Group. Swissnex Boston organized a presentation on the U.S. regulatory process for the Swiss National Startup Team with Mark Lesselroth, President and CEO of BioPortUSA. Participants were not only able to build a strong network in Boston but also amongst one another as part of a team of entrepreneurs sharing similar objectives and challenges.

“The Venture Leaders program is a great entry point for making contacts in the U.S. life sciences and VC ecosystem. Thanks to the excellent team dynamics, there was a lively exchange of experiences between the other entrepreneurs, which will certainly continue beyond the program.”

— Mathias Wipf, CEO and co-founder of MOMM Diagnostics

Beyond the investor meetings, the founders expanded their knowledge with a valuable MedScience Venture Panel at the Swissnex headquarters and with a pitch training session titled “Get Your Startup Story Straight: The Definitive Storytelling Framework for Innovators and Entrepreneurs” led by Bret Siarkowski and Christopher Ford from MedScience Ventures. Additionally, Helbling Technik gave an instructional presentation about developing and industrializing medical products.

“Being part of Venture Leaders gave us a great introduction to the Boston Startup Ecosystem. We were a wonderful group and the interactions within the team and with local startups were super helpful. I met potential investors and have lots of contacts to follow up with to better plan our market entry.”

— Claudia Scheckel, CEO of Oncobit and captain of the Swiss National Startup Team

At the Medtech Pitch Cruize Pitchfest organized by Swissnex Boston, each Venture Leader Medtech pitched their project alongside Boston-based startups representing U.S. talent in a friendly competition. Congratulations to Claudia Scheckel of Oncobit, who was selected by the audience as the big winner of the evening! The MedTech Pitch Cruize award includes complimentary registration to the MedTech Conference 2022 in Boston from October 24-26, 2022, as well as guaranteed entry to the AdvaMed Accel Leadership Seminar on the conference’s first day, courtesy of AdvaMed.

“The Venture Leaders roadshow was an outstanding opportunity to establish the first contacts in Boston’s ecosystem. During this time we received feedback from several high-profile players that helped us to improve our U.S. go-to-market strategy. I highly recommend it to every medtech startup.”

— Philippe Ganz, CEO of aiEndoscopic

Participating sponsors were once again enthusiastic in their support of the Swiss National Startup Team. Nicolas Mosimann of Kellerhals Carrard shared his thoughts: “Venture Leaders Medtech is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to promote their startup in America, enhance their network, and perfect their pitches. It is one of those initiatives that are paramount for the Swiss Startup ecosystem.”

Jordi Montserrat, Managing Partner at Venturelab, says this year’s medtech roadshow was a resounding success: “It was great to be back in presidential mode, allowing for direct interactions. Feedback from the investors and partners was very positive, and I am convinced we will hear a lot more about these startups in the future.”

Venturelab has been organizing international roadshows for the Swiss National Startup Teams for 17 years. The ambitious entrepreneurs and their promising startups are introduced to top-class investors and potential customers in leading technology hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, London, Munich, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Barcelona.

The Venture Leaders Medtech program is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Helbling Technik, Kellerhals Carrard, Paul Scherrer Institut, Swissnex Boston, Canton of Vaud, Canton of Zurich, and Venture Leader alumnus Dominik Lysek. 

Learn more about the Venture Leaders Medtech 2022 startups below:

The current scarcity and forecasted shortage of skilled healthcare workers lead to more and more problems in experience-based tasks, such as endoscopy.

aiE combines artificial intelligence with rob… Read more

We develop cutting edge technology, based on Visual Computing and AI, to create digital human avatars from mobile devices. The primary business vertical is Cosmetic Surgery Pre-Visualization, where su… Read more

ArcoScreen SA, spin-off of EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), was founded in July 2021 and has developed a new cell membrane receptor screening platform based on microfluidic readout sys… Read more

b-rayZ develops artificial intelligence software for quality management and standardization of procedures in radiology. We help radiologists providing a better care with lower operating costs. Read more

At Bearmind, we protect professional and recreational players from the lifelong traumatism of brain injuries.
Bearmind SA is an EPFL spin-off developing and commercializing services to help clubs con… Read more

EarlySight aims to reduce vision loss by enabling efficient detection and better monitoring of eye diseases. The company develops a high-performance eye imaging instrument empowering doctors to see th… Read more

MOMM develops high-sensitivity rapid diagnostic tests. Our technology combines the commercial advantage of lateral flow immunoassays, with the sensitivity of ELISA, and reader simplicity similar to bl… Read more

Oncobit is a MedTech spin-off from the University of Zurich, developing precision diagnostic and monitoring assays for personalized cancer care. Oncobits products aim to provide a detailed understand… Read more

Rea develops a wearable, in the shape of a sanitary pad, that tracks biochemical markers of preterm birth (PTB). Our solution allows doctors to continuously follow up pregnant women at risk of PTB to … Read more

Every year, 250000 people suffer a spinal cord injury leading to permanent paraplegia. TWIICE is a modular and customizable exoskeleton for walking assistance that allows people with paraplegia to reg… Read more