TOP 100 Startups that equip the labs of tomorrow

Diagnostic innovation focuses on the tests and instruments that empower researchers to break new frontiers, help lab staff save time and ease their workloads, and improve the quality of experiments, products, and services. With the range, efficiency, and complexity of the tests increasing, the laboratories of tomorrow rely on automation, digitization, and big data to develop new science and provide fast, precise, and accurate results.

Over the last 10 years, the TOP 100 Jury has chosen more than 400 Swiss deeptech startups to create the TOP 100 Rankings that have become a benchmark in the ecosystem. This selection of TOP 100 startups illustrates innovative solutions that equip the laboratories of tomorrow: 

1Drop: Saving lives through better and faster medical diagnostics at the point of need

Abionic: Providing immediate clinical decision-making at your fingertip

Imina Technologies: Developing robotic solutions for optical and electron microscopes

InSphero: Improving drug discovery by rebuilding the human body in the lab

Lunaphore Technologies: Advancing innovative solutions for tissue analytics 

MaxWell Biosystems: Empowering drug discovery with high-content electrophysiology

Nagi Bioscience: Advancing organism-on-chip technologies for sustainable chemical testing

Nanolive: Delivering label-free live-cell imaging and analysis

Resistell: Developing the world’s fastest antibiogram

Synple Chem: Accelerating drug discovery through automated chemistry synthesizers

Vigilitech: Enabling simple and safe animal monitoring


As laboratories move away from the classic centralized model toward a digitized and more flexible network, startups’ innovative solutions will be at the forefront of advancing this process. In the smart laboratories of tomorrow, patients will collect data through their smartphones, wearables, and implantables, while healthcare professionals use the information to improve diagnostics and treatments and advance prevention, prediction, and personalized medicine. To get a glimpse of the laboratories of the future, we asked Dr. Patrick Griss about his predictions. Patrick is an executive partner at Zühlke Ventures, the early-stage venture investment arm of Zühlke Group, focusing on healthtech in Switzerland, Europe, and the US.

Patrick, why is medtech an interesting field for investors? 
Healthcare is at the brink of a fundamental transformation. Consumers, payers (governments, insurances), providers (hospitals, GP, specialists), and medtech and pharma incumbents have recognized the need for innovation: Cost sensitivity and the need for better outcomes force the adoption of new modalities. 

What do you think the medtech industry of the future will look like? 
Healthcare today is mostly activity-based. Treatments are nonspecific and curative. Data is mainly generated by providers. The future will be value-based, treatments will be personalized and potentially even preventative, and a lot of the data (for diagnostic or monitoring purposes) will be generated by the consumer. The lines between medical and pharma will blur, and the space will be enriched with ethically deployed consumer tech.

Who are the first movers?
We see tremendous activity in the space of chronic diseases. There are first examples where the power of consumer-generated data combined with the activation of healthy habits or treatment compliance is being demonstrated. Another space is clinical trials for pharmaceutical therapies. COVID-19 has shown the need for digital solutions that support complex processes, connect various stakeholders, and decrease the dependence on health service interactions. 


If the innovative power of Swiss startups is any indication, the future of the medtech industry will be technologically advanced, smart, and agile. Who knows, when looking back at another decade of TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2031, we might write about self-driving laboratories that can decide on and can carry out experiments.

Parts of this article were first published in the book World shapers of tomorrow: Startups building our future. 

 

About World shapers of tomorrow: Startups building our future

The TOP 100 book World shapers of tomorrow: Startups building our future shows the impact of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups over the last 10 years. On 100 pages, the publication features the facts and figures about the startup ecosystem in Switzerland, shows the sectors and geographic distribution, and lists the investors behind Swiss deeptech startups. The book also highlights disruptive companies that changed their industry: Beekeeper, Bestmile, Climeworks, Covagen, DeinDeal, Doodle, GetYourGuide, MindMaze, Scandit, and Piavita. The founders of these startups share anecdotes and discuss their successes, lessons learned, and visions for the future. A selection of 10 verticals illustrates how Swiss deeptech startups transform our lives and help us build a better and more sustainable future in relation to health, longevity, digitalization, and decentralization.
Learn more and download your copy at www.top100startups.swiss/10years.