The 10 most promising fintech startups of 2022, according to investors

As investment numbers illustrate, Switzerland provides a welcoming environment for innovative fintech solutions: in the first three quarters of 2022, Swiss fintech companies attracted almost CHF 756 million. This was also highlighted at the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Awards 2022, as two out of the three top startups in this year's ranking are in fintech. Learn more about the companies making banking services, investment management, and cryptocurrencies more accessible, efficient, and affordable.

The TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award showcases the most promising Swiss startups. The annual ranking has become a benchmark in Switzerland’s startup ecosystem and beyond. Every year, a panel of 100 leading investors and startup experts chooses the 100 most innovative and promising Swiss startups. Each jury member nominates 10 Swiss startups that are less than five years old and show the greatest commercial potential. The first-placed company gets 10 points, the second nine points, and so on. The individual rankings are compiled to generate the final TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award ranking. In parallel, the TOP 100 Public Voting allows everyone with a LinkedIn account to cast one vote and choose the most promising startup per vertical.

Read more about the fintech startups that are innovating the way we approach private banking, asset management, and crypto transactions.



Yokoy, #1
Fintech company Yokoy uses artificial intelligence to automate the entire corporate spending and corporate credit card process. The Zurich-based startup was founded in 2019 by Melanie Gabriel, Devis Lussi, Thomas Inhelder, Philippe Sahli, and Lars Mangelsdorf and was ranked 20th in 2021. The company has been on a steady upward trajectory. This year, the company won the top prize at the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Awards. www.yokoy.ai

Ledgy, #3
Ledgy is an equity management platform that helps startups manage their cap table, employee participation plans, funding rounds, and investor relations. The ICT startup was founded in 2017 by ETH Zurich physics graduates Yoko Spirig, Ben-Elias Brandt, and Timo Horstschäfer and ranked 13th in 2021. www.ledgy.com

Inyova, #17
Personalized impact investing—i.e., investments that in addition to returns also have concrete positive social or ecological effects—has so far been only a niche market in the multi-billion asset management business. One reason is that the relevant investment strategies are available to only very wealthy private bank clients. Inyova wants to change that. "Our platform allows anyone to contribute to solving global challenges, such as climate change and inequality while building their long-term wealth," says Inyova CEO and founder Tillmann Lang. The fintech startup, founded in 2017, has thus found success in a hotly contested growth market. "We share our mission with them to create a world in which everyone has control over their investments." This is also shown by the crowd investing carried out by Inyova in spring 2022: 3,000 Inyova investors bought shares and thus boosted the startup’s coffers by CHF 5 million in the first few hours—bringing the total to almost CHF 7 million. www.inyova.ch

Sygnum, #20
Sygnum is the world's first digital asset bank and digital asset specialist with global reach. With Sygnum Bank AG's Swiss banking license, as well as Sygnum Pte Ltd's capital markets services (CMS) license in Singapore, Sygnum empowers institutional and private qualified investors, corporates, banks, and other financial institutions to invest in the digital asset economy with complete trust. The company operates an independently controlled, scalable, and future-proof regulated banking platform. Sygnum's interdisciplinary team of banking, investment, and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) experts is shaping the development of a trusted digital asset ecosystem. www.sygnum.com

neon, #23
neon is a challenger bank that offers cost-efficient services to everyone. The company's account, app, and card allow its customers to manage and handle their money with absolute ease. neon has received various accolades, among others by Kassensturz for offering the cheapest credit card for use abroad by Kassensturz, and by Forbes for being the number one banking service in Switzerland. The startup has secured funds from institutional investors and with its crowd-investing campaigns. It secured another CHF 6 million in October 2022. www.neon-free.ch

Imburse, #27
Imburse is a cloud-based middleware connecting large enterprises to the payments ecosystem, regardless of their existing IT infrastructure. Through a single connection to Imburse, enterprises can collect or pay out using a variety of payment technologies and providers around the globe. The company works with insurers to future-proof their payment requirements. www.imbursepayments.com

Relai, #34
Relai was founded with the belief that bitcoin is the best way to save money and build wealth in the 21st century and that everyone should have easy access to it. The simple and intuitive bitcoin-only investment app enables anyone in Europe to buy and sell bitcoin within minutes, without the need for registration, verification, or deposits. www.relai.app

Alpian, #50 & #1 in Public Voting
With the receipt of its Finma banking license, fintech startup Alpian is Switzerland’s first digital private bank. The company launched its service in 2022, beginning its client acquisition. The company's world-class financial advisors help guide customers to invest affordably, and in ways that resonate with their beliefs, values, and needs. www.alpian.com

LEVA, #61
LEVA is an award-winning online platform for the easy setup and management of deal-by-deal investment opportunities. The company's technology allows customers to easily raise capital from their network of co-investors and monetize their deal flow in a few clicks from their desktop. Traditional SPVs are complex and expensive to handle. LEVA has developed a legally secure and compliant syndicate solution that offers all the advantages of an SPV while being scalable and cost-efficient at the same time. www.leva.pe

Impaakt, #93
Impaakt uses collective intelligence and AI to measure the real impact that companies have on the environment and society. With the right investment, companies that have a positive impact on the planet can flourish, while those that have a negative impact are challenged to change, or risk investors putting their capital elsewhere. Impaakt's mission is to bring impact analysis to the heart of all investment decisions so that capital can be directed to businesses that have the best possible impact on the planet and society. www.impaakt.com