Deep-Tech Support Navigator Switzerland

Accelerator & Incubation Programs

Intensive support programs for startups in the early and growth phases — including mentoring, infrastructure, and community.

Co-Founder Matchmaking & Talent Access

Support in finding co-founders or qualified specialists.

Coaching

Individual guidance from experienced experts on strategy, business model, and implementation.

Funding

Financial support — e.g., grants, loans, or equity capital — to support development and growth.

Infrastructure & Labs

Access to office space, co-working spaces, labs, or technical research infrastructure.

Investor Access

Introductions to business angels, VCs, or public investors, as well as support in the investor search.

Market & Industry Access

Support with market entry, customer acquisition, or building industry partnerships.

Mentoring

Long-term 1:1 guidance from experienced founders or industry experts.

Network & Support

Access to networks of investors, corporates, alumni, universities, and other startups.

Start-up Camps

Multi-day intensive formats (bootcamps, hackathons, retreats) for idea development and team building.

Strategic Partnerships

Facilitation of collaborations with companies, universities, or public institutions.

Trade Fair Support

Support for participating in trade fairs — e.g., booth space, travel costs, or preparation.

Training

Structured workshops and courses on relevant startup topics such as pitching, finance, or IP.

The Deep-Tech Support Navigator is an interactive tool developed to systematically map and make transparent the Swiss support landscape for deep-tech startups. It provides a structured overview of support offerings and organises them along various phases of company development, offering types and technologies.

Switzerland regularly ranks at the top of international innovation rankings – yet the funding landscape itself is fragmented and often difficult for founders to navigate. Deep-tech startups in particular depend on targeted support in their early stages, whether financial, technological or strategic in nature. In fact, more offerings already exist than many teams realise; they often go unused simply because they are not visible. This is precisely where the Support Navigator comes in: it creates transparency about existing funding and support offerings and aims to help close a central orientation gap in the Swiss deep-tech ecosystem.

The tool was developed as part of a master's thesis at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH).

To create the Support Navigator, 169 Swiss support programs were systematically analyzed. To validate the results, numerous qualitative interviews were also conducted with deep-tech founders and ecosystem stakeholders.

The programs in the Support Navigator are structured according to Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and Market Readiness Levels (MRL). This enables a precise assignment to the three phases of the venture journey. Both scales are used to holistically assess the maturity of a startup and match it with the appropriate support offerings.

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Originally developed by NASA, this standard is now a globally recognised benchmark for assessing technological maturity. The scale ranges from Level 1 (specific technological idea is formulated) to Level 9 (actual system proven functional in natural environment).
• Market Readiness Level (MRL): This model measures progress in commercialisation and market adaptation. It starts at Level 1 (hunch of a market need) and extends to Level 9 (market confirms stability/growth).

The Deep-Tech Support Navigator is based on the scientifically grounded scales of Vik et al. (2021), which precisely define the readiness levels. By combining both models, it can be determined whether a startup falls into the Early Stage (TRL/MRL 1–3), Mid Stage (TRL/MRL 4–6) or Later Stage (TRL/MRL 7–9).

The detailed model and criteria can be found in the underlying scientific paper: Vik et al. (2021): Balanced readiness level assessment (BRLa): A tool for exploring new and emerging technologies.

The analysis reveals a clear discrepancy: only 24 of the programs examined are explicitly tailored to deep tech. While a broad range of offerings exists in the early and mid-stages, support drops off significantly in the critical later growth phase.

Founders can use the web application to search specifically for programs that match their current phase or technology cluster (e.g. Robotics, Quantum, Medtech). It is also possible to filter which programs promote specific commercialisation competencies such as IP strategy, fundraising, industry access or supply chain management.