CHF 10,000 for a device for rapid on-site drug detection, united generative AI tools for collaborative filmmaking, AI-based white canes, a packaging solution for e-commerce, and comprehensive fetal-maternal monitoring
26.05.2025
Altiscreen, narrae.studios, NextGuide, SendMeBag, and VidaSense were selected at Venture Kick's first financial and entrepreneurial support stage. Their projects offer a truly portable, easy-to-use device for rapid, on-site drug detection; transform voice notes into personalized videos through AI on WhatsApp and Telegram; improve visually impaired mobility through AI-based white canes; develop a reusable shipping bag that is easy to return via public mailboxes; and deliver comprehensive fetal-maternal monitoring through a non-invasive, lightweight wearable device.
 |
 |
 Altiscreen: CEO Leonard Dumea
|
|
 narrae.studios CEO Pierre Esparsa, CTO David Souto, and CFO Mauro Riggio
|
|
 NextGuide: CEO Alexander Bayer & CTO Thomas Baye
|
|
 SendMeBag: Co-Founders Joshua Kohler, Sandro Küng, and Remo Zemp
|
|
 VidaSense: CEO Dr. Naeimeh Behbood & CTO Dr. Gürkan Yilmaz
|
|
Altiscreen: Transforming Handheld Drugs of Abuse Screening
Altiscreen is addressing the critical need for rapid, on-site drug detection to help reduce healthcare costs, workplace accidents, and road fatalities. The company provides a truly portable and user-friendly device that delivers accurate results in just minutes, in contrast to existing solutions that are often bulky, slow, or complex.
Altiscreen is addressing the critical need for rapid, on-site drug detection to help reduce healthcare costs, workplace accidents, and road fatalities. The company provides a truly portable and user-friendly device that delivers accurate results in just minutes, in contrast to existing solutions that are often bulky, slow, or complex.
Founded by Dr. Leonard Dumea in 2024, Altiscreen has developed a device that utilizes advanced immuno-chromatographic methods and image recognition technology. This innovative solution produces results quickly and works with various sample types, including oral fluid and urine. The device can detect up to nine substances simultaneously and has been field-validated with clients.
The drug testing market is projected to reach USD 11.9 billion by 2030, with significant growth opportunities for handheld testing in Europe.
Funding from Venture Kick will enable Altiscreen to produce its first commercial batch and enhance business development. This support will accelerate manufacturing, market entry, and partnerships, helping to bring its rapid and portable drug detection device to market.
NextGuide: Improving visually impaired mobility through AI-based white canes
Traditional white canes offer only basic tactile feedback, while guide dogs, although more effective, can be prohibitively expensive, costing up to CHF 65,000. The lack of adequate guidance contributes to a higher incidence of accidents among visually impaired individuals, resulting in increased healthcare costs for insurers. NextGuide aims to bridge this gap by providing users with AI-powered navigation and obstacle avoidance, promoting greater mobility and independence.
Funding from Venture Kick will enable Altiscreen to produce its first commercial batch and enhance business development. This support will accelerate manufacturing, market entry, and partnerships, helping to bring its rapid and portable drug detection device to market.
narrae.studio: Uniting Generative AI Tools for Collaborative Filmmaking
Users can convert voice notes into personally styled films via the company's innovative "Voice Shorts" technology, embedded in WhatsApp, without any prompts, scripts, or filmmaking knowledge.
Founded by CEO Pierre Esparsa, CTO David Souto, and CFO Mauro Riggio, narrae.studio is currently being accelerated by EHL's Innovation Hub. The platform focuses on solving the Video Paradox: 70% of mobile traffic is video, yet it's created by only 12% of users. Narrae makes filmmaking accessible to the remaining 88%, tapping into the 7 billion WhatsApp voice notes shared daily—a number that has doubled every year since 2020. A prepaid system charges CHF 2 per minute of film, with 50% profit margins. Built on proprietary AI models, narrae.studio prioritizes mobile optimization, encryption, and data privacy. To drive growth, the platform will distribute free credits to influencers and community leaders, leveraging built-in virality.
Venture Kick funds will help connect the prototype with storytellers, artists, and community leaders who would otherwise not have been able to create films from their important but unheard stories, paving the way to build an ultra-specialized Small Language Model at the service of global stories.
NextGuide: Improving visually impaired mobility through AI-based white canes
Traditional white canes offer only basic tactile feedback, while guide dogs, although more effective, can be prohibitively expensive, costing up to CHF 65,000. The lack of adequate guidance contributes to a higher incidence of accidents among visually impaired individuals, resulting in increased healthcare costs for insurers. NextGuide aims to bridge this gap by providing users with AI-powered navigation and obstacle avoidance, promoting greater mobility and independence.
The NextGuide team includes Alexander Bayer, a software engineer with experience at Carl Zeiss Meditec AG and Stadler, along with his brother Thomas Bayer, a specialist in embedded AI systems from KIT. Their innovative smart white cane incorporates AI technology to deliver real-time spatial awareness and navigation assistance. In Europe, there are approximately 1.8 million visually impaired individuals.
NextGuide will utilize the Venture Kick funds to finalize product development and conduct extensive user testing.
SendMeBag: The reusable packaging solution for e-commerce
SendMeBag addresses the escalating waste problem caused by single-use packaging in e-commerce. Each online order generates cardboard and stuffing that ultimately end up in the trash. As e-commerce continues to grow, so does the resulting packaging waste, and most customers are looking for more sustainable options.
SendMeBag: The reusable packaging solution for e-commerce
SendMeBag addresses the escalating waste problem caused by single-use packaging in e-commerce. Each online order generates cardboard and stuffing that ultimately end up in the trash. As e-commerce continues to grow, so does the resulting packaging waste, and most customers are looking for more sustainable options.
The startup was founded by three students from HSLU in Switzerland and has developed a reusable shipping bag that can be easily returned through public mailboxes. After testing 3,000 shipments across eight pilot projects, the team is now ready to enter the market. Their target customers include online shops, fulfillment providers, and intralogistics companies. In Switzerland alone, the addressable market comprises over 1,000 online shops and approximately 75 million shipments per year. SendMeBag’s solution not only reduces CO2 emissions and cuts costs but also enhances the customer experience.
With support from Venture Kick, the team plans to further develop the product by adding tracking features and offering new bag sizes. They will also utilize the funds to expand their customer base and improve integration with logistics systems.
VidaSense: Comfort in fetal-maternal monitoring, confidence in prenatal care
Existing fetal monitoring devices primarily use ultrasound technology, which presents several limitations. These include high sensitivity to sensor positioning, the need for gel, bulky equipment design, restricted mobility for expectant mothers, and the requirement for frequent readjustments by healthcare personnel.
VidaSense: Comfort in fetal-maternal monitoring, confidence in prenatal care
Existing fetal monitoring devices primarily use ultrasound technology, which presents several limitations. These include high sensitivity to sensor positioning, the need for gel, bulky equipment design, restricted mobility for expectant mothers, and the requirement for frequent readjustments by healthcare personnel.
VidaSense is addressing these challenges in prenatal care by merging comfort with clinical reliability. Their innovative active dry electrode technology enables comprehensive fetal-maternal monitoring through a non-invasive, lightweight wearable device. Behbood and Yilmaz, in collaboration with CSEM and Insel Spital, are advancing this innovation to meet the growing demand for remote monitoring, representing a potential market of USD 1.3 billion worldwide.
The grant provided by VentureKick is crucial for enhancing the system's usability and for onboarding an experienced industrial designer to assist with the mechanical design and the development of a functional prototype for VidaSense.