CHF 10,000 for automated microbial genomics analysis, safe energy and data transfer in heart failure, innovative second-life batteries, safer and more efficient geo-energy projects, new solar tracks, and next-gen prosthetic heart valves
28.11.2023
Abrinca, COSKIN, Evolium Technologies, InSituStreTech, Sun-Ways, and ValTech Lifesciences win Venture Kick's first financial and entrepreneurial support stage. Their projects automate analyses of microbial genomics with a user-friendly interface and simplify data management; prevent infection from the drivelines that transfer energy to the VAD pumps; aim at providing repairable, and modular 2nd life batteries; pioneer new instruments to enhance in-situ stress estimation technology for safer and more efficient geo-energy projects; enable the mechanized installation of solar panels without disrupting rail traffic; and bring together state-of-the-art fluid mechanical and cardiovascular engineering research to develop a next-generation valve design to resolve the unmet clinical need.
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 Abrinca: CSO Rémy Bruggmann, COO Linda Studer, and CEO Thomas Roder
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 COSKIN: CEO and Founder Andreas Kourouklis
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 Evolium Technologies: Dr. Alexandre Staub
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 InSituStreTech: Alex Horvath, Dr. Angelica Tuttolomondo, and Prof. Lyesse Laloui
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 Sun-Ways: Baptiste Danichert and Joseph Scuderi
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 ValTech Lifesciences: Co-founders Dr. Shaokai Zheng and Prof. Dr. Dominik Obrist
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Abrinca: Unlocking the secrets of microbial genomics
A major bottleneck in microbial genomics is data analysis, which requires systematic data management and programming skills.
Abrinca is a spin-off from the University of Bern to commercialize the software OpenGenomeBrowser. By automating analyses with a user-friendly interface and simplifying data management, OpenGenomeBrowser enhances researcher productivity, speeding up discoveries and reducing product development time. The founding team consists of Thomas Roder, who created OpenGenomeBrowser during his PhD, Rémy Bruggman, his PhD supervisor, and Linda Studer, PhD candidate in Computer Science. Abrinca is a B2B software company with the potential to cater to 800+ corporations and institutions specializing in microbial genomics.
The Venture Kick funds will enable us to invest in sales and marketing and enable OpenGenomeBrowser to transition from an academic open-source software to a professional-grade solution, by implementing a software licensing system and an improved user permission system. abrinca.com
Evolium Technologies: Affordable, modular, and repairable second-life batteries
Lithium-based batteries are destroyed after their 1st life cycle, while 80% of their capacity is still available. In the meantime, local producers relying on intermittent electricity production are facing the high costs of storage, without capacity guarantees and reduced grid injection availability.
Spinning off from a research project at the University of Applied Sciences in Neuchâtel (HE-Arc Ingénierie), and founded by Dr. Alexandre Staub, Evolium Technologies aims at providing repairable, and modular 2nd life batteries. The team is developing proprietary knowledge and hardware to select battery cells that are still functional after their 1st life cycle. Evolium Technologies targets the booming market of electricity storage for photovoltaic installations (in 2022 +50% for photovoltaic installations; +118% for batteries installations in Switzerland). The unique business model and battery architecture will allow investment cost reduction for the buyer, and maintenance by the final customer while guaranteeing the capacity of the battery over time.
The Venture Kick fund will contribute to the continuous development of the product while accelerating our access to the global battery market, estimated to reach 20 bn USD in 2030.
InSituStreTech: In-situ stress estimation technology enabling safer and more efficient geo-energy projects
Geological Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology is vital in combating climate change. Accurately understanding in-situ stress underground is crucial for safe and efficient CCS projects. However, current available methods for measuring in-situ stress have limitations, yielding unreliable results that highly impact CCS operations.
InSituStreTech, an EPFL start-up founded by three members of the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics—Alex Horvath, Dr. Angelica Tuttolomondo, and Prof. Lyesse Laloui—is pioneering new instruments to enhance in-situ stress estimation. Their goal is to overcome existing limitations in measuring stress accurately, ensuring safer and more efficient utilization of CCS and other geo-energy ventures. The global carbon capture and storage market, valued at USD 4.91 billion in 2022, is projected to reach USD 35.70 billion by 2032.
The VentureKick funds will aid in deploying the new instruments in real conditions within an operational borehole setting. This effort aims to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of these tools in precisely measuring in-situ stresses within rock formations. VentureKick will support InSituStreTech in validating the technology in a real environment. insitustretech.com
ValTech Lifesciences: bringing next-generation prosthetic heart valves to patients
The unmet clinical need is a non-thrombogenic, durable heart valve prosthesis. A large number of patients suffer either from limited valve durability and the limitations of anticoagulation therapy (e.g. risk of hemorrhage), or from the risk of thromboembolic stroke (e.g. patients in regions with limited access to anti-coagulation drugs). The global market for heart valve prostheses was valued at USD 11 billion in 2021 and was estimated to reach USD 25 billion by 2030.
The team of ValTech Lifesciences is bringing together state-of-the-art fluid mechanical and cardiovascular engineering research to develop a next-generation valve design to resolve the unmet clinical need. The co-founders are Dr. Shaokai Zheng and Prof. Dr. Dominik Obrist from the University of Bern.
The Venture Kick Stage I funds will contribute to accelerating the prototyping of their product.
A major bottleneck in microbial genomics is data analysis, which requires systematic data management and programming skills.
Abrinca is a spin-off from the University of Bern to commercialize the software OpenGenomeBrowser. By automating analyses with a user-friendly interface and simplifying data management, OpenGenomeBrowser enhances researcher productivity, speeding up discoveries and reducing product development time. The founding team consists of Thomas Roder, who created OpenGenomeBrowser during his PhD, Rémy Bruggman, his PhD supervisor, and Linda Studer, PhD candidate in Computer Science. Abrinca is a B2B software company with the potential to cater to 800+ corporations and institutions specializing in microbial genomics.
The Venture Kick funds will enable us to invest in sales and marketing and enable OpenGenomeBrowser to transition from an academic open-source software to a professional-grade solution, by implementing a software licensing system and an improved user permission system. abrinca.com
COSKIN healthcare technologies: Safe energy and data transfer in heart failure
Heart failure affects 2% of the world population. In advanced stages, only 4,000 patients (US & EU) receive a heart pump (e.g., VADs) that repairs blood circulation. Infection is a daily concern for every VAD-treated with 50% rehospitalization rate.
Andreas Kourouklis, an ETH Pioneer Fellow is the founder & CEO of COSKIN, aims to prevent infection from the drivelines that transfer energy to the VAD pumps. Stopping infection can make VAD more accessible to 100,000 new patients every year. COSKIN is a minimally invasive adaptor made of tiny biocompatible wires that integrate with skin, protecting its barrier function properties. COSKIN is linked to the $1.2b opportunity of the VAD market which is expected to double by 2030.
The support of Venture Kick will accelerate the product development activities of COSKIN together with clinical partners towards. COSKIN intends to make a reliable minimum valuable product with high usability and market accessibility in the VAD market.
Lithium-based batteries are destroyed after their 1st life cycle, while 80% of their capacity is still available. In the meantime, local producers relying on intermittent electricity production are facing the high costs of storage, without capacity guarantees and reduced grid injection availability.
Spinning off from a research project at the University of Applied Sciences in Neuchâtel (HE-Arc Ingénierie), and founded by Dr. Alexandre Staub, Evolium Technologies aims at providing repairable, and modular 2nd life batteries. The team is developing proprietary knowledge and hardware to select battery cells that are still functional after their 1st life cycle. Evolium Technologies targets the booming market of electricity storage for photovoltaic installations (in 2022 +50% for photovoltaic installations; +118% for batteries installations in Switzerland). The unique business model and battery architecture will allow investment cost reduction for the buyer, and maintenance by the final customer while guaranteeing the capacity of the battery over time.
The Venture Kick fund will contribute to the continuous development of the product while accelerating our access to the global battery market, estimated to reach 20 bn USD in 2030.
InSituStreTech: In-situ stress estimation technology enabling safer and more efficient geo-energy projects
Geological Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology is vital in combating climate change. Accurately understanding in-situ stress underground is crucial for safe and efficient CCS projects. However, current available methods for measuring in-situ stress have limitations, yielding unreliable results that highly impact CCS operations.
InSituStreTech, an EPFL start-up founded by three members of the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics—Alex Horvath, Dr. Angelica Tuttolomondo, and Prof. Lyesse Laloui—is pioneering new instruments to enhance in-situ stress estimation. Their goal is to overcome existing limitations in measuring stress accurately, ensuring safer and more efficient utilization of CCS and other geo-energy ventures. The global carbon capture and storage market, valued at USD 4.91 billion in 2022, is projected to reach USD 35.70 billion by 2032.
The VentureKick funds will aid in deploying the new instruments in real conditions within an operational borehole setting. This effort aims to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of these tools in precisely measuring in-situ stresses within rock formations. VentureKick will support InSituStreTech in validating the technology in a real environment. insitustretech.com
Sun-Ways: the new solar tracks
Sun-Ways is responding to the pressing challenges of climate change, energy transition, electricity shortages and energy dependency by introducing a revolutionary solution. The patented technology exploits the "unused" space between railroad tracks to install removable solar power plants. This approach contributes to a rapid transition towards massive production of clean energy!
The startup is driven by a visionary founding team, supported by a unique innovation - a removable solar system designed to meet all the technical constraints of rail infrastructure maintenance. This innovation enables the mechanized installation of solar panels without disrupting rail traffic. The market potential is considerable, since the 7,000,000 m2 of space available between Swiss railroads is equivalent to 350,000 house roofs fitted with solar panels.
Thanks to Venture Kick's Phase 1 funding, the project will move from mechanical design and proof of concept to the pilot project phase. This crucial phase focuses on the technical elements enabling the installation of photovoltaic panels between the rails, while allowing the startup to physically test the system. All elements, which form the core of the innovation, will be pre-assembled in workshops and transported by a special train for seamless deployment.
The unmet clinical need is a non-thrombogenic, durable heart valve prosthesis. A large number of patients suffer either from limited valve durability and the limitations of anticoagulation therapy (e.g. risk of hemorrhage), or from the risk of thromboembolic stroke (e.g. patients in regions with limited access to anti-coagulation drugs). The global market for heart valve prostheses was valued at USD 11 billion in 2021 and was estimated to reach USD 25 billion by 2030.
The team of ValTech Lifesciences is bringing together state-of-the-art fluid mechanical and cardiovascular engineering research to develop a next-generation valve design to resolve the unmet clinical need. The co-founders are Dr. Shaokai Zheng and Prof. Dr. Dominik Obrist from the University of Bern.
The Venture Kick Stage I funds will contribute to accelerating the prototyping of their product.