CHF 10,000 for needle-free vaccines, an AI-Powered insurance platform, a risk analysis co-pilot software, and miniaturized hardware for quantum computing
22.04.2025
basiQL, Humbrela, Reshape Systems, and YQuantum were selected at Venture Kick's first financial and entrepreneurial support stage. Their projects develop a novel “Single-Cycle Infection Vaccine” (SCV) platform; a platform that simplifies insurance policy and warranty management; an innovative software solution that enhances the risk analysis process for complex technical systems; and compact, integrated cryogenic hardware essential for scaling quantum systems.
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 basiQL: CEO David Hauser & CSO Fabian Otte
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 Humbrela: CEO Semchs Zaidi, CTO Gael Beron, COO Guillaume Spay, & Legal Counsel Sarah El-Abshihy
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 Reshape: Co-Founders Dr. Andrea Apollonio and Dr. Thomas Cartier-Michaud
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 YQuantum: CEO Christian Jünger, CTO Johannes Herrmann, & Scientific Advisor Christian Schönenberger
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basiQL: Advancing needle-free vaccines for global viral threats
Current respiratory vaccines face major limitations such as low efficacy, safety concerns, cold-chain dependency, and limited protection against evolving viruses. These issues have amplified public hesitancy, especially with mRNA vaccines, and exposed gaps in equitable access.
basiQL is developing a novel “Single-Cycle Infection Vaccine” (SCV) platform to overcome these challenges. Intranasally delivered and needle-free, our vaccines induce both mucosal and systemic immunity through a single round of viral replication. This minimizes safety concerns, blocks transmission at the viral entry site, and enables scalable, adjuvant-free manufacturing. The platform supports multivalent designs for broader, longer-lasting protection against respiratory diseases of global concern.
Led by Dr. David Hauser (CEO) and Dr. Fabian Otte (CSO), basiQL emerged from years of joint research, supported by Innosuisse and leading institutions in Switzerland. The team includes experts in virology, vaccine design, and biotech commercialization, backed by advisors with extensive pharma and regulatory experience.
The Venture Kick funds will enable IP portfolio development, market analysis, and investor engagement—critical steps toward bringing safer, more accessible respiratory vaccines to global populations.
Humbrela: Insurance is Complex, Humbrela makes it Simple
Understanding, managing, and optimizing the increasing number of insurance and warranty policies as life goes on, whether purchased directly or through brokers, can be overwhelming. It’s easy to feel lost with the jargon, clauses, and various offerings.
Since inception, CEO Semchs Zaidi, CTO Gael Beron, COO Guillaume Spay, and Legal Counsel Saral El-Abshihy, together with data scientists and developers, have been focused on developing a platform that simplifies insurance policy and warranty management. Leveraging AI smart agents, ML, and NLP, Humbrela acts as a personalized insurance buddy, bridging the gap between consumers, brokers, and insurance companies. By providing a data-driven experience, Humbrela delivers actionable insights that enhance decision-making and streamline processes across the insurance ecosystem.
The Venture Kick funds will enable Humbrela to finalize its MVP and conduct its first live-scale testing.
Reshape: Enhancing risk analysis for complex systems
Today, complex systems such as smartphones, autonomous cars, and drones are ubiquitous in our daily lives. As their use grows and their complexity increases, producers and consumers need to ensure that these systems meet the highest standards of reliability and safety. Increasing market expectations are also pushing complex systems towards shorter development cycles and reduced engineering costs.
Reshape System SA, a CERN spin-off, is tackling these challenges with an innovative software solution that enhances the risk analysis process for complex technical systems. The product acts as a risk analysis co-pilot, leveraging generative AI to take care of the most arduous and error-prone tasks in the risk analysis process and assisting specialized engineers and domain experts. The result is faster and cheaper time-to-market of products for companies across a range of sectors (e.g., automotive, aerospace), with improved reliability, whatever the context and level of risk. The founding team is composed of Dr. Andrea Apollonio (PhD at CERN) and Dr. Thomas Cartier-Michaud (PhD at CEA Cadarache), bringing more than 10 years of expertise in industrial risk analysis methods and AI.
The Venture Kick funds will allow further development of the proprietary AI models of Reshape Systems SA.
YQuantum: Miniaturizing Hardware for Quantum Computing
YQuantum is solving a critical bottleneck in quantum computing: the lack of scalable cryogenic hardware. Without miniaturized, high-performance components, today’s quantum computers cannot scale into powerful, commercially viable systems for pharma, finance, and beyond.
Founded by Dr. Christian Jünger, Dr. Johannes Herrmann, and Prof. Christian Schönenberger, YQuantum brings deep expertise from UC Berkeley, ETH Zurich, and the University of Basel. The company develops compact, integrated cryogenic hardware essential for scaling quantum systems. YQuantum recently submitted its first patent, protecting a key breakthrough in the integration of microwave filters. Backed by early traction and partnerships, YQuantum is targeting a CHF 250M obtainable market within a global sector projected to reach CHF 5B by 2035.
The Venture Kick funds will help refine YQuantum’s B2B market strategy while supporting IP development and customer acquisition to solidify its position in the quantum hardware market. www.yquantum.ch
Current respiratory vaccines face major limitations such as low efficacy, safety concerns, cold-chain dependency, and limited protection against evolving viruses. These issues have amplified public hesitancy, especially with mRNA vaccines, and exposed gaps in equitable access.
basiQL is developing a novel “Single-Cycle Infection Vaccine” (SCV) platform to overcome these challenges. Intranasally delivered and needle-free, our vaccines induce both mucosal and systemic immunity through a single round of viral replication. This minimizes safety concerns, blocks transmission at the viral entry site, and enables scalable, adjuvant-free manufacturing. The platform supports multivalent designs for broader, longer-lasting protection against respiratory diseases of global concern.
Led by Dr. David Hauser (CEO) and Dr. Fabian Otte (CSO), basiQL emerged from years of joint research, supported by Innosuisse and leading institutions in Switzerland. The team includes experts in virology, vaccine design, and biotech commercialization, backed by advisors with extensive pharma and regulatory experience.
The Venture Kick funds will enable IP portfolio development, market analysis, and investor engagement—critical steps toward bringing safer, more accessible respiratory vaccines to global populations.
Humbrela: Insurance is Complex, Humbrela makes it Simple
Understanding, managing, and optimizing the increasing number of insurance and warranty policies as life goes on, whether purchased directly or through brokers, can be overwhelming. It’s easy to feel lost with the jargon, clauses, and various offerings.
Since inception, CEO Semchs Zaidi, CTO Gael Beron, COO Guillaume Spay, and Legal Counsel Saral El-Abshihy, together with data scientists and developers, have been focused on developing a platform that simplifies insurance policy and warranty management. Leveraging AI smart agents, ML, and NLP, Humbrela acts as a personalized insurance buddy, bridging the gap between consumers, brokers, and insurance companies. By providing a data-driven experience, Humbrela delivers actionable insights that enhance decision-making and streamline processes across the insurance ecosystem.
The Venture Kick funds will enable Humbrela to finalize its MVP and conduct its first live-scale testing.
Reshape: Enhancing risk analysis for complex systems
Today, complex systems such as smartphones, autonomous cars, and drones are ubiquitous in our daily lives. As their use grows and their complexity increases, producers and consumers need to ensure that these systems meet the highest standards of reliability and safety. Increasing market expectations are also pushing complex systems towards shorter development cycles and reduced engineering costs.
Reshape System SA, a CERN spin-off, is tackling these challenges with an innovative software solution that enhances the risk analysis process for complex technical systems. The product acts as a risk analysis co-pilot, leveraging generative AI to take care of the most arduous and error-prone tasks in the risk analysis process and assisting specialized engineers and domain experts. The result is faster and cheaper time-to-market of products for companies across a range of sectors (e.g., automotive, aerospace), with improved reliability, whatever the context and level of risk. The founding team is composed of Dr. Andrea Apollonio (PhD at CERN) and Dr. Thomas Cartier-Michaud (PhD at CEA Cadarache), bringing more than 10 years of expertise in industrial risk analysis methods and AI.
The Venture Kick funds will allow further development of the proprietary AI models of Reshape Systems SA.
YQuantum: Miniaturizing Hardware for Quantum Computing
YQuantum is solving a critical bottleneck in quantum computing: the lack of scalable cryogenic hardware. Without miniaturized, high-performance components, today’s quantum computers cannot scale into powerful, commercially viable systems for pharma, finance, and beyond.
Founded by Dr. Christian Jünger, Dr. Johannes Herrmann, and Prof. Christian Schönenberger, YQuantum brings deep expertise from UC Berkeley, ETH Zurich, and the University of Basel. The company develops compact, integrated cryogenic hardware essential for scaling quantum systems. YQuantum recently submitted its first patent, protecting a key breakthrough in the integration of microwave filters. Backed by early traction and partnerships, YQuantum is targeting a CHF 250M obtainable market within a global sector projected to reach CHF 5B by 2035.
The Venture Kick funds will help refine YQuantum’s B2B market strategy while supporting IP development and customer acquisition to solidify its position in the quantum hardware market. www.yquantum.ch