CHF 10,000 for smart robotic beds, an AI-powered scientific platform, a drug discovery biosensor platform, Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor drivers, and a AI-based software as a medical Device
20.10.2025
calmea, LabDeep, MYNISA, STATecovery, and SurgExplore were selected at Venture Kick's first stage of financial and entrepreneurial support. Their projects develop smart robotic beds that enhance deep, restorative sleep through gentle swaying movements, transform how scientific knowledge is managed by collecting, curating, and making available underused or unpublished data, turning it into a reusable resource; build GaN-optimized gate-driver ICs and reference modules that unlock higher power density and efficiency while cutting cost and time-to-market; and develop a technology that transforms surgical videos into structured, searchable insights.
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 calmea: Co-founders Manuel Fujs and Alexander Breuss
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 LabDeep: CEO Catharina Sänger and CTO Sebastian Schilbe
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 MINYSA: CEO Salem Abid
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 STATcovery: Roman Meledin, Thi Nguyen, and Onur Boyman
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 SurgExplore: Dr. Farrokh Tarpoudi Baheri and Dr. Negin Ghamsarian
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calmea: Engineering better sleep
Chronic stress and poor sleep affect over a third of adults, costing billions in lost productivity and health expenses. Existing solutions are often short-term or impractical. calmea offers science-based and comfortable solutions to restore sleep and relaxation naturally.
calmea develops smart robotic beds that enhance deep, restorative sleep through gentle swaying movements. Unobtrusive sensors monitor sleep and enable personalized, real-time adjustments based on physiological feedback. Founded by Dr. Alexander Breuss and Manuel Fujs, MSc, calmea combines scientific insight with innovation. Backed by two patents and validated in research and wellness settings, the company targets the rapidly growing USD 200B global sleep tech and wellness market.
The Venture Kick funding will help calmea refine its business case, engage early customers, and prepare pilot deployments, paving the way for market entry.
LabDeep: Unlock hidden data for life sciences R&D
Over 70% of all scientific data remains inaccessible and therefore underused, leading to an estimated USD 330 billion in wasted resources annually. Much of this knowledge sits in forgotten databases or never gets published. If unlocked, this hidden information could prevent scientists from repeating redundant experiments and allow them to plan more effectively, saving time, money, and resources.
LabDeep is an AI-powered platform transforming how scientific knowledge is managed. We collect, curate, and make available underused or unpublished data, turning it into a reusable resource. The team is led by Dr. Catharina Sänger, CEO, a molecular biologist with management consulting experience who witnessed this problem firsthand, and Sebastian Schilbe, CTO, a seasoned tech leader with expertise in scalable solutions. They are targeting the R&D market for biotechs.
The Venture Kick funds will help develop an MVP, covering two main needs: securing legal consulting for compliant data collection, and allocating the remainder to core product development. Labdeepdata.com
MINYSA: GaN (Gallium Nitride) semiconductor drivers that make power systems smaller, cooler, cheaper
Today’s power-silicon drivers are overheating, oversized, and too expensive across e-mobility, drones, robots, satellites, and data centers. GaN could fix it, but adoption is blocked by complexity, cost, and lack of integrated control.
MINYSA builds GaN-optimized gate-driver ICs and reference modules that unlock higher power density and efficiency while cutting cost and time-to-market. Targeting the fast-growing GaN power market of USD 3 billion, 42% CAGR (USD 19 billion by 2035), their solution enables up to 50% smaller, 20% cooler systems, and 25% lower total cost. The startup focuses on e-mobility, commercial drones, industrial robots, space, and data-center power. Early traction includes a pilot customer and a working prototype. MINYSA is led by founder & CEO Salem Abid, supported by an R&D team with 80+ cumulative patents and 100+ years of experience in power semiconductors.
Venture Kick funding will support marketing, B2B outreach, and a prototype to accelerate customer pilots and design-ins.
STATecovery: Making cellular signaling visible to accelerate drug development
Drug development for cancer and autoimmunity is slow and expensive. Current tools provide only static snapshots of a drug's effect on key signaling pathways like JAK-STAT, completely missing the real-time dynamics inside living cells that ultimately determine therapeutic success.
STATecovery's proprietary STATeLight biosensor platform solves this, helping pharmaceutical companies develop drugs faster while reducing late-stage failures and cutting costs. Their technology, protected by a patent application filed by the University of Zurich, provides a direct, continuous visualization of a drug's mechanism of action in living cells. Delivered as ready-to-use engineered cell lines, the platform offers a straightforward, single-step protocol compatible with standard laboratory equipment, including microscopes and high-throughput plate readers. STATecovery was founded by Dr. Roman Meledin and Thi Nguyen as a planned spin-out from the University of Zurich laboratory of Prof. Onur Boyman, to target the USD 21 billion cell-based assay market in oncology and immunology.
Venture Kick funds will support business development and market validation.
SurgExplore: AI-powered Software as a Medical Device
Every day, thousands of surgical videos are recorded and stored for regulatory and compliance purposes. However, this valuable source of information remains largely unutilized. Without intelligent tools to structure and interpret this data, valuable insights are lost, limiting surgical learning, quality improvement, and innovation.
Founded by experts in surgical AI, computer science, and product design, SurgExplore develops technology that transforms surgical videos into structured, searchable insights. Their platform enables automated documentation and intelligent video exploration, addressing a serviceable market of over CHF 1 billion while empowering surgeons through data-driven insights.
Venture Kick funding will support prototype refinement and strengthen product validation through early testing and feedback.
Chronic stress and poor sleep affect over a third of adults, costing billions in lost productivity and health expenses. Existing solutions are often short-term or impractical. calmea offers science-based and comfortable solutions to restore sleep and relaxation naturally.
calmea develops smart robotic beds that enhance deep, restorative sleep through gentle swaying movements. Unobtrusive sensors monitor sleep and enable personalized, real-time adjustments based on physiological feedback. Founded by Dr. Alexander Breuss and Manuel Fujs, MSc, calmea combines scientific insight with innovation. Backed by two patents and validated in research and wellness settings, the company targets the rapidly growing USD 200B global sleep tech and wellness market.
The Venture Kick funding will help calmea refine its business case, engage early customers, and prepare pilot deployments, paving the way for market entry.
LabDeep: Unlock hidden data for life sciences R&D
Over 70% of all scientific data remains inaccessible and therefore underused, leading to an estimated USD 330 billion in wasted resources annually. Much of this knowledge sits in forgotten databases or never gets published. If unlocked, this hidden information could prevent scientists from repeating redundant experiments and allow them to plan more effectively, saving time, money, and resources.
LabDeep is an AI-powered platform transforming how scientific knowledge is managed. We collect, curate, and make available underused or unpublished data, turning it into a reusable resource. The team is led by Dr. Catharina Sänger, CEO, a molecular biologist with management consulting experience who witnessed this problem firsthand, and Sebastian Schilbe, CTO, a seasoned tech leader with expertise in scalable solutions. They are targeting the R&D market for biotechs.
The Venture Kick funds will help develop an MVP, covering two main needs: securing legal consulting for compliant data collection, and allocating the remainder to core product development. Labdeepdata.com
MINYSA: GaN (Gallium Nitride) semiconductor drivers that make power systems smaller, cooler, cheaper
Today’s power-silicon drivers are overheating, oversized, and too expensive across e-mobility, drones, robots, satellites, and data centers. GaN could fix it, but adoption is blocked by complexity, cost, and lack of integrated control.
MINYSA builds GaN-optimized gate-driver ICs and reference modules that unlock higher power density and efficiency while cutting cost and time-to-market. Targeting the fast-growing GaN power market of USD 3 billion, 42% CAGR (USD 19 billion by 2035), their solution enables up to 50% smaller, 20% cooler systems, and 25% lower total cost. The startup focuses on e-mobility, commercial drones, industrial robots, space, and data-center power. Early traction includes a pilot customer and a working prototype. MINYSA is led by founder & CEO Salem Abid, supported by an R&D team with 80+ cumulative patents and 100+ years of experience in power semiconductors.
Venture Kick funding will support marketing, B2B outreach, and a prototype to accelerate customer pilots and design-ins.
STATecovery: Making cellular signaling visible to accelerate drug development
Drug development for cancer and autoimmunity is slow and expensive. Current tools provide only static snapshots of a drug's effect on key signaling pathways like JAK-STAT, completely missing the real-time dynamics inside living cells that ultimately determine therapeutic success.
STATecovery's proprietary STATeLight biosensor platform solves this, helping pharmaceutical companies develop drugs faster while reducing late-stage failures and cutting costs. Their technology, protected by a patent application filed by the University of Zurich, provides a direct, continuous visualization of a drug's mechanism of action in living cells. Delivered as ready-to-use engineered cell lines, the platform offers a straightforward, single-step protocol compatible with standard laboratory equipment, including microscopes and high-throughput plate readers. STATecovery was founded by Dr. Roman Meledin and Thi Nguyen as a planned spin-out from the University of Zurich laboratory of Prof. Onur Boyman, to target the USD 21 billion cell-based assay market in oncology and immunology.
Venture Kick funds will support business development and market validation.
SurgExplore: AI-powered Software as a Medical Device
Every day, thousands of surgical videos are recorded and stored for regulatory and compliance purposes. However, this valuable source of information remains largely unutilized. Without intelligent tools to structure and interpret this data, valuable insights are lost, limiting surgical learning, quality improvement, and innovation.
Founded by experts in surgical AI, computer science, and product design, SurgExplore develops technology that transforms surgical videos into structured, searchable insights. Their platform enables automated documentation and intelligent video exploration, addressing a serviceable market of over CHF 1 billion while empowering surgeons through data-driven insights.
Venture Kick funding will support prototype refinement and strengthen product validation through early testing and feedback.