CHF 10,000 funding for immunogenicity intelligence, print-ready imaging, oral immune inhibitors, teen career AI, and underwater comms
24.11.2025
ALP AI, InfinityGen, Innunity Therapeutics, Stellenmatch, and Subatron were chosen at the first stage of Venture Kick’s financial and entrepreneurial support program. Their projects focus on designing biologics that align with the human immune system (ALP AI), creating a platform for generating high-resolution textures (InfinityGen), developing an oral innate immune inhibitor for progressive multiple sclerosis (Innunity Therapeutics), assisting teenagers in finding suitable careers through AI-guided conversations (Stellenmathc), and establishing a wireless underwater communication system for high-speed data transmission (Subatron).
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 ALP AI: CEO Christian Vahlensieck, CTO Anatol Ehrli, CSO Lucas Schaus, and CBO Punit Mehra
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 InfinityGen: CEO Gabriele Dominici and CTO Lorenzo Bellina
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 Innunity: CEO Dr. Antonios Katsoulas, Mentor Prof.Dr. Thorsten Buch, and COO Dr. Barna Gal
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 Stellenmatch: CEO Osaze Osa, CPO Florian Zumbühl, and CTO Ray Kluck
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 Subatron: CTO Mathias Werder, CEO Samira Baumann, and CFO Alissa Wyss
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ALP AI: Redefining Biologics Through Immunogenicity Intelligence
Biologic drugs hold enormous promise for chronic and complex diseases, yet their success depends on one unpredictable factor: the human immune system. Even highly potent antibodies can fail when the body mounts an unexpected anti-drug response, creating one of the costliest risks in modern drug development.
ALP AI introduces a new way to design biologics that work with, not against, human immunity. The startup uses tonsil-derived immune organoids to recreate real human immune reactions ex vivo and pairs these insights with generative AI models that predict and prevent anti-drug antibody responses at the earliest stages of discovery. This combination enables developers to uncover hidden immunogenicity risks, redesign sequences with precision, and advance candidates built to last in patients, disrupting the 40B USD antibody drug development market. Founded by Christian Vahlensieck, Lucas Schaus, Anatol Ehrlich, and Punit Mehra, ALP AI unites expertise in immunology, protein design, and machine learning.
Venture Kick funding will help ALP AI build a customer-facing front end for its beta model, making engagement and onboarding simpler for partners. It will also support early pilots and move the platform closer to full validation for ADA prediction and prevention.
InfinityGen: Infinite High-Resolution Images for Printing on Surfaces
Image acquisition from natural materials in the surface industry is currently slow, expensive, and environmentally impactful. While developing its solution, InfinityGen also discovered that the image upscaling field faces technical limits that its technology can surpass by more than 100x.
Founded in 2025 by Gabriele Dominici (CEO) and Lorenzo Bellina (CTO), InfinityGen has developed the world’s first platform enabling companies to instantly generate high-resolution, natural-looking textures for any format. The technology breaks traditional design constraints, enabling infinite patterns and mass customization. Furthermore, the startup has adapted its upscaling technology to general-purpose images, resulting in the most powerful image upscaler in the world in order to approach a way bigger market valued at 2.5B in 2024.
InfinityGen plans to use funds obtained through Venture Kick Stage 1 mainly to attend major trade fairs of the printing industry in order to do further market research and client acquisition on the upscaling and image enhancer market.
Innunity Therapeutics: A first-in-class oral innate immune inhibitor for progressive multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that causes progressive, irreversible disability, often requiring wheelchairs, home modifications, caregiver support, and leading to substantial loss of productivity. In contrast to the relapsing form of MS, where more than 20 approved therapies are available, no existing treatments effectively halt the slow, chronic “smoldering” inflammation in the CNS that drives progression, particularly in secondary and primary progressive MS. Innunity Therapeutics aims to address this critical gap by targeting the innate immune system, a fundamental driver of this persistent CNS inflammation.
Currently in the pre-incorporation stage, Innunity Therapeutics is a translational program emerging from the University of Zurich, founded on research conducted under the guidance of Prof. Thorsten Buch at the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science. Since its inception, the project has been led by Dr. Antonios Katsoulas, with development supported by his team. He is a neuroimmunologist with extensive MS research experience and a BioEntrepreneur Fellow, serving as CEO and scientific lead. In addition, Barna Gal, MD, a biotech entrepreneur with clinical and business expertise, serves as COO. The team is advancing first-in-class small molecules that modulate a key pathway in innate immune activation. This approach has demonstrated strong in vivo and in vitro efficacy and targets a global MS market exceeding USD 20 billion.
The Venture Kick funding will support business development efforts, compound optimization, and human validation studies. These activities will reinforce the scientific foundation and advance the asset to a stage where it is ready to initiate IND-enabling studies.
Stellenmatch: Guiding the youth to their dream job
In Switzerland, one in three apprenticeship contracts end early, causing more than CHF 40 million in annual societal costs. At 14, teenagers must choose from over 250 professions under pressure, often without self-reflection or work experience.
Stellenmatch helps teenagers find the career that truly fits them through a 45-minute AI-guided voice conversation that uncovers their traits and recommends suitable apprenticeships with personalized explanations. Founders Osaze Osa (CEO), Florian Zumbühl (CPO), and Ray Klauck (CTO) combine expertise in digital business, user experience, and software engineering. With the current solution addressing 40,000+ new apprentices yearly, the concept can be expanded across age groups and countries.
First sales to parents have been achieved. The Venture Kick funds will be used mainly to grow initial revenue and run smoke tests in a new vertical, helping adults and students reorient themselves in a fast-changing job market.
Subatron: Next-generation underwater communication systems
Existing underwater communication technologies face major limitations. Cable-based systems restrict mobility and range, optical systems only work over very short distances, and acoustic systems suffer from low data rates. These constraints hinder the performance and coordination of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), robots, and divers in critical applications such as search and rescue, inspection, and environmental monitoring.
Founded by a multidisciplinary team with strong expertise in physics, engineering, and business, Subatron develops a next-generation wireless underwater communication system that enables high data rate transmission over long distances. The founding team includes CEO Samira Baumann, CTO Mathias Werder, and CFO Alissa Wyss, who combine technical excellence and strategic experience to bring this innovation to market. With a working prototype already built, the startup is advancing its technology to serve markets such as UUVs, search and rescue units, and environmental monitoring.
The Venture Kick funds will be used to further develop and validate the prototype, conduct marketing activities and prepare for company incorporation.
Biologic drugs hold enormous promise for chronic and complex diseases, yet their success depends on one unpredictable factor: the human immune system. Even highly potent antibodies can fail when the body mounts an unexpected anti-drug response, creating one of the costliest risks in modern drug development.
ALP AI introduces a new way to design biologics that work with, not against, human immunity. The startup uses tonsil-derived immune organoids to recreate real human immune reactions ex vivo and pairs these insights with generative AI models that predict and prevent anti-drug antibody responses at the earliest stages of discovery. This combination enables developers to uncover hidden immunogenicity risks, redesign sequences with precision, and advance candidates built to last in patients, disrupting the 40B USD antibody drug development market. Founded by Christian Vahlensieck, Lucas Schaus, Anatol Ehrlich, and Punit Mehra, ALP AI unites expertise in immunology, protein design, and machine learning.
Venture Kick funding will help ALP AI build a customer-facing front end for its beta model, making engagement and onboarding simpler for partners. It will also support early pilots and move the platform closer to full validation for ADA prediction and prevention.
InfinityGen: Infinite High-Resolution Images for Printing on Surfaces
Image acquisition from natural materials in the surface industry is currently slow, expensive, and environmentally impactful. While developing its solution, InfinityGen also discovered that the image upscaling field faces technical limits that its technology can surpass by more than 100x.
Founded in 2025 by Gabriele Dominici (CEO) and Lorenzo Bellina (CTO), InfinityGen has developed the world’s first platform enabling companies to instantly generate high-resolution, natural-looking textures for any format. The technology breaks traditional design constraints, enabling infinite patterns and mass customization. Furthermore, the startup has adapted its upscaling technology to general-purpose images, resulting in the most powerful image upscaler in the world in order to approach a way bigger market valued at 2.5B in 2024.
InfinityGen plans to use funds obtained through Venture Kick Stage 1 mainly to attend major trade fairs of the printing industry in order to do further market research and client acquisition on the upscaling and image enhancer market.
Innunity Therapeutics: A first-in-class oral innate immune inhibitor for progressive multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that causes progressive, irreversible disability, often requiring wheelchairs, home modifications, caregiver support, and leading to substantial loss of productivity. In contrast to the relapsing form of MS, where more than 20 approved therapies are available, no existing treatments effectively halt the slow, chronic “smoldering” inflammation in the CNS that drives progression, particularly in secondary and primary progressive MS. Innunity Therapeutics aims to address this critical gap by targeting the innate immune system, a fundamental driver of this persistent CNS inflammation.
Currently in the pre-incorporation stage, Innunity Therapeutics is a translational program emerging from the University of Zurich, founded on research conducted under the guidance of Prof. Thorsten Buch at the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science. Since its inception, the project has been led by Dr. Antonios Katsoulas, with development supported by his team. He is a neuroimmunologist with extensive MS research experience and a BioEntrepreneur Fellow, serving as CEO and scientific lead. In addition, Barna Gal, MD, a biotech entrepreneur with clinical and business expertise, serves as COO. The team is advancing first-in-class small molecules that modulate a key pathway in innate immune activation. This approach has demonstrated strong in vivo and in vitro efficacy and targets a global MS market exceeding USD 20 billion.
The Venture Kick funding will support business development efforts, compound optimization, and human validation studies. These activities will reinforce the scientific foundation and advance the asset to a stage where it is ready to initiate IND-enabling studies.
Stellenmatch: Guiding the youth to their dream job
In Switzerland, one in three apprenticeship contracts end early, causing more than CHF 40 million in annual societal costs. At 14, teenagers must choose from over 250 professions under pressure, often without self-reflection or work experience.
Stellenmatch helps teenagers find the career that truly fits them through a 45-minute AI-guided voice conversation that uncovers their traits and recommends suitable apprenticeships with personalized explanations. Founders Osaze Osa (CEO), Florian Zumbühl (CPO), and Ray Klauck (CTO) combine expertise in digital business, user experience, and software engineering. With the current solution addressing 40,000+ new apprentices yearly, the concept can be expanded across age groups and countries.
First sales to parents have been achieved. The Venture Kick funds will be used mainly to grow initial revenue and run smoke tests in a new vertical, helping adults and students reorient themselves in a fast-changing job market.
Subatron: Next-generation underwater communication systems
Existing underwater communication technologies face major limitations. Cable-based systems restrict mobility and range, optical systems only work over very short distances, and acoustic systems suffer from low data rates. These constraints hinder the performance and coordination of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), robots, and divers in critical applications such as search and rescue, inspection, and environmental monitoring.
Founded by a multidisciplinary team with strong expertise in physics, engineering, and business, Subatron develops a next-generation wireless underwater communication system that enables high data rate transmission over long distances. The founding team includes CEO Samira Baumann, CTO Mathias Werder, and CFO Alissa Wyss, who combine technical excellence and strategic experience to bring this innovation to market. With a working prototype already built, the startup is advancing its technology to serve markets such as UUVs, search and rescue units, and environmental monitoring.
The Venture Kick funds will be used to further develop and validate the prototype, conduct marketing activities and prepare for company incorporation.