CHF 40,000 for cold chain logistics, a software for diplomats, and precision grain sorting
15.09.2025
Cria Technologies, DiploTools, and Grenat were selected at the second financial and entrepreneurial support stage of Venture Kick. Their projects develop the world’s first shoulder-portable temperature-controlled container; empower diplomats with purpose-built technology; and empower small-scale farmers with precision grain sorting.
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 Cria Technologies: Co-Founders Andrea Festa, Giancarlo Mattiello, and Dr. Vittorio Palmieri
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 DiploTools: Co-Founders Jérôme Crettol & Nico Isler
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 Grenat: Luisa Collomb & Josué Scheidegger
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Cria Technologies: Redefining Cold Chain Logistics
Cria Technologies addresses a critical inefficiency in pharma/biotech cold chain logistics: today’s packaging is bulky, fragile, and requires excessive refrigerant. These legacy systems are ill-suited for emerging personalized therapies.
The startup’s founding team — Dr. Vittorio Palmieri (PhD, CERN physicist and serial entrepreneur), Giancarlo Mattiello (MEng, former Strategy &), and Andrea Festa (MEng, former Kearney) — developed Cria-Go, the world’s first shoulder-portable temperature-controlled container spanning –150°C to +8°C. Their patent-pending design, compatible with dry ice, liquid nitrogen, and Phase Change Materials (PCMs), eliminates the need for external crates or long conditioning time. With applications in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and fertility treatment transportation, Cria addresses a market growing at a 20% CAGR and expected to exceed USD 10B by 2030.
They will use the Venture Kick funding to accelerate pilot deployments with early customers, gather performance data, and prepare for certification.
DiploTools: Empowering diplomats with purpose-built technology
Diplomacy still relies on technology from the 1990s: handwritten notes, scattered emails, and manual reporting. In today’s increasingly complex world, these outdated tools limit how diplomats collaborate, respond, and shape outcomes on the global stage.
DiploTools delivers software designed for and by diplomats, enabling better coordination, data-driven decisions, and more time for strategy. Their mission: redefine diplomacy with human-centered technology that amplifies global impact. Founded in 2025, DiploTools is led by Jérôme Crettol, a former Swiss delegate, and Nico Isler, a seasoned tech entrepreneur. Their suite of AI-powered tools begins with UN election coordination and customized reporting for global conferences, already in use by several countries.
The Venture Kick funding will fuel their next phase: expanding to more missions and refining high-impact features that directly support and empower today’s diplomats.
Grenat: Empowering small-scale farmers with precision grain sorting
Small-scale farmers, who represent 86% of global farms, struggle to sort alternative grains like millet and pulses efficiently. Manual sorting is time-consuming and inefficient, while current optical sorters are costly and designed for industrial scale, making them inaccessible.
Grenat is a Swiss startup developing a compact, AI-powered optical sorter tailored to traditional and climate-resilient crops, which are key to the future of agriculture. The founding team combines expertise in automation, mechanics, media, finance, and design, and collaborates with industrial partners and producer networks. Leveraging proximity and trust with future customers, Grenat targets over 100 million smallholders globally, from Europe to Africa and India.
Venture Kick Stage 1 funds will be used to finalize a working MVP and strengthen the collaboration with our industrial partner Panaprod, laying the foundation for upcoming pilot tests this fall and future scaling.
Cria Technologies addresses a critical inefficiency in pharma/biotech cold chain logistics: today’s packaging is bulky, fragile, and requires excessive refrigerant. These legacy systems are ill-suited for emerging personalized therapies.
The startup’s founding team — Dr. Vittorio Palmieri (PhD, CERN physicist and serial entrepreneur), Giancarlo Mattiello (MEng, former Strategy &), and Andrea Festa (MEng, former Kearney) — developed Cria-Go, the world’s first shoulder-portable temperature-controlled container spanning –150°C to +8°C. Their patent-pending design, compatible with dry ice, liquid nitrogen, and Phase Change Materials (PCMs), eliminates the need for external crates or long conditioning time. With applications in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and fertility treatment transportation, Cria addresses a market growing at a 20% CAGR and expected to exceed USD 10B by 2030.
They will use the Venture Kick funding to accelerate pilot deployments with early customers, gather performance data, and prepare for certification.
DiploTools: Empowering diplomats with purpose-built technology
Diplomacy still relies on technology from the 1990s: handwritten notes, scattered emails, and manual reporting. In today’s increasingly complex world, these outdated tools limit how diplomats collaborate, respond, and shape outcomes on the global stage.
DiploTools delivers software designed for and by diplomats, enabling better coordination, data-driven decisions, and more time for strategy. Their mission: redefine diplomacy with human-centered technology that amplifies global impact. Founded in 2025, DiploTools is led by Jérôme Crettol, a former Swiss delegate, and Nico Isler, a seasoned tech entrepreneur. Their suite of AI-powered tools begins with UN election coordination and customized reporting for global conferences, already in use by several countries.
The Venture Kick funding will fuel their next phase: expanding to more missions and refining high-impact features that directly support and empower today’s diplomats.
Grenat: Empowering small-scale farmers with precision grain sorting
Small-scale farmers, who represent 86% of global farms, struggle to sort alternative grains like millet and pulses efficiently. Manual sorting is time-consuming and inefficient, while current optical sorters are costly and designed for industrial scale, making them inaccessible.
Grenat is a Swiss startup developing a compact, AI-powered optical sorter tailored to traditional and climate-resilient crops, which are key to the future of agriculture. The founding team combines expertise in automation, mechanics, media, finance, and design, and collaborates with industrial partners and producer networks. Leveraging proximity and trust with future customers, Grenat targets over 100 million smallholders globally, from Europe to Africa and India.
Venture Kick Stage 1 funds will be used to finalize a working MVP and strengthen the collaboration with our industrial partner Panaprod, laying the foundation for upcoming pilot tests this fall and future scaling.