CHF 40,000 for greenhouse cultivation with direct air capture, faster bacterial pathogen identification, and plant-based microbiome nutraceuticals
19.02.2025
Fortyfour, Myriad Optics, and Trilliome were chosen for Venture Kick's second financial and entrepreneurial support stage. Their projects develop a fully electric Direct Air Capture technology that captures CO2 straight from the air for farmers, eliminating transportation and storage costs; innovate through a unique integration of Raman spectroscopy, microfluidics, and machine learning into portable devices that can be used at the point of testing; and offer sustainable, plant-derived precision nutraceuticals that harness the microbiome to tackle core health challenges like cognitive decline and metabolic disorders.
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 fortyfour: Pedro Reina, Henry Müller, and Mathias Müller
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 Myriad Optics: Co-Founders Marwan El Chazli and Fahradin Mujovi, and CSO Jordan Vacheron
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 Trilliome: Patrick Guye & Tim N. Mak
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fortyfour: Transforming Greenhouse Cultivation with Direct Air Capture
European greenhouse farmers face a critical challenge: they inject millions of tons of fossil CO2 to help plants grow faster. With European regulations mandating the phase-out of fossil CO2 by 2040, farmers urgently need a clean alternative to keep growing food efficiently.
fortyfour solves this challenge with a fully-electric Direct Air Capture technology that captures CO2 straight from the air. Unlike current methods that often rely on the availability of thermal energy, their electric-powered technology produces the CO2 right where it’s needed. This makes it both environmentally friendly and cost-effective for farmers, eliminating transportation and storage costs. A complementary founding team leads the startup: Pedro Reina and Mathias Müller, who together pioneer their proprietary liquid absorber technology at the heart of their technology; and Henry Müller, who focuses on business development and financing of the hardware.
The Venture Kick funds will support the development of larger prototypes as the team works toward installing their first pilot plant. With interest from key industry players, the funding will accelerate their path to market validation.
Myriad Optics: faster bacterial pathogen identification
Current methods for detecting and identifying bacterial pathogens in the food industry take up to several days before delivering results. As a result, contaminated products regularly make their way to supermarkets, resulting in illnesses for consumers, extremely costly recalls for food companies, and a significant waste of food products. Myriad Optics is developing new fast bacterial contamination detection methods to address this.
The company was co-founded by Marwan El Chazli and Fahradin Mujovi, two EPFL graduates specializing in biomedical technologies and microengineering. As the company grows, it will target the industry’s over USD 10B bacterial testing market. Myriad Optics is innovating through its unique integration of Raman spectroscopy, microfluidics, and machine learning into portable devices that can be used at the point of testing.
The Venture Kick funding will support the company’s first pilot tests and the development of its online presence and promotional and business materials.
Trilliome: Advancing Global Health with Plant-Based Microbiome Nutraceuticals
Modern lifestyles negatively influence the gut microbiome, leading to chronic issues like cognitive decline, metabolic disorders, and inflammation. Existing solutions lack precision and efficacy and fail to address these root causes. We aim to restore microbiome health to improve overall well-being.
Trilliome, founded in 2023 by CEO Patrick Guye, PhD, MBA, and CBO Tim N. Mak, PhD, MBA, develops sustainable, plant-derived precision nutraceuticals that harness the microbiome to tackle core health challenges like cognitive decline and metabolic disorders. Leveraging decades of expertise, advanced gut models, and proprietary data, Trilliome's products amplify specific beneficial resident gut bacteria that cannot be provided through probiotics supplementation. With the gut health supplements market projected to reach USD 23 billion by 2031, age-related cognitive decline costing USD 305 billion annually in the U.S. alone, and 65% of global consumers seeking cognitive health products, Trilliome meets this demand to enhance healthspan for all.
The team intends to use the Venture Kick financing to fortify its supply chain management and enhance regulatory compliance strategies.
European greenhouse farmers face a critical challenge: they inject millions of tons of fossil CO2 to help plants grow faster. With European regulations mandating the phase-out of fossil CO2 by 2040, farmers urgently need a clean alternative to keep growing food efficiently.
fortyfour solves this challenge with a fully-electric Direct Air Capture technology that captures CO2 straight from the air. Unlike current methods that often rely on the availability of thermal energy, their electric-powered technology produces the CO2 right where it’s needed. This makes it both environmentally friendly and cost-effective for farmers, eliminating transportation and storage costs. A complementary founding team leads the startup: Pedro Reina and Mathias Müller, who together pioneer their proprietary liquid absorber technology at the heart of their technology; and Henry Müller, who focuses on business development and financing of the hardware.
The Venture Kick funds will support the development of larger prototypes as the team works toward installing their first pilot plant. With interest from key industry players, the funding will accelerate their path to market validation.
Myriad Optics: faster bacterial pathogen identification
Current methods for detecting and identifying bacterial pathogens in the food industry take up to several days before delivering results. As a result, contaminated products regularly make their way to supermarkets, resulting in illnesses for consumers, extremely costly recalls for food companies, and a significant waste of food products. Myriad Optics is developing new fast bacterial contamination detection methods to address this.
The company was co-founded by Marwan El Chazli and Fahradin Mujovi, two EPFL graduates specializing in biomedical technologies and microengineering. As the company grows, it will target the industry’s over USD 10B bacterial testing market. Myriad Optics is innovating through its unique integration of Raman spectroscopy, microfluidics, and machine learning into portable devices that can be used at the point of testing.
The Venture Kick funding will support the company’s first pilot tests and the development of its online presence and promotional and business materials.
Trilliome: Advancing Global Health with Plant-Based Microbiome Nutraceuticals
Modern lifestyles negatively influence the gut microbiome, leading to chronic issues like cognitive decline, metabolic disorders, and inflammation. Existing solutions lack precision and efficacy and fail to address these root causes. We aim to restore microbiome health to improve overall well-being.
Trilliome, founded in 2023 by CEO Patrick Guye, PhD, MBA, and CBO Tim N. Mak, PhD, MBA, develops sustainable, plant-derived precision nutraceuticals that harness the microbiome to tackle core health challenges like cognitive decline and metabolic disorders. Leveraging decades of expertise, advanced gut models, and proprietary data, Trilliome's products amplify specific beneficial resident gut bacteria that cannot be provided through probiotics supplementation. With the gut health supplements market projected to reach USD 23 billion by 2031, age-related cognitive decline costing USD 305 billion annually in the U.S. alone, and 65% of global consumers seeking cognitive health products, Trilliome meets this demand to enhance healthspan for all.
The team intends to use the Venture Kick financing to fortify its supply chain management and enhance regulatory compliance strategies.