Startups Optimizing VR for Hollywood, Deep Learning for Drug Discovery, Transmission for Cyclists, Farming for Cities, and Measuring for Molecular Scientists Win CHF 10,000

DeepCDR Biologics AG: deep learning for antibody discovery

Currently, drug-developers searching for new therapeutic antibodies use time-consuming, experimental screening processes that can take years to develop candidates ready for clinical trial. DeepCDR's co-founders Derek Mason, Simon Friedensohn, Sai Reddy, and André Mercanzini, combine gene editing, deep sequencing and deep learning to radically accelerate the therapeutic antibody discovery process. This ETH-spinoff's patented discovery workflow combines drug screening in mammalian cells with deep learning to generate thousands of optimized lead candidates at ten-times the speed of current technology, focusing on the $100 billion monoclonal antibody market.

 

Eldico Scientific AG: electron diffractometers to explore nano-crystal substances

Today's scientific methods can only measure crystalline substances to the micro-meter scale, meaning humankind only understands the full molecular structure of 10 percent of all substances. This limits our ability to discover new drugs. Eldico Scientific has developed electron diffractometers that can investigate such compounds to a scale a million times smaller in volume. Co-founders Gustavo Santiso-Quinones, Gunther Steinfeld, Eric Hovestreydt and Nils Gebhardt are confident their innovation will lead to new products in the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and material science-industries.

 

RatioX Sàrl: continuously variable transmission for bikes

Product design engineer and IMD MBA graduate Simon Faneco founded ratioX to develop a bicycle transmission system that means riders never need to change gear. This user-friendly product simplifies cycling and is low maintenance, making it ideal for commuters and cyclists who value reliable and practical mobility. Faneco now seeks to validate the design with testing after completing a demonstrator prototype, as ratioX targets the ebike market set to reach CHF 3 billion by 2030.

 

Percim AG: Verification and authentication of visual data

With the increase in altered images and fake videos comes the question: how can we trace origin and ownership of a digital visual asset? Secure digital ownership will open a new market for transactions of visual data. The team at ETH-spinoff Percim are developing software to verify images, video, and 3D data for gaming and AR/VR applications. Their robust tech stores a counterfeit-resistant signature of the protected visual on a blockchain. Co-founders Amina Fazlic, Hasan Karahan, and Markus Gross – the Oscar-winning movie-technologist, ETH professor and leader of research for DisneyResearch|Studios – combine expertise in computer graphics, computer vision, AI and blockchain.

 

YASAI: vertical crops to cut farming’s footprint

Agriculture uses 38 percent of the Earth's ice-free land. With the world's population set to grow by a third, food production will need to expand vertically, not horizontally, in order to feed 10 billion people by 2050 and preserve the existing natural ecosystem. ETH-architect Mark Zahran is developing automated farming modules that will produce more food using a smaller footprint – physically and ecologically. Requiring less human labor YASAI’s holistic vertical farm design generates higher revenue than competitors.