W.A. de Vigier Award 2016: 4 Venture Kickers out of 5 laureates endowed with CHF 100’000
19.05.2016
On 19th of May 2016 five Swiss startups among which 4 Venture Kickers (Nanolive, Pregnolia, Gamaya and UrbanAlps) received the W.A. de Vigier Award, each endowed with CHF 100‘000. The sought-after prize was awarded in Solothurn for the 27th time in the presence of approximately 200 guests from the fields of economy, politics and science. The technology behind the winning projects can increase crop yields, put thieves out of business and even save lives.
Roughly 200 Swiss start-ups submitted their projects for the awards of 2016. This years’ projects were evaluated according to the following criteria: the entrepreneurial spirit of the CEO, the degree of innovation, the value for society as a whole, the technical and financial viability, market prospects and the potential for job creation.
The Venture Kick laureates:
Nanolive AG from Ecublens (VD) – 3D research on living cells Nanolive developed a revolutionary tomographic microscope to look instantly inside living cells in 3D without damaging them. The 3D Cell Explorer is a high speed, high resolution and noninvasive microscope that can look deep inside biological systems. This allows you to record stunning 3D images of entire cells and tissue slices in just seconds and with a higher resolution than any conventional microscope on the market. Recently Nanolive won the First Lab Innovation Award at the Lab Innovation Lausanne.
Pregnolia AG from Zurich (ZH) – Identifying the risk of preterm birth Preterm births are on the rise. Pregnolia developed a diagnostic tool that measures cervical stiffness in pregnant women. Monitoring cervical stiffness allows for the reliable identification of women at risk of preterm birth, thus solving the long standing problem of preterm birth risk assessment and management in pregnancy. Thanks to Pregnolia 80% of women at risk of preterm birth can be detected. Currently, the detection rate lies at only 40%.
Gamaya AG from Ecublens (VD) – 30% increase in agricultural yield Gamaya delivers large-scale analytics of farmland. Proprietary hyperspectral imaging cameras mounted on drones or manned aircrafts measure the reflectance of the crop, which allows an analysis of crop and soil characteristics. Farmers are provided with actionable information about their land and crops, which can increase profit margins by at least 30% while raising the quality of produce and making farming more sustainable.
UrbanAlps AG from Zurich (ZH) – Protection against 3D copying Today anybody can copy your house key. UrbanAlps brings the Stealth Key: an inexpensive mechanical key that is safe against 3D duplication. The solution is plain and simple: a key which hides most of its mechanical security features internally – rendering the key unscannable.
Watch the video of W.A. de Vigier's Award 2016
Read the full press release