Ticino's startups achieve significant results

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In recent days, the Ticino startup ecosystem has experienced a moment of great excitement, with numerous innovative companies reaching significant milestones. These results demonstrate the value of Ticino as an ideal hub for startup development, thanks to its solid framework conditions and the support provided by the actors active in the Regional Innovation System (RIS), coordinated by Fondazione Agire.

 

TissueLabs closes a significant funding round and heads to Boston

TissueLabs, a startup specializing in the manufacture of artificial organs in the lab, has announced the closure of an $800,000 pre-seed funding round led by Mergus Ventures. The startup, originally from Brazil and now based at the Technopole Ticino since 2021, has recently relocated to Bellinzona, where an excellence center in life sciences is developing, also thanks to the Life Sciences Competence Center of the Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino. TissueLabs has also been selected by Venturelab as one of the ten startups participating in the Venture Leaders Biotech 2024 in Boston, one of the most important life sciences hubs globally.

 

xFarm launches an ambitious multi-year project with Riso Gallo

xFarm has announced an agreement for a multi-year project with Riso Gallo, one of Europe's largest rice companies. The program aims to digitize the entire company's supply chain, which includes over 180 farms, with the goal of increasing the environmental and economic sustainability of contributing farms. Following the pilot test conducted in 2023, involving six farms and digitally mapping over 400 hectares of land, xFarm aims to expand the number of users in 2024 and develop a dedicated platform for rice supply chain management.

 

Boldbrain alumni achieve important milestones

Several startups that participated in the latest editions of the Boldbrain Startup Challenge, organized by Fondazione Agire in collaboration with USI Startup Centre, are taking significant steps in their growth journey.

Just a few months after winning the 2023 edition of Boldbrain, Foldcast has been selected in the Top 15 of the prestigious W.A. de Vigier Foundation: an outstanding achievement not reached by a Ticino startup since 2017 when Skypull won one of the prizes. The startup, which has developed software for designing and producing fully recyclable cardboard formwork, will have the opportunity to be selected among the 10 finalists, competing for one of the five grants of CHF 100,000 each.

In other startup programs, Boldbrain alumni Decentralized Energy Corporation (BB 2023) and Elysium Lab (BB 2021) are finalists in the Finance & Insurance vertical of the >>venture>> competition, while SkinMind (Boldbrain 2023) has received funding from Venture Kick (Stage 1, CHF 10,000) to accelerate the development of its app for early diagnosis of skin cancer.

GoHealthy & Co. (Boldbrain 2022) announced the first investment in its pre-seed angel round. The startup aims to provide mental health professionals with a digital toolkit that includes a mobile app for patients synchronized with a professional dashboard.

 

Fondazione Agire services supporting startups

In supporting existing startups in Ticino or those intending to settle there, Fondazione Agire is committed to ensuring that entrepreneurs are informed about the opportunities offered by the Regional Innovation System and receive the necessary support. Our team is at your disposal to identify your actual or latent needs, provide guidance on options for the development and growth of your startup, guide you towards available initiatives at the local and Swiss levels, connect you with other actors in the System who may be useful to your project, and assist you in finding investors. Our support is neutral, confidential, transparent, and free of charge. For more information: agire.ch/startup.