E97 [AI-Translated] SSUD | HSG Accelerator | Nvidia | Fundraising-Fehler | rrreefs | LimmaTech Exit | Visium | AVIAN

00:00:00: The original podcast was recorded

00:00:02: in German.

00:00:03: This podcast was translated using Artificial Intelligence, Burnrate the Venture Insider Podcast

00:00:09: with Max Meister

00:00:10: and Guy Jufredi.

00:00:12: Hello!

00:00:12: And welcome to Burnrate – the VC Insider podcast.

00:00:16: I'm talking here with Guy Juffredi about the startup scene With a focus on venture capital.

00:00:22: Episode ninety-seven is On the Agenda.

00:00:24: We are recording on Thursday, May twenty-eighth at nine o'clock in the evening.

00:00:29: This podcast is sponsored by our partners Ari Ventures and Wenger Vieli.

00:00:34: so guy what are today's topics?

00:00:37: So we start todays news uh...in Bern..at The Startup Days And take a look At how the Swiss startup ecosystem Is currently feeling.

00:00:46: Then will talk about two startups from the HSG Start Accelerator Ethan Robotics and Surface CleanTech And we also have something from Nvidia in the news, they are currently investing heavily in AI startups and acting as an infrastructure partner for many companies.

00:01:01: In the main topic will talk about fundraising and why many founders work extremely hard but still do not really make progress in the fund raising process.

00:01:10: Today we do not have a listener question.

00:01:12: Instead, We have Ulrike Prunt from Reif as a guest.

00:01:16: They are currently raising a financing round with our partner Omnium.

00:01:19: and finally As always will take a look at the transactions of The Week.

00:01:24: Very good!

00:01:25: Let's start With the news Of THE WEEK.

00:01:27: First, we're heading to Bern.

00:01:29: The Swiss startup scene gathered there for two days at the Swiss Startup Days twenty-twenty six at Kursal.

00:01:35: around one thousand five hundred participants attended in total.

00:01:38: these included founders investors corporates researchers and ecosystem builders making it a major gathering in Bern.

00:01:46: according to start up ticker the mood was good but not euphoric.

00:01:50: There is confidence yes but also many thoughtful tones, especially around financing growth funding and the question of how broadly accessible the Swiss startup ecosystem really is.

00:02:02: On the main day of The Swiss Startup Days there were more than six hundred scheduled one-on-one meetings over forty sessions and more than one hundred twenty five speakers.

00:02:12: keynotes came from unicorn founders such as Julian Tiki From WeFox As well as Hani Rashwan an Ophelia Snyder from Twenty One Shares.

00:02:20: Topics included AI growth, founder personality and the question of how to build truly large companies from Switzerland.

00:02:28: Guy you were there in person!

00:02:30: How did you experience startup days this year?

00:02:32: Of course I'm always at Startup Days In Bern.

00:02:35: home turf a home game.

00:02:37: it's a must attend event for anyone involved with startups in The Bern ecosystem.

00:02:42: naturally i spoke with many startups as always these events.

00:02:46: it was clear that they were actively looking for fundraising opportunities and in some cases, partners.

00:02:52: It was very interesting to exchange ideas with these founders.

00:02:56: as always I also had updates and catch-ups from various GPS funds.

00:03:00: That's something you do at networking events where the entire ecosystem participates!

00:03:08: especially when one of the early stage VC's is already involved, along with CVC and institutional investors interested in startups.

00:03:17: I also spoke to them as every year it's very important for building bridges.

00:03:21: if you have a portfolio company or another startup that needs a connection You find exactly right people there.

00:03:28: A BB & AXPO were both present and highly motivated To work with start-ups again at this moment.

00:03:34: That was encouraging.

00:03:36: All the ecosystem partners were there and highly motivated to contribute.

00:03:40: And as always, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel for our adventures and BKB.

00:03:47: this year The topic was angels or not?

00:03:50: When does it make sense To have angel investors on board On the panel where Jörg Schwarzenbach As an investor Maximilian Rothenberger from space tech and Rafi Oberholzer From Ayiva?

00:04:03: It Was An Extremely Interesting Discussion.

00:04:06: Eric Postel from Substring also took on a co-moderation role, as he does every year.

00:04:11: The key takeaway from that discussion which I'll summarize briefly for our listeners was that... For both startups SpaceTech and Aeva having business angels onboard was essential.

00:04:22: You don't always hear that stated so directly anymore.

00:04:25: These are hardware start ups with relatively large capital requirements And at the founding stage they relied on capital From supportive Angels who understand Startups.

00:04:34: They know things don't move quickly and they raised primarily from angels within the R Ventures network, though not exclusively.

00:04:41: I also found their reasons for bringing Angels on board very interesting For both founders.

00:04:46: The Angels brought governance and accountability.

00:04:49: It was no longer just there own project where were trying to grow their money.

00:04:52: it created additional motivation because wanted generate success everyone involved And they also had to report back each quarter on what they had actually achieved and how they had advanced the business.

00:05:03: One final point I found very interesting was their answer regarding oversubscription.

00:05:08: one of two founders, i won't say which one didn't hesitate for a second and said absolutely take the capital even if it means little more dilution.

00:05:17: The investors who are interested now will continue helping you.

00:05:21: If turn them away They probably wont invest later either.

00:05:25: To conclude this long monologue On the evening of start-up days, there was a second or third edition of Burnpreneur.

00:05:31: I also find that it's very exciting initiative launched by The Economic Society of Burn and Be Advanced.

00:05:38: Beat Brechbühel Roger Neuschwender and the Start Up Days team brought startups and SMEs together to create exactly these kinds of connections in collaborations.

00:05:47: There were around forty people there And It is an extremely interesting exchange between founders & companies.

00:05:53: Special thanks go all the organizers including Fabian Wassmer who might always enjoy meeting and whose conversations I highly value.

00:06:01: And of course, Dominique Eisler as well.

00:06:03: very good thank you guy.

00:06:05: let's move to eastern Switzerland.

00:06:07: at the demo day off the hsg start accelerator eight startups completed the program second cohort.

00:06:19: Particularly exciting, two startups received investments through the accelerator namely Aethon Robotics and Surface CleanTech.

00:06:28: Aethone Robotics is developing a drone solution that can attach itself to structures in order to perform inspection and maintenance work at height directly on site without scaffolding or rope access systems.

00:06:42: This can reduce costs and downtime, especially for infrastructure industrial facilities.

00:06:48: And hard to reach buildings.

00:06:50: surface clean tech meanwhile is working on a reinforcing coating for compostable packaging films.

00:06:55: it has applied like a coating layer and is intended to allow manufacturers To save up to thirty percent of material without sacrificing performance or compositability.

00:07:05: HSG particularly emphasised the role of the Pan-Alpine Innovation Ecosystem and Eastern Switzerland.

00:07:12: Universities, industry & entrepreneurship are closely connected there... ...and that is intended to bring scalable deep tech ideas to market more quickly.

00:07:23: Guy what do you find more exciting?

00:07:25: The specific investments we heard about or the signal that DeepTech and Tech in general.. ..are becoming more institutionalized in eastern Switzerland?

00:07:35: For me, I would say the signal effect is almost even more exciting.

00:07:39: The individual investments are certainly important as well but they are contributions of up to two hundred thousand Swiss francs.

00:07:46: That's not nothing, but it is also not huge amounts for large-scale topics.

00:07:50: I mean Aethon Robotics and Surface CleanTech are both strong examples that solve very concrete industrial problems.

00:07:57: Making work at height cheaper and safer Is a topic we've heard about many times before And if really works effectively It of course extremely exciting.

00:08:06: Reducing packaging material without sacrificing sustainability Is naturally a very positive story.

00:08:13: What i find important Eastern Switzerland is trying to build deep tech systematically.

00:08:19: When a university like HSG brings investors and industry partners together closely, then it doesn't just create the demo day but also genuine pipeline for investors.

00:08:30: And I find these kinds of regional Deep Tech Pipeline initiatives very important if Switzerland wants to produce not only good research But also scalable companies from it.

00:08:42: HSG is well known as a business school and then you have ETH with the tech side, an EPFL.

00:08:49: So I think it's good setup.

00:08:51: Max, Aethon Robotics & Surface CleanTech both sound very application oriented.

00:08:56: Is that typical for successful deep-tech startups in your view?

00:09:00: Less science fiction or more concrete industrial use cases?

00:09:04: Deep Tech is often perceived to be something very abstract A lot of research, usually long development cycles relatively complex or complicated technologies.

00:09:15: but the best deep-tech cases are usually very concrete.

00:09:20: Ethon robotics addresses a clear problem and same is true for surface clean tech.

00:09:25: that's exactly where market potential emerges not just because technology is exciting but because the customer immediately understands what problem is being solved.

00:09:35: And I think that's why selecting these two companies makes a lot of sense.

00:09:40: Let's take a quick look at The United States, specifically at NVIDIA.

00:09:44: In the last quarter alone, NVIDia invested eighteen point six billion dollars in venture capital like investments and non-public equity holdings.

00:09:55: According to its balance sheet, NVIDIA held a total of forty two point three billion dollars in non-marketable equity securities.

00:10:03: In the April quarter one year earlier that figure was only three point two billion dollars.

00:10:09: That's a massive jump and it shows that Nvidia is no longer just the most important supplier off The AI boom.

00:10:15: nvidia is increasingly becoming a financier of the AI boom as well.

00:10:20: At first glance, NVIDIA is generating enormous amounts of cash because the entire world How much of that demand is indirectly financed by NVIDIA itself?

00:10:44: Because if NVIDia invests in AI startups, cloud providers or infrastructure partners and those companies then buy Nvidia chips-in-return a cycle emerges.

00:10:55: That may be strategically very clever but it also makes the system more fragile.

00:11:00: nvidia than depends not only on real end customer demand But increasingly on the financial health of its own partners.

00:11:07: Guy, is this simply a smart ecosystem strategy by NVIDIA or does it already resemble a form of vendor financing where a supplier finances its own demand?

00:11:20: I would say that it's strategically both.

00:11:22: It's obviously extremely logical and NVIDia wants as many AI companies possible to build on its infrastructure.

00:11:29: if they provide capital.

00:11:30: that naturally creates stronger relationship access perhaps even preferred route to Nvidia hardware.

00:11:37: That is a classic platform strategy, just with enormous amounts of money involved.

00:11:41: We're not talking about a few million dollars but countless billions that NVIDIA is effectively committing to customers.

00:11:47: at the same time The vendor financing aspect cannot be ignored.

00:11:51: if some customers continue buying GPUs from Nvidia rather than other market participants simply because nvidia has provided them with capital then the demand Is Not quite as clean As it appears At first glance.

00:12:03: that doesn't automatically mean It's bad But investors should take a closer look.

00:12:09: Is the growth coming from genuine product demand or from a cycle of capital chips, cloud capacity and then another financing roundup?

00:12:17: Max what does this development mean for AI startups?

00:12:20: is Nvidia as an investor are huge advantage Or can it also become dangerous if a startup becomes too dependent on a strategic infrastructure partner?

00:12:29: I

00:12:30: think it is definitely a major advantage.

00:12:32: It brings capital, credibility access to hardware and sometimes even customers or partners especially in a market where computing capacity as the bottleneck that can be extremely valuable.

00:12:45: but as we've heard The dependency is real.

00:12:47: if your investor is also you're most important supplier.

00:12:50: That can distort your strategy.

00:12:52: You may end up optimizing more for GPU availability and Nvidia compatibility than for genuine differentiation in the market.

00:13:00: And, For future investors The question becomes Is startup independently strong or is it part of a financially and technologically interconnected nvidia cluster?

00:13:12: The bigger danger is that many AI startups are not built on sustainable unit economics but rather on continuously available capital and accessible chips.

00:13:22: As long as the market remains euphoric, it works very well.

00:13:27: But if financing becomes scarcer or AI revenues fail to grow quickly enough It become obvious which companies have genuine demand And were simply part of infrastructure boom.

00:13:39: So long.

00:13:40: story short, I think the wheat will separate from the chaff.

00:13:43: This episode is presented by ARE Ventures – The Burn-Based Business Angel Club.

00:13:49: ARE Venture connects ambitious Swiss startups with experienced investors who offer more than just capital a strong network real expertise and hands on support for crucial early stages.

00:14:00: If you are startup looking to grow or an investor seeking access Apply for our next event at www.airaventures.ch.

00:14:11: Wenge and Wieli, your legal partner for startups.

00:14:14: Whether it's company formation a financing round or an exit Startups face complex legal challenges.

00:14:20: Wenge & Wielie supports founders At every stage of their company journey with tailored advice on corporate law Financing Tax matters And intellectual property protection.

00:14:30: Wenge&Wieli Your Legal Advisor For Startups Guy, before we move to the main topic let's take a quick detour into the space tech industry.

00:14:40: We have a major IPO coming up right?

00:14:42: Absolutely and this isn't small.

00:14:44: Swiss Space Tech startup were talking about SpaceX by Elon Musk.

00:14:49: they are going public at an astonishing valuation that is now approaching two trillion US dollars So it will be extremely exciting to see whether they can raise all the capital and how demand for the stock develops during the first weeks.

00:15:06: I mean, the economics that have are a bit out of this world quite literally in space with extremely high revenue and profit multiples that you simply don't see elsewhere And there's certainly enough Elon fans who want to jump on board at this valuation.

00:15:19: i think we'll go very well.

00:15:20: What do you think?

00:15:21: Well,

00:15:22: I fought my way through this jungle of documents and one figure really stood out

00:15:34: to me.

00:15:46: I'd like to draw attention to an interesting opinion piece in the Financial Times published today, Thursday.

00:15:52: The journalist argues that companies like Meta where Mark Zuckerberg also controls a very large voting share are often assigned a discount by public market investors and his conclusion is that SpaceX could therefore be a risky investment because Elon Musk effectively controls

00:16:08: everything.".

00:16:09: And since we all know that Elon Musk does not always make decisions

00:16:16: That's putting it politely.

00:16:17: Exactly,

00:16:18: that could potentially become dangerous.

00:16:21: so I can highly recommend the article.

00:16:23: maybe we can even link in show notes later.

00:16:26: It is really very interesting but let us move on to our main topic.

00:16:30: Today were talking about something probably every founder knows.

00:16:34: as soon fund raising appears on agenda You feel like you are doing a lot yet process doesn't moving forward.

00:16:41: You work on the pitch deck, refine the equity story.

00:16:44: Build investor lists rewrite emails.

00:16:47: over and over again you prepare for possible questions including nasty questions.

00:16:52: at first glance all of this looks like progress And Of course these things are important but This is often exactly where The problem lies.

00:17:00: a lot of activity does not automatically mean A lot of progress.

00:17:04: There are founders who spend a very long time polishing things in private.

00:17:08: They only want to go out once the deck is perfect, The list is complete and the equity story is fully polished.

00:17:14: And that feels safe because they haven't received any direct rejection yet.

00:17:18: But at the same time... ...they miss the most important thing Real feedback from the market.

00:17:24: The other group of founders goes out much earlier.

00:17:27: Not completely unprepared, but also not with the expectation that everything has to be perfect.

00:17:33: They talk to investors receive questions hear skepticism maybe even get rejected.

00:17:39: But they learn and precisely because of that their pitch often improves Much faster than it would through weeks Of intensive optimization.

00:17:47: for me That's the key point.

00:17:48: fundraising is not a theoretical preparation process.

00:17:52: It's learning.

00:17:53: A deck doesn't become better simply because you move slides around or smooth out wording.

00:17:59: It becomes better when you understand what questions investors actually ask, where they lose interest why they lose interests and which parts of the story are still not convincing?

00:18:09: I mean...you mentioned it.

00:18:10: preparation simply feels controllable.

00:18:13: You have to pitch-deck in front of view Hey!

00:18:15: ...You can still polish a little more until really looks perfect And then in evening realize hey I built two new slides or really improved to slides, rewrote the financials once again so that supposedly everyone should understand them now.

00:18:27: You added fifty more investors.

00:18:34: There's the email which you also mentioned.

00:18:35: You can rewrite it a hundred times, your still writing at yourself and don't know how other person will receive or what they'll read into it... ...you dont' know whether they understand exactly what you're trying to say.

00:18:47: And as soon as actually go out there that when get feedback If u get feedback then maybe wait and think I didn't get any feedback from these next five.

00:18:55: i'll wait longer until tell me something.

00:18:58: Those responses can be no's Or we'll back in two weeks.

00:19:03: And that's why many founders often confuse activity with progress.

00:19:08: They are very busy, but they're not really learning anything from the market while preparing the materials.

00:19:14: Real progress only happens when you actually talk to investors resolve their doubts and When they clearly tell you why they are NOT investing.

00:19:22: That's when you know how to adjust the pitch for the next one.

00:19:25: Of course You always need to reflect on a rejection comes in.

00:19:28: Why didn't it work?

00:19:29: Was It simply The wrong investor?

00:19:31: or did they see something that we didn't see, or something that should have highlighted much better?

00:19:37: Maybe it's just the vision.

00:19:38: Or how the problem is being solved... ...or a competition slide?

00:19:42: You simply need market feedback.

00:19:43: I think That's extremely important.

00:19:46: What would be best process from your perspective?

00:19:48: In other words How should founders structure fundraising so that a lot of activity actually turns into real progress?

00:19:55: There are clear recommendations here Fundraising as a sales process.

00:19:59: In the end you're receiving money.

00:20:01: it's not revenue but ultimately its capital in the bank account.

00:20:05: so you should treat like a sales process.

00:20:07: It is not simply one time pitch deck review build concrete pipeline use some tool hub spot pipe drive whatever u have maybe zoho.

00:20:17: there are many of them.

00:20:18: You can start with a free version where you get clear overview, who have contacted?

00:20:23: when did contact them?

00:20:24: Who responded?

00:20:25: what was the answer.

00:20:26: When exactly do follow up after five days ten day two-days need to define all of that very clearly within fund raising process.

00:20:35: also who is warm?

00:20:37: whose cold meaning?

00:20:38: who's more interested and less interesting?

00:20:41: Where do you feel there is a higher probability of an investment who still needs information and you build a DDQ?

00:20:49: Similar questions keep coming up all the time.

00:20:51: And ideally, you collect them in an Excel sheet that you continuously expand.

00:20:55: when someone is interested You send them the DDQ and they can also see.

00:21:00: other investors have already asked good question.

00:21:03: then you need to prioritize very consistently.

00:21:06: How does it work Max?

00:21:08: A rejection from investor Is it a setback or can also be an important data point for founders?

00:21:15: A rejection is always unpleasant.

00:21:17: We're not really used to people telling us no here in Switzerland But for me, a rejection is actually something very valuable.

00:21:25: Especially in fundraising every conversation is a signal.

00:21:28: maybe the investor doesn't understand the market?

00:21:31: Maybe the story isn't clear enough yet?

00:21:33: Maybe there's missing proof point in business model.

00:21:36: The important thing not to process rejections only emotionally but also very analytically.

00:21:42: Which questions kept coming up?

00:21:44: Where was their skepticism?

00:21:45: At what point did the conversation turn from that, you can improve your pitch deck and story much faster than if you work on them alone for weeks.

00:21:54: That's why it is extremely important when presenting someone else.

00:22:02: Where do they furrow their brows?

00:22:04: where Do They ask follow-up questions, where do they shake Their heads.

00:22:08: Where did a nod to show understanding?

00:22:10: it's incredibly important To pay close attention and also write down those nasty Questions that keep coming up so That you're better prepared next time.

00:22:19: I also have to say that the deck itself isn't that important anymore.

00:22:22: We know that we still review decks ourselves today,

00:22:48: Maybe an important point I'd like to add here, because it's extremely relevant.

00:22:52: If you're in a fundraising process also ask investors about their decision-making process.

00:22:58: how long does it take?

00:22:59: What information do they look at?

00:23:01: then you'll know.

00:23:02: okay i've now had three meetings with an investment analyst.

00:23:06: that may not carry the same weight as a call with a general partner of a fund who makes decisions relatively quickly and has a lean process.

00:23:12: so don't be afraid to ask.

00:23:14: That is very important for founders.

00:23:16: You are The Counter Parties.

00:23:18: Both sides need to be happy if a deal ultimately happens.

00:23:33: Reefs is currently launching an investment campaign on Omnium.

00:23:43: And we're speaking with Ulrika about oceans, impact science entrepreneurship and how to build a financeable and scalable startup from A Big Mission.

00:23:53: welcome Ulrika!

00:23:55: Hello Max it's great to be here.

00:23:56: let start simply what is reef in one sentence?

00:24:00: Why should people care about it even People who don't think about coral reefs every day.

00:24:05: Reeves is a social enterprise from Switzerland through which we rebuild coral reefs around the world.

00:24:10: Everyone should care because coral reefs are the most threatened ecosystem on this planet, yet around one billion people depend on them along with trillions of dollars in economic value every

00:24:21: year.".

00:24:21: That's a huge problem when you put it like that!

00:24:24: When did you personally first feel that coral reefs were not just an environmental issue but really something you wanted to dedicate your life too?

00:24:31: That really started in twenty seventeen, interestingly enough at an entrepreneurship summer school in Silicon Valley.

00:24:37: I'm actually a biological oceanographer by training so i spent many years studying the oceans academically.

00:24:42: but there i started moving a bit more toward entrepreneurship and silicon valley style moonshot thinking.

00:24:48: we looked at problems and asked what the biggest problems in the world are that need solving.

00:24:53: it was a fantastic group of ninety people from all over the world during.

00:24:58: With the passion I've always had for ecosystems in general, I absolutely love forests too.

00:25:03: Really anything wild and full of life... ...I identified coral reefs as the most threatened

00:25:08: ecosystem.".

00:25:09: At the same time i asked myself where can actually make a meaningful contribution with the skills that I have?

00:25:15: And the answer was Coral Reef Restoration because it is an intersection between my academic expertise….

00:25:21: …and a very large global problem – That's Where It Started!

00:25:25: but it still took a long time, about two years before we actually got started.

00:25:29: Let's zoom out a little... Many people hear about coral reef die-off and think well that is somewhere far away in the oceans especially here in Switzerland or Europe where we don't really have major coral reefs around us.

00:25:43: Why does the condition of coral reefs affect us in Switzerland & Europe aswell?

00:25:47: To the point you want to build global company from here.

00:25:51: Fun fact!

00:25:52: We are surrounded by coral reefs too.

00:25:55: They're just very, very old.

00:25:57: The Dolomites are coral reefs.

00:25:59: the Dolomite's are a limestone mountain range and back when the Mediterranean was different ocean still tropical.

00:26:05: it once a coral reef that later rose up.

00:26:08: so thats fascinating in itself.

00:26:10: but another connection to Switzerland is biodiversity.

00:26:13: Reefs are most biodiverse ecosystem on planet.

00:26:17: Tropical rainforest come next there more different species per unit area or volume than anywhere else.

00:26:23: This diversity creates an incredible reservoir of genetic potential, including pharmacologically active compounds.

00:26:30: There's something called bioprospecting which means searching reefs for medical compounds.

00:26:35: We're not doing that in our business today but it is interesting fact and potentially even a business area of its own.

00:26:41: Coral Reefs contain tremendous potential cancer treatments pain medication antiviral drugs new antibiotics.

00:26:49: More generally, biodiversity itself is important because humanity depends on maintaining the diversity of life.

00:26:55: At some point we'll probably need new solutions inspired by nature that may sound a bit abstract.

00:27:01: more concretely if We lose the world's coral reefs and I'm talking only about tropical coral reefs which cover just around one percent Of the ocean surface The global fishing industry is threatened.

00:27:12: everything in the Ocean Is connected through currents?

00:27:14: And the nature of the marine environment.

00:27:17: Many fish larvae spend part of their lives in coral reefs and later migrate into the open ocean.

00:27:22: Tuna are one example, certain whale species also depend on coral reefs?

00:27:26: They depend on them acoustically.

00:27:28: they listen for reefs and use them for navigation helping them avoid stranding.

00:27:32: Coral reefs have countless connections to the entire ocean ecosystem.

00:27:37: As an Ocean Scientist I'm genuinely worried about what happens if we lose close to a hundred percent of the world's reefs.

00:27:43: We simply don't know.

00:27:45: It's a tipping point where we don't know what the outcome will be if it is crossed.

00:27:48: We could put in health of the entire global ocean at risk.

00:27:52: Could you maybe take our listeners through this visually?

00:27:55: What happens when you install new reef, and see changes after months or even years?

00:28:01: We work with places that have already been partially degraded because of past events.

00:28:09: You must imagine there used to be a reef.

00:28:11: A reef consists of a three-dimensional structure on which corals grow and fish swim around.

00:28:17: That structure is now gone, instead what you see as what we call a rubble field – a barren landscape of broken pieces of rock or sometimes just sand depending how long ago the reef died it's very flat.

00:28:29: What we do is catalyze reef regeneration by bringing three dimensional structure back into the environment.

00:28:35: We rebuild what was once described.

00:28:39: We recreate that three-dimensional structure using a system specifically developed by us.

00:28:44: we started developing it in twenty, twenty at ETH.

00:28:48: It's particularly effective at catalyzing ocean regeneration because it invites all kinds of marine life to settle there not just corals but crabs fish and everything else needed To make the ecosystem function again.

00:29:01: on The day of installation you already see the first fish arriving.

00:29:04: You're immediately surrounded by fish of all kinds saying, maybe this could be my new home.

00:29:09: Maybe I'd like to lay my eggs here?

00:29:11: The fish arrive first after around six months depending on the location.

00:29:15: we start seeing the first corals.

00:29:17: Corals are animals.

00:29:18: they spread through tiny larvae only about one millimeter in size which travel through ocean currents and need structures like ours In order to settle and begin forming a new reef.

00:29:29: that happens After About Six To Nine Months.

00:29:32: Around the same time, we also start seeing what we call invertebrates.

00:29:35: These include all kinds of small crustaceans – worms, shrimp, sea cucumbers, starfish and all the beautiful nudibranches that divers love….

00:29:42: We get a lot from them!

00:29:43: This life arrives little later than fish but once it is there... The foundations are in place for ecosystem to sustain itself.

00:29:51: Wonderful.

00:29:52: thank you for this explanation.

00:29:54: Reeves is an all-female founding team in a startup world that's still very male dominated as we know.

00:30:01: Was it a deliberate part of your identity or did this just happen organically?

00:30:06: It really happened organically, our Founding Team came together over the course about one year.

00:30:10: I met Marie at ETH.

00:30:12: We didn't know each other before and started working together.

00:30:15: already knew Hannah from my studies years earlier.

00:30:18: At the time, she was still in Freiburg and had always said if you ever start something I'll join.

00:30:24: So She came aboard once she left her previous job.

00:30:27: we met Josephine through a friend.

00:30:29: originally We knew her partner but she turned out to be The right person And the one who wanted To join.

00:30:34: with Her business background?

00:30:36: She completed the team so it Was coincidence.

00:30:39: But i have to say i don't know anything else.

00:30:41: i've never built another startup before.

00:30:43: It's wonderful because the support culture within our Team is enormous.

00:30:48: Everyone really looks after one another, and I think that makes us very resilient.

00:30:53: That's great to hear!

00:30:53: It is always encouraging to see a founding team of women pushing hard... ...and feeling comfortable doing it while continuing to accelerate.

00:31:01: You're already working with the number of partners & customers in different countries.

00:31:05: Could you tell us about who they are?

00:31:06: And how those partnerships work?

00:31:09: Maybe also when we realized this can become something much bigger Not just an interesting academic project anymore but real business.

00:31:17: We

00:31:18: actually knew very early on, certainly by twenty-twenty that this wasn't going to remain an academic project.

00:31:23: We never wanted it too.

00:31:25: Instead we always wanted build together with the customer and also together our beneficiary.

00:31:31: The ocean And people living in the ocean Wanted to build and iterate everything practically from beginning In countries where operate.

00:31:40: currently have seven sites of five countries.

00:31:42: The process is similar.

00:31:44: First look for a reliable local partner.

00:31:47: Usually, that is an organization such as an NGO or sometimes a university group.

00:31:52: We approach the local organization and say you already have expertise You are working with corals Or at least coastal ecosystems.

00:32:00: Can we offer this solution?

00:32:02: Would like to try it?

00:32:03: We also bring financing because our customers are located here.

00:32:07: Then we jointly apply for necessary permits from local governments.

00:32:12: Since we're building underwater infrastructure... ...we need permits.

00:32:16: During the implementation phase, we are initially involved ourselves and over time typically after one or two years per site.

00:32:23: The local team takes over completely as a subcontractor.

00:32:27: that means We commission them for all future projects in the region.

00:32:31: This allows us to remain lean here in Switzerland And keep our teams small which always makes sense.

00:32:37: at the same Time much of the value creation remains in the target country.

00:32:41: Since we mainly work in tropical countries that are not exactly known for being wealthy, this creates an additional social impact.

00:32:49: That is very important to us.

00:32:51: if We have time later I can elaborate on that because it is also important For the long-term sustainability of the projects?

00:32:57: That's how we work with our partners On the customer side.

00:33:00: we work primarily With partners in Switzerland Germany and France.

00:33:04: In principle we are Not limited in where Our customers come from but that Is Where most Of them Have Come From so far.

00:33:11: These are mainly sustainability departments and sustainability managers from large companies that see themselves as pioneers, and want to go a step further than simply purchasing carbon credits.

00:33:22: Every company has to decarbonize its own operations anyway.

00:33:26: but beyond that there is much more that can be done with upcoming regulations concerning risks associated with biodiversity loss and the degradation of natural habitats.

00:33:35: There Are Companies That Want To Be Ahead Of The Curve.

00:33:39: Since that market is voluntary, we also decided to reduce our dependence on it by entering a second Market.

00:33:45: Tourism In tourism We work much more locally For example On the Caribbean Island in Southern Panama or in Northern Mexico where A customer comes To us and says I have a reef i wanted to recover Or The Reef Is Healthy And I Wanted It Stay That Way.

00:34:00: Then We Take Care Of That.

00:34:02: Those Projects Are Still Very Customized And Individually Designed At This Stage

00:34:06: Very exciting.

00:34:07: Building a reef sounds beautiful, but also incredibly complicated.

00:34:11: I mean i'm a diver and i've dived through many reefs.

00:34:15: What has been the toughest operational lesson for you so far?

00:34:19: Definitely anchoring.

00:34:21: How do we make what we build stable enough to withstand tropical storms which are becoming more frequent And more intense?

00:34:28: In The Philippines alone...I don't know the exact number But probably more than thirty typhoons pass thru every year In the Caribbean, it is somewhat less but stability was definitely one of our biggest challenges.

00:34:40: Fortunately we largely solved that last year and were very proud of that.

00:34:44: We have an excellent engineer working with us part-time who will hopefully return full time after the financing round.

00:34:50: .We managed to develop a solution.

00:34:52: Our modules are intentionally small and weigh only around seven kilograms because we want to work together With local communities.

00:35:00: involving local people creates ownership And local governance structures that help anchor the project in the long term.

00:35:07: It also helps bring everyone on board.

00:35:09: The project simply doesn't work.

00:35:10: if people start fishing directly on a restored reef, Everyone has to support it.

00:35:15: That is one of key reasons why our modules are small.

00:35:24: We have now developed a clever internal connection system.

00:35:30: You cannot see it from the outside but it links sixty modules together into single structure.

00:35:35: As result, weight of all sixty modules acts on seabed.

00:35:38: That effectively gives us gravity based anchoring which is really cool.

00:35:42: It still makes work fun.

00:35:44: Another major step was simplification.

00:35:47: we are working with standardized modules Which also make training local teams much easier.

00:35:51: that has moved forward over past year.

00:35:54: Great!

00:35:55: Reefs, as we mentioned earlier is currently raising capital through Omnium.

00:36:00: Why did you decide to involve the community as investors instead of focusing only on traditional VCs or foundations?

00:36:07: We're very community-driven.

00:36:09: that certainly stems from the fact this is a topic that resonates deeply with people.

00:36:15: many want help but were in Switzerland.

00:36:17: how can someone helped the ocean?

00:36:20: yet many feel connected.

00:36:22: We built Reefs from the very beginning as a company that also wants to give something back to its community.

00:36:28: In a way, we motivate each other.

00:36:30: The support we receive from our Community is incredible and I hope provide inspiration in return.

00:36:36: That's why decided part of the Company should belong this Community To everyone who want to buy shares in ReefS and invest.

00:36:42: both impact And what will become a healthy financial Return.

00:36:46: Starting June People will be able to invest with relatively small ticket sizes.

00:36:50: And if someone wants to invest in Reeves today, what should they know about the risks and opportunities?

00:36:55: The time horizon.

00:36:57: Your path to break even...

00:37:10: and most people probably know that already.

00:37:21: We have deliberately structured the company, especially now that we're bringing the community on board instead of venture capital in a way that allows us to grow more slowly meaning we hire fewer people but reach break-even and profitability faster.

00:37:34: That means our focus is strongly on customer relationships sales & unit economics.

00:37:44: As for generating enough profit to pay dividends or buyback shares, I would estimate around twenty-twenty nine.

00:37:50: Investors therefore need to be willing to take a long term perspective.

00:37:53: they also need to accept that there is always the possibility of losing the entire investment.

00:37:58: however our plan and our commitment it's too create structured liquidity for shareholders over time.

00:38:04: we can do that through share bybacks through future listing on an impact exchange all three impact focused secondary transactions For example, if a large foundation wants to acquire shares in the future that could also provide a good exit opportunity for our investors.

00:38:20: Absolutely Ulrike.

00:38:22: thank you very much for the interview and best of luck with Reeves.

00:38:25: we're definitely rooting for you and wish you all the best!

00:38:28: Thank You both.

00:38:29: so let's move on to the transactions of The Week.

00:38:33: several transactions were announced again last week.

00:38:40: Limitech Biologics, a clinical biotech company from Schlieren is now being acquired by Eli Lilly.

00:38:45: The deal has a value of up to U.S.

00:38:49: US dollars in cash consisting of an upfront payment and additional milestone payments tied to clinical and regulatory successes.

00:38:56: Limitec was founded in two thousand fifteen after GSK acquired its predecessor biotechs company Glycovaxin.

00:39:04: Yes, what exactly does Limitech do?

00:39:06: I admit i had to look this up and wrote it down as well.

00:39:09: They develop vaccines against bacterial infections particularly against pathogens where antibiotic resistance is becoming an increasing problem.

00:39:18: their focus includes active compounds targeting three of the most well-known resistant bacterial strains.

00:39:25: The scientific approach is very interesting because Limitech does not primarily target classic surface antigens, but rather toxins and superantigens that actually drive the disease.

00:39:36: And as a clinical biotech company, Limitec naturally doesn't yet have real customers—as is the case with many biotechexits.

00:39:44: However, the target markets are clear healthcare systems worldwide hospitals and patient groups with high risk of infection.

00:39:53: Their lead program is already in phase one and targets a vaccine against Staphylococci, One of the most important causes of post-surgical infections in hospitals.

00:40:03: What makes this deal particularly interesting is that Lili is acquiring a platform for bacterial vaccines In an environment where antimicrobial resistance Is becoming increasingly significant global health issue.

00:40:17: For Lili, Limitech represents an opportunity to integrate prevention against difficult-to-treat bacterial infections into its pipeline at an early stage.

00:40:26: For the Swiss biotech ecosystem it is another very large M&A outcome from the life sciences cluster around

00:40:33: Schlieren.".

00:40:34: I think this deal shows how valuable clinical platform technologies can become even before actual commercialization while they are still in early stage development phase one Of course, the seven hundred and eighty million US dollars are heavily tied to clinical and regulatory milestones.

00:40:50: We do not know the exact breakdown because it was not disclosed which would certainly have been interesting to see but clearly demonstrates that large pharmaceutical companies actively searching for differentiated platforms that address medically difficult problems.

00:41:06: For Limitech, becoming part of Lili means access to global development capacity manufacturing scale and commercial infrastructure.

00:41:14: A startup founded in Lausanne, in the AI and Data space has completed its first financing round after eight years of bootstrapping.

00:41:26: The amount was not disclosed but the round led by Columbus Venture Partners and Concentric.

00:41:33: Remarkably Visium already employs one hundred people across Europe.

00:41:37: The company provides AI and data services for businesses in highly regulated industries particularly life sciences and specialty chemicals.

00:41:46: The company follows a dual model consisting of consulting services and proprietary software products.

00:41:52: These include a tool for clinical documentation, data platform solutions that can be directly integrated into complex regulated enterprise workflows.

00:42:02: We also looked at the customer list.

00:42:04: Visium has already completed more than two hundred fifty AI & Data projects And works with companies such as Roche Novartis and DSM.

00:42:13: This shows that Visium is not simply selling generic AI consulting, but it's deeply embedded in demanding industries with high standards for data quality and compliance.

00:42:24: I find it exciting that after eight years of bootstrapping and reaching one hundred employees they have now brought in a strong investor syndicate.

00:42:36: Columbus contributes life sciences expertise, while Concentric generally focuses on software companies that are ready to transform traditional industries.

00:42:45: There are also several interesting angel investors involved.

00:42:49: overall I think this is a very strategic fit because Visium sits exactly at the intersection of AI enterprise transformation and regulated industries.

00:43:00: The capital will be used to expand in Europe further grow the team and scale the product portfolio.

00:43:07: Alongside the financing round, Visium is also strengthening its governance structure and advisory board with experienced AI life sciences and operational experts.

00:43:19: Strategically The goal is to evolve from a profitably grown AI services company into a broader product and platform company serving regulated industries.

00:43:29: Let's move on.

00:43:32: We returned to Zurich where this industrial technology start-up has completed a financing round of two million Swiss francs.

00:43:40: According the information available, The Round was fully financed by Founderful.

00:43:46: Avian is a University of Zurich spin off founded by Thomas Lengel and Drew Hanover.

00:43:52: Avian develops thermal camera systems for the early detection of fires in industrial environments.

00:43:58: The system's monitor facilities and identify critical temperature changes before a fire starts.

00:44:04: In addition, Avian offers AvianVision a software solution that enhances existing CCTV cameras with fire and smoke detection capabilities without requiring any new hardware installations.

00:44:16: The customer base is clear.

00:44:18: these are industrial operations with elevated fire risks such as recycling facilities oil & gas operations sawmills and panel manufacturers.

00:44:28: Avian is already deployed in nine countries and protects more than fifty facilities.

00:44:34: Customers include Kemp's Pallet, Sierra Pacific Industries and Tolco in the United States.

00:44:40: And Switzerland companies such as Schilliger-Holtz and Bloomer Lehmann.

00:44:45: What is interesting is that Avian claims to have been profitable since its founding... ...and still raising capital to accelerate growth.

00:44:53: This isn't a classic.

00:44:55: we need money to find product market fit case.

00:44:58: Instead, the market is already working.

00:45:01: And now the goal is to scale sales and

00:45:03: engineering.".

00:45:05: The fact that Founderful is funding the entire round also demonstrates strong conviction in a very specific industrial AI problem.

00:45:13: The

00:45:14: capital will primarily be invested in expanding the engineering and sales teams in the United States and Europe.

00:45:20: Strategically, the goal The pain point is clear.

00:45:29: Industrial fires create enormous safety risks and operational disruptions, and avian positions itself precisely where

00:45:54: prevention.