All episodes

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi cover the week’s news, including the launch of Apertus, Switzerland’s new open-source LLM, Voliro’s acquisition of Sixpec’s intellectual property, and Enerdrape’s flagship U.S. projects.

For the deep dive, they sit down with Michi Baier to unpack the ins and outs of term sheets and how deal terms have evolved in recent years.

In the listener question, they discuss the KPI Net Retention Rate (NRR) — a metric increasingly scrutinized by investors, especially in AI startups.

Finally, they wrap up with a quick review of the latest Swiss startup transactions.

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss robot-powered döner deliveries, the upcoming IPO of Swedish buy-now-pay-later scaleup Klarna, and the rise of a “new” share class — Founder Preferred Shares.

For our deep dive, we turn to a study by Professor Jay Ritter, examining U.S. tech IPOs from the 1990s to today and how the push to go public has evolved.

We also feature the current crowdfunding round of Future Kitchens, with founder Dominik Sträuli joining us as a guest.

And finally, we wrap up with a quick look at the week’s funding rounds in the Swiss startup...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss a negative record: the number of Swiss startup liquidations in the first half of 2025. They then turn to the upcoming billion-franc exit of Ublox and the return of U.S. VCs to the European market.

In the listener question, they address whether voting-rights shares make sense for founders in Switzerland.

For the deep dive, guest Lucas Mittelmeier, VC at Heal Capital, joins to talk about the firm’s use of a voice bot as the first point of contact for startups applying for funding.

Finally, they wrap up with a quick recap...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the summer’s standout deals — including the USD 225 million exit of Daedalean to Destinus, the USD 8.9 million investment in CREAL led by Zeiss, and Modulos’ CHF 8.7 million funding round.

In the news, they cover the current state of the Swiss VC ecosystem in a global context, the concentration of capital among a handful of U.S. VC funds, and plans for a USD 250 million chip fabrication facility in Switzerland.

For the main topic, Peter Stähli joins for the second installment of a four-part series on the Upscaler Program....

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current topics such as Climeworks' USD 162 million financing round led by Partners Group, the planned USD 1 billion fundraise by Mistral with MGX, and how the talent war for top AI researchers has massively inflated employee equity packages — as the OpenAI case illustrates.

The main topic dives into Switzerland’s potential to emerge as a global winner in the race for talent. In the listener question, we explore why exit transaction figures are rarely made public in Switzerland and how the Beekeeper deal actually played out.

Finally, we take a...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current topics such as the record number of new company incorporations in the first half of 2025 and Peter Thiel’s headline-making interview in the New York Times.

Our main topic is a deep dive into the newly published Swiss Deep Tech Report, which outlines both the opportunities and challenges in Switzerland’s Deep Tech ecosystem.

We then tackle the listener question: “How much strategy is allowed in fundraising – and where does it cross the line into deliberate deception?”

Finally, in our Deal of the Week, we unpack the CHF 15 million...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi dive into current topics including the 2025 Climate Foundation Switzerland awards for 11 climate-focused innovations, the stealthy retreat of OpenAI and Jony Ive’s iO project, and Andreessen Horowitz’s investment in the controversial “Cheat at Everything” startup Cluely.

Our main segment focuses on the return of defense technologies in Europe – and how startups in this space are suddenly seen as investable again.

We then speak with Kevin Schmid, co-founder of Bakery Bakery, about their current fundraising campaign on the Oomnium platform.

Finally, our Transaction of the Week is a deep dive into...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current topics such as the W.A. de Vigier Foundation Awards being granted to six startups, Helsing’s €600 million Series D, and the acquisition of 23andMe out of bankruptcy by founder Anne Wojcicki. In our main segment, we talk about the Upscaler program with Peter Stähli—entrepreneur, investor, and Head of Entrepreneurship at the Upscaler—before answering a listener question. As our Transaction of the Week, we take a deep dive into the USD 11 million Series A extension of ETH spin-off Voliro.

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current topics including the Swiss Economic Forum Startup Awards, which went to DePoly, Kyan Health, and Lumvin; the Trends in Artificial Intelligence report by Mary Meeker and Bond Capital; and the growing a16z scout network in Europe. Our main topic focuses on the challenges faced by startups in their growth stage – the so-called scale-ups. We also answer a listener question: “Do I have to hold my general assembly by the end of June – and what happens if I don’t?” Our transaction of the week is a deep dive into...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current topics such as the SUD Barometer, which was conducted for the first time this summer at the Startup Days in Bern, Microsoft’s CHF 400 million investment in Switzerland, and Hailey Bieber’s USD 1 billion sale of her beauty brand Rhode.

Our main topic is the often-overlooked issue of mental health among founders. We explore why it deserves more attention.

In the listener question segment, we answer: “How do you as investors evaluate startup teams before making an investment?”

And in our Deal of the Week, we take a deep dive...