Founderful raises $140M fund as Switzerland vies for Europe’s tech top spot

Zurich-based venture capital firm Founderful has raised $140mn in its second fund — $20mn more than its target and a strong sign of investor confidence in Switzerland’s flourishing tech ecosystem.  

First announced back in February, the fund has already invested in 15 early-stage startups. These include Chiral Nano, which develops nanomaterials for silicon chips, and 8inks, which is rejigging the lithium-ion battery.

Founderful — formerly Wingman Ventures — was launched in 2019 by Pascal Mathis, the co-founder of local travel marketplace unicorn GetYourGuide, Eat.ch co-founder Lukas Weder and Alex Stöckl, former exec at Creathor Ventures.

The founder-led VC exclusively backs Swiss startups at the pre-seed or seed stage. Its vision? To transform budding Swiss ventures into global industry leaders.

“From day one, we have been relentless in our efforts to create a foothold for the Swiss tech ecosystem on the global stage,” said Stöckl, partner at Founderful. 

“Fund II is evidence that we have walked the talk, and investors have taken note. This was no easy win, but we fought hard.” 

Founderful’s new Fund II is backed by a range of institutions, family offices, and founders from unicorns such as Duolingo, Climeworks, Proton, and Scandit. 

Silicon alps?

Stöckl called the Swiss tech ecosystem a “powerhouse” that’s only just starting to claim its place on the global stage. The Alphine nation has the highest number of unicorn companies per capita in Europe and has ranked first in the Global Innovation Index for 13 years in a row. 

But perhaps the Swiss tech ecosystem’s biggest asset is its universities and research institutions. ETH Zurich, for one, now produces more university spin-outs than any other university in Europe.

We profiled one of these companies, Oxyle, earlier this year in an in-depth piece about PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals.” Led by Dr. Fajer Mushtaq, Oxyle has developed a reactor that mineralises these cancer-causing compounds, breaking apart their carbon-fluorine bonds.

Founderful led Oxyle’s pre-seed investment in 2022 under its first $90mn fund, which has since been fully deployed across 40 startups. 

The VC claims that these portfolio companies have since created over 1,100 jobs and secured more than $450 million in follow-on funding. Notable successes include Ethon AI, which helps factories like the Lindt chocolate factory save waste, and plastic recycling startup DePoly.

Severin Hacker, CTO and co-founder at Duolingo and investor in Founderful’s Fund II called the up-and-coming VC “meticulous and relentless” in creating value for the founders it backs.

“Their approach, combined with the unfolding potential of the Swiss tech ecosystem, probably makes them one of Europe’s most promising VC firms,” said Hacker.