IMD has selected the 29 winners of the 26th edition of the IMD Startup Competition. Eleven of the ventures were chosen to collaborate with the Executive MBA classes, while 18 were chosen to work alongside the MBA participants.
The annual IMD Startup Competition curates a list of promising Swiss ventures and selects those that receive support from IMD’s Executive MBA and MBA participants for their entrepreneurial projects.
“Every year since we launched this competition in 1999, the choice of the winners becomes harder, as the volume and quality of Swiss startups improve. While we look forward to the privilege of working with the chosen candidates in 2024, we did not enjoy having to turn down so many great ventures and founders,” says Jim Pulcrano, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management.
Ranging from the use of artificial intelligence in advertising campaigns to new fermentation techniques to produce eco-friendly food, the winning ideas are a rich showcase of proposed solutions in technology, sustainability, and healthcare.
The 11 startups that will receive support from the IMD EMBA participants and their elevator pitches are:
4QT
4QT is committed to a vision where advanced electric drive technology propels both environmental sustainability and economic efficiency, serving the needs of industry partners.
Apheros
Apheros provides innovative, high-surface-area metal foams for thermal, catalysis, and battery applications.
Ascento
Ascento develops advanced robots and AI technology for security applications.
Clee Medical
Elevating brain solutions by enabling the future of stereotactic neurosurgery.
Impossible Materials
Impossible Materials provides high-performance, plant-based ingredient solutions to enable safe and sustainable products for a circular economy bringing natural colors and texture to food, cosmetics, inks, and coatings.
qCella
qCella’s easily shape-customizable, flexible, paper-thin, and homogeneously heated mats make the production of heat more energy-efficient and easier to integrate into the end product.
RECOAL
RECOAL AG develops a cutting-edge carbon removal technology that transforms waste biomass into negative-emission coal, providing a reliable, permanent, and easy-to-scale solution that securely stores CO2 underground.
Testmate Health
Testmate Health is developing the first true at-home disposable test for STIs. It is a low-cost and easy-to-use urine self-test that delivers PCR-quality results in minutes directly at home.
Tune Insight
Tune Insight enables sensitive data collaborations and valorization through its encrypted computing platform for collective analytics and AI.
WattAnyWhere
WattAnyWhere provides a high-power, pollutant-free, and CO2-neutral generator that converts renewable ethanol into clean electricity, boosting e-mobility and energy autonomy.
Yumame Foods
Yumame Foods produces delicious, minimally processed, and locally sourced plant-based products by combining fungi and plants through innovative fermentation techniques and culinary science.
The 18 startups who will work with the full-time MBA classes in 2024 are:
Beyond Scroll
The hydrogen transition is easier and cheaper with Beyond Scroll, the low-pressure compressor solution for optimal infrastructure.
Breathe Medical
The goal of Breathe Medical is to transform emergency care in underserved communities by providing people with easy-to-use, affordable ventilators that are tailored to local needs, providing medical and technical digital training, and supporting local production and maintenance of the equipment.
Cudios
Cudios™, an intuitive and easy-to-use software, drastically simplifies operational workflows by bringing suppliers into tender processes and creating spending visibility, streamlining projects and enhancing cost-effectiveness for marketing and project management professionals.
Emissium
Emissium provides reliable and actionable electricity emissions data, enabling companies to track, monitor, and reduce their electrical footprint.
FERRONATO
Ferronato is the world’s first brand that creates luxury accessories dedicated to protecting privacy and shielding well-being from radiation exposure.
FiberLab
Mastering the art of wine with on-the-spot analysis.
Houston & Kokare
A boutique freelance platform that connects organizations with hand-picked freelancers ready to make an immediate impact.
InStep
InStep is sequencing the fingerprint of every individual’s day-to-day movement – their proprietary ML processing transforms the human movement data collected by everyday wearables into actionable insights for businesses and individuals.
irmos technologies
irmos maximizes the safe lifespan of bridges and buildings by optimizing maintenance to the condition of aging assets based on sensor data and AI.
KIDEMIS
KIDEMIS is developing sustainable solutions for the aquafeed industry with upcycled agricultural side streams.
Leadzai
Leadzai’s generative AI technology automates the process of creating and managing advertising campaigns.
Nuniq
Nuniq is a Swiss brand leading the beauty industry with its sustainable, plastic-free, customizable products and a novel biodegradable refill bag, boasting a 47% repeat order rate.
Pi Imaging Technology
Pi Imaging – is changing the way we count photons.
Simon & Josef (S&J)
Individual room cleaning which lets the guest decide.
Skribble
Skribble is the ready-to-be-used e-signature SaaS solution offering all three signature standards defined by Swiss and European law combined with intuitive UX and best-in-class security.
SolidWatts
SolidWatts, Industrial process heating fit for the 21st century: Efficient. Limitless. Clean.
Splint Invest
Splint Invest enables private investors in Europe to diversify their portfolio with alternative investments, like art, handbags, cars, watches, wine, and more.
Time Designers
Time Designers, the “Craftsmen of Physics”.
