Oliver Durrer

This map shows the dynamic growth of #Zurich and region. Here are some news, figures and dates about the #startup ecosystem here. More and more important players are settling in Zurich. Microsoft recently announced that it would invest $400 million in Switzerland to expand the cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in the country. One important reason why so many companies come to our region: top universities such as ETH Zürich or ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. Zurich (Switzerland) is establishing itself as one of the world's leading deep tech locations. Organizations such as Deep Tech Nation Switzerland are making a positive contribution to further strengthening the system. Click here for the Swiss Deep Tech Report 2025: 👉 https://lnkd.in/dBCHyn5t A week ago, the Swiss Startup Association published an up-to-date map of VCs in Switzerland. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dZDQWhBP The following awards offer startups a great opportunity to generate attention and raise money: 👉 ZKB Pionierpreis by Zürcher Kantonalbank (apply by September 22) 👉 Top 50 Awards by W.A. De Vigier Stiftung: Apply from October 2025 👉 Startup Nights Awards: Apply by September 20, 2025 👉 >>venture>> Startup Competition: Apply from October 2025 I look forward to meeting you in person at one of the following two events. Both are taking place this week. 👉 The innosuisse Plenary at Roche in Basel 👉 The TOP 100 Swiss Startup Awards 2025 ceremony in Zurich (by Venturelab). Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of coaching more than 200 startups in pitching and storytelling for Innosuisse and many other organizations. It's great to be part of this dynamic startup and innovation ecosystem. I also have some news to share: Among others, I have been invited to give a keynote speech at the UBS Innovation Forum, I will be a guest lecturer at ETH Zürich and will now be starting as a pitch trainer at HSG START Accelerator. We are also planning an exciting event for 2026 with the FRZ Flughafenregion Zürich - Wirtschaftsnetzwerk & Standortentwicklung. Thanks also to Tenity Digital Healt Accelerator, Technopark Winterthur AG, TECHNOPARK® Zürich, STARTUP CAMPUS Switzerland RUNWAY Startup Incubator and all the others for the great collaboration. Let us continue to strengthen Switzerland as one of the global leaders in innovation. Raphael Tobler, Michael Kubli, Regula Bleuler, Matthias Herrmann, Priscilla Sarnau, Matthias Hölling, Stève Mérillat, Lukas Huber, Rahel Kindermann Leuthard, Steffen Ehrhardt, Nicolas Blanchard, Maria Anselmi, Andrea Silberschmidt-Buhofer, Felicitas Gartmann, Ramona Lieser, Innovation Zurich, Simon May Greater Zurich Area, Maren Schlieper, Fabian Bamert #innovation #Switzerland

196

4 Kommentare

Walk into a bookstore’s self-help section , rows of productivity systems : Getting Things Done, Bullet Journal, Zettelkasten. Each promises transformation—if you commit weeks. The market thrives , hundreds of new titles annually. But something new is emerging. We’re discovering we can redesign workflows instantly with AI prompts instead of studying methodologies for weeks. Three recent experiments hint at what’s coming. First, Paper2Agent transforms research papers into working code agents in 30 minutes to 3 hours. Ask it to implement AlphaGenome’s genomic analysis from a published paper & it processes the code, builds the environment, runs the tutorials. Previously: read the paper (2 days), understand the methodology (1 day), code the implementation (3 days). Now: point AI at the repository, get a working agent by lunch. Second, when I discovered Google’s Agent Development Kit research on tool design patterns, I asked AI to redesign my automation tools following those principles. The result : a 41% reduction in AI operation costs, implemented while I was answering emails in another browser tab. Third, over the weekend I read Jesse Vincent’s architect/implementer workflow via Simon Willison’s write-up. The approach splits AI coding into two sessions: one architect to design, one implementer to execute. No weeks of trial & error to understand the nuances. Read, implement, test, done. The pattern emerging : instant implementation. We can now test productivity systems like trying coffee drinks. Monday : architect/implementer (cappuccino—structured , classic). Tuesday : traditional single-session (flat white—simpler , maybe better?). Wednesday : hybrid workflow (chai latte—wait , is this even coffee?). By Thursday , the data shows which saves 3 hours per week. The self-help aisle promised transformation through commitment. AI promises transformation through experimentation.

38

2 Kommentare

I had a fantastic time in Berlin and it was an honour to deliver a keynote at the IONOS Leadership Event. In my talk “Owning AI as a Leadership Imperative” I explored why AI is not only a technology challenge but the biggest leadership test of our time. The key themes I shared: ✅ What’s next — where AI is going, how models will evolve, the role of quantum computing, etc. ✅ What’s working in practice and where many companies are failing, such as “pilot purgatory” and poor data foundations ✅ The leadership pain points to own — fragmentation, skills gaps, governance, ethics, and trust ✅ The importance of understanding the strategic implications of AI and the potential risks and opportunities — looking at AI through a bigger lens than just efficiency ✅ A clear framework to move from opportunistic adoption to a strategic AI approach The message was: AI is here, but success will depend on leadership ownership.

38

5 Kommentare