Startfeld is one of Europe’s leading startup support hubs
St.Gallen - Startfeld has received this year's Financial Times Award. The startup support programme of the Switzerland Innovation Park Ost and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology in St.Gallen is therefore one of Europe's leading startup hubs in 2024.
Startfeld is one of Europe's leading startup promotion hubs. The startup support programme run by the Switzerland Innovation Park Ost and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in St.Gallen is ranked 84th in the Financial Times' ranking of Europe's Leading Start-up Hubs 2024, according to a statement from Empa. In Switzerland, Startfeld is in third place behind Axelra and Fondazione Agire.
“There are many good ideas and patents in Switzerland, but there is also a noticeable reluctance to scale up,” Peter Frischknecht, Head of Startfeld, is quoted as saying in the statement. “We want to specifically broaden the horizon of start-ups.” Frischknecht describes the Financial Times award as motivation “to continue to deliver top-notch performance in the promotion of start-ups in Eastern Switzerland, as demanded by our founders”.
Since it was founded in 2010, Startfeld has evaluated over 1,750 projects and supported more than 175 of them. Empa spin-offs have also benefited from start-up support: Ionic Wind Technologies, based in St.Gallen, recently received the Startfeld rough diamond for its business idea. ce/hs