This year’s Swiss Economic Forum stood under the motto ‘Unbreakable’. On 4 and 5 June 2026, some 1,750 leaders from the worlds of business, politics, academia and civil society came together to discuss how Switzerland can maintain and further develop its capacity to act in a world characterised by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, technological upheaval and growing social polarisation.

Economic and political crises featured prominently in the keynotes and discussions. However, attention was also drawn to opportunities. This was the case, for example, during a joint appearance by Thomas Zurbuchen, Leader of ETH Zürich | Space, and Jonathan Cirtain, CEO of Axiom Space, a US space company that opened a branch in Lucerne this week. Both were deeply convinced of the commercial potential of space industry. In this context, Zurbuchen cited Pave Space as a recent success story and Cirtain Swissto12 as a company with which Axiom intends to collaborate.

The presentations by the finalists of the SEF Awards provided a further note of optimism. All nine companies have an impressive track record and very ambitious goals. Three start-ups ultimately emerged as winners in one of the three categories:

Deep Tech / Life Sciences: Lightium

As a result of the AI revolution, data centres are the fastest-growing infrastructure in the world. However, they have one problem: 25% of their energy consumption is down to data transmission alone. Lightium’s technology tackles this bottleneck, making data centres faster and more efficient.

Lightium masters thin-film lithium niobate, or TFLN, a new material that outperforms traditional telecommunication solutions. Lightium’s photonic chips enable ultra-fast, energy-efficient data transfer for AI data centers, telecom networks, or aerospace. Lightium is the world's first high-volume TFLN foundry running on 200-millimeter wafers. Like TSMC for semiconductors – but for light. Lightium, founded by Amir Ghadimi (on the left side of the picture) and Frederic Loizeau, has rapidly grown from a research lab into a leading player delivering Tier 1 customers in eighteen months.

Industry / Production: Swiss Cluster

Swiss Cluster’s technology platform enables the creation of an entirely new class of advanced materials – unlocking levels of performance and precision that can only be achieved using Swiss Cluster systems. The starting point for this is a technology that has previously only been used for the production of flat 2D wafers in semiconductor manufacturing. These thin films – atomic-scale layers measured in nanometres – can now also be used for 3D parts.

Swiss Cluster makes this possible by providing a complete thin-film ecosystem solution. The company delivers advanced deposition technology through a modular hardware platform engineered to scale seamlessly from early R&D directly into high-volume industrial production, all supported by its dedicated, in-house coating services.

Founded in 2020 as an Empa spin-off, Swiss Cluster has grown every year. The company emplying 16 people is building toward a clear goal: to become the global reference for modular thin film deposition – from research laboratories to industrial production lines.

Service: enshift

Complex regulation, fragmented responsibilities and poor coordination continue to hold many projects to decarbonise buildings back. enshift solves this challenge by taking ownership of the entire process – from analysis and financing through to implementation and operations.

enshift’s proprietary software platform simulates energy flows, commercial performance and CO₂ reduction in real time – while continuously optimising system performance during operation. Strategic partnerships, intelligent energy trading and optimised self-consumption enable rapid implementation and lasting results – both environmentally and economically.

enshift works with institutional investors – including pension funds, insurers and listed real estate funds – as well as family offices, industrial companies and public-sector portfolios. Its clients include Helvetica Property, Swiss Post, Holcim and more than 70 others.

(www.startupticker.ch)
Photo: NZZ Connect