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Kickfund
Beat Schillig's Kickfund bridges Swiss academic spin-offs to institutional venture capital through a structured seed-to-Series A model in Basel.
Kickfund
Kickfund was established in Basel by Beat Schillig, who chairs the IFJ Institute for Young Entrepreneurs and has shaped Swiss startup policy for over two decades. The firm emerged from the venture foundation model common in the DACH region, where early-stage capital is paired with startup coaching and university tech-transfer offices. Its roots are in the Swiss federal innovation ecosystem rather than a single liquidity event. The firm targets pre-seed through Series A companies in enterprise software, AI, digital health, and industrial tech. Kickfund anchors its deployment in founder teams commercializing research from ETH Zurich and the University of St. Gallen, often alongside the Venture Kick philanthropic initiative that Schillig co-founded. Known participations include GetYourGuide, Beekeeper, and Piavita, with the portfolio collectively attracting follow-on from firms like Insight Partners and Atomico. Its geographic focus centers on German-speaking Switzerland, with selective expansion into broader DACH opportunities. Kickfund operates a lean investment team from its Basel headquarters, with Schillig and partner Andreas Goeldi — a former Google and Stanford executive — leading deal evaluation. The firm does not disclose AUM. Its adjacent structure, Venture Kick, has deployed over CHF 40 million in non-dilutive grants to more than 800 startups since 2007, creating a proprietary origination pipeline that feeds the fund. In recent years, Kickfund has concentrated on closing the gap between Swiss academic research and Series A readiness, a bottleneck identified in federal innovation reports. The firm's structural differentiator is its integration with a grant-based philanthropic screening engine. Venture Kick acts as a three-stage filter that processes hundreds of academic projects annually, with only the most commercially viable reaching Kickfund's investment committee. This hybrid model — non-dilutive philanthropy feeding a for-profit venture manager — is unusual in European venture and gives Kickfund an information advantage on Swiss technical talent before institutional investors engage.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Switzerland
City
Basel
Corporate office
Basel, Switzerland
Principals
Beat Schillig
Managing Partner
Andreas Goeldi
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Kickfund source its deal flow?
Kickfund's primary origination channel is the Venture Kick philanthropic initiative, which Beat Schillig co-founded. Venture Kick screens over 1,000 Swiss university projects annually through a three-stage evaluation process, awarding non-dilutive grants to the most promising teams. Kickfund then evaluates the top-tier graduates of this pipeline for equity investment, giving the firm early structural access to academic spin-offs from ETH Zurich, EPFL, and the University of St. Gallen.
What is the relationship between Kickfund and Venture Kick?
Venture Kick is a separate philanthropic foundation that provides staged, non-dilutive grants to Swiss university spin-offs. Kickfund is a for-profit venture capital firm that invests equity in startups emerging from that ecosystem. Managing Partner Beat Schillig chairs both entities, creating a proprietary pipeline where Venture Kick acts as a talent filter and Kickfund deploys equity into the most commercially viable graduates.
Who runs investment decisions at Kickfund?
Managing Partner Beat Schillig leads the investment committee. He is a central figure in Swiss entrepreneurship, serving as chairman of the IFJ Institute for Young Entrepreneurs and co-founder of Venture Kick. Partner Andreas Goeldi, a former Google executive and Stanford University alumnus, brings operational and technology expertise to deal evaluation and portfolio support.
What investment stages does Kickfund typically target?
Kickfund focuses on pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds, with an emphasis on the structured seed-to-Series A bridge. The firm targets companies commercializing university research, often writing the first institutional equity check and preparing founders for downstream institutional venture rounds.
Which sectors does Kickfund prioritize?
The firm concentrates on enterprise software, artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital health, fintech, and industrial technology. The sector mix reflects the research strengths of Swiss federal institutes of technology and the commercial priorities of the Swiss innovation ecosystem.
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