Venturelab

Beat Schillig and Jordi Montserrat, the co-founders, oversee the firm's overall strategy and program direction. Stefan Steiner, as Co-Managing Director, leads the TOP 100 program and manages key external partnerships. Day-to-day investment committee decisions for Venture Kick grants involve a rotating jury of Swiss entrepreneurs and investors.

Pipeline is sourced through deep relationships with Swiss federal institutes of technology (ETH Zurich and EPFL), university tech-transfer offices, and the IFJ network. Venture Kick actively scouts lab-stage projects and spin-offs, fielding applications from academic researchers who may not have considered commercializing their work. The program processes hundreds of applications annually through a staged selection process.

Venture Kick grants are non-dilutive philanthropic funding — companies receive up to CHF 150,000 with no equity taken. However, Venturelab does facilitate equity investments through its network and co-investment vehicles for later-stage companies emerging from its programs, functioning as both grant-maker and startup ecosystem builder.

Venture Kick is a philanthropic initiative operated by the Venture Kick Foundation, with Venturelab as its executing partner and program manager. The Gebert Rüf Stiftung and Ernst Göhner Stiftung are the primary capital providers for Venture Kick grants. Venturelab's team manages the selection process, mentoring, and disbursement of funds.

Venturelab is sector-agnostic at the pre-seed stage but shows strong concentration in deep tech, cleantech, advanced materials, robotics, and digital health — reflecting the research strengths of Swiss technical universities. The TOP 100 program surfaces companies from across enterprise software, AI, and industrial technology verticals.

No. Venturelab does not operate as a traditional venture capital fund with limited partners and fee structures. It is structured as a hybrid — a program operator, grant administrator, and ecosystem builder — funded by corporate sponsors and philanthropic foundations. Its capital deployment is a mix of non-dilutive grants and direct or syndicated equity investments made through partner networks.

Venturelab's operations and grant-making are funded by a consortium of Swiss corporate partners and foundations. Named supporters include Credit Suisse, Swisscom, the Canton of Zurich, and the Gebert Rüf Stiftung. The firm does not disclose a traditional AUM figure, as its capital base is programmatic rather than pooled from institutional LPs.