Startups Accelerate Growth via Big Business Partnerships

Nearly 250 startups are created in Switzerland every year, including around 30 at EPFL. Over 90% of these EPFL spin-offs are still in business five years later, but that's often when the challenges ramp up. It's not easy to turn a promising young, innovative company into a scale-up - a lasting enterprise that produces goods and services, markets them and develops its business at scale. Funding from investors is critical for taking this step forward, but fledgling businesses also need access to markets, data, equipment and an international network. Many startups overcome this hurdle by joining forces with large companies. Such partnerships can save them years of development work and are often a make-or-break condition for business growth. "For startups here at EPFL, these partnerships also show that major international companies are interested in the technology they've invented," says Isabel Casado, head of EPFL's Startup Launchpad. Her team has seen an increase in these kinds of alliances. Benefits for the established companies include obtaining quick access to emerging technology without having to bear all the risks associated with frontier R&D, and getting an opportunity to try out new markets and business models.

Crucial data

Neurosoft Bioelectronics, an EPFL spin-off that develops brain-computer interfaces, announced in February 2026 that it had entered into a partnership with Science Corporation, giving Neurosoft access to the US company's clinical-grade neural engineering capabilities. "In a nutshell, Science Corporation will let us use their complementary technology bricks, which are the systems that will enable us to connect our implants so that they work as efficiently as possible for patients," says Nicolas Vachicouras, CEO of Neurosoft. "Developing all that technology on our own would have taken us two or three more years and nearly $200 million of additional funding."

While some partnerships are useful in speeding product development, others give startups access to a critical resource for leveraging the potential of AI: data. EPFL spin-off Tune Insight has created an application that lets hospitals analyze each other's data while keeping the data on the host establishment's server. "That means hospitals can pool their efforts without having to sacrifice confidentiality or their control over patient information," says Frédéric Pont, cofounder and COO of Tune Insight. In February 2026, his firm entered into a strategic partnership with France-based Softway Medical, which develops software for the healthcare industry. Under the new agreement, Softway's contract hospitals are able to use Tune Insight's application. In return, Tune Insight enriches its network with this new data to improve its offerings and further increase the value of its platform. "We're in the process of setting up other, similar partnerships with other European countries," says Pont.

Looking at examples beyond the medical sector, DemoSquare, an EPFL spin-off founded in 2023, has entered into a partnership for its political and regulatory intelligence platform. "Our system aggregates and analyzes data to help companies anticipate changes to laws and regulations," says Victor Kristof, CEO of DemoSquare. The young firm joined forces this year with Keystone-SDA in Switzerland and Euractiv, in Europe so that it can incorporate media and political content into its platform's analyses in real time. "This lets us tap into a volume of data that would have been impossible for us to accumulate on our own, and it bolsters our credibility in the eyes of our customers," says Kristof. Meanwhile, Keystone-SDA is enhancing its own products and services with DemoSquare's analytical software.

Partnerships are successful when the technology is complementary and when the rights of each party are clearly specified from the start

Alliances such as these between large companies and startups send a strong signal to the market. They tell potential customers and investors that the startup's technology has been reviewed, tested and deemed robust enough to form the basis of a joint venture. "Being associated with a well-known company indicates that the technology has passed an initial screening," says Casado. For startups, that opens the door to international prospects, makes it easier to acquire their first customers and reassures investors who might be hesitant to put money into a new business. The recent partnership between Timeline and Lancôme is a good example of this strategy. Lancôme will be able to feature Timeline's Mitopure® compound in a new line of skincare products, and Timeline will get instant access to the manufacturing, sales and marketing prowess of a global leader in cosmetics.

Just a few months after announcing its partnership with Science Corporation, Neurosoft Bioelectronics completed a $7.5 million funding round with outside investors - cash that will give a shot in the arm to Neurosoft's brain-computer interface technology.

Finding the right balance

Despite all their benefits, such partnerships are not without risk. Established companies could insist on their own contractual requirements or pace of business development. "A partnership of this type shouldn't prevent the startup from growing in the way it needs to," says Casado. Intellectual property is another thorny issue. "Partnerships are successful when the technology is complementary and when the rights of each party are clearly specified from the start," says Andrea Crottini, head of EPFL's Technology Transfer Office.