Productive amazement

Dear reader

On went public in New York on Wednesday afternoon. Even before the start of trading, the Swiss sportswear brand had raised USD 750 million as part of the capital increase. After that, the share price continued to rise and on Thursday evening the company was valued at more than USD 10 billion. Nowhere does the astonishment seem to be greater than in this country. Can an 11-year-old Swiss start-up really be worth USD 10 billion? Obviously it can, since millions of stocks are traded at this price level every day.

I hope that the success of On not only establishes another Swiss brand globally, but also changes the perception of the Swiss start-up scene. Switzerland is able to produce start-ups with a valuation of USD 10 billion and this should be the ambition, as the potential is there. This week alone provided an indication, with Sportradar’s launch of its IPO and its valuation at just under USD 8 billion. A total of nine start-ups have already gone public this year, and two more have announced their intention.

Spectacular financing rounds abound, with five-year-old biotech company Anjarium raising more than CHF 55 million in a Series A financing round, and Zug-based Open Mineral generating USD 33 million to accelerate growth of its global digital trade platform for base metal commodities. Gr3n’s financing round also caused a stir: the Lugano-based start-up aims to become the world’s leading supplier of recycled PET and polyester, and has attracted industry heavyweights Chevron and Standex as investors.

In addition to the IPOs, there were other exits. Swiss Post took a majority stake in Bring! Labs, the start-up behind Europe’s largest shopping list app. And Indian company TVS Motor, one of the largest two and three-wheeler manufacturers in the world, has become the majority shareholder in e-bike start-up EGO Movement.

Two awards also showed the high quality of cyber security and early stage start-ups. This year, the Swisscom Startup Challenge was looking for the best cyber security companies globally and the five winners include three from Switzerland. This year’s award ceremony for the >> venture >> competition took place on Monday, with MapTiler the winner. The jury emphasised in particular the impressive customer list, which includes names such as Airbus, Oracle, Siemens, NASA and Wetter.com, and the team’s courage in thinking big – it is active in a field that Google is also working on intensively.

The CE2 Circular Economy Entrepreneur Conference is scheduled for next week in Bern, and don’t miss the 27 September deadline for the ZKB Pionierpreis Technopark.

Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora 

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch