In northern and western Europe, the number of investments in the first half of 2020 decreased by 40% compared with the same period in 2019. The peculiarities of developments in Switzerland are evident in comparison with other European countries. Swiss development against the European trend The M&A market, on the other hand, has practically come to a standstill after a very good start in January. Their share of total capital invested has risen from about a quarter to half. Until now, foreign investors and foreign companies as buyers of Swiss start-ups have played a major role in this country, but the corona crisis has significantly reduced the importance of both. The crisis nevertheless has had an impact. The longstanding upward trend in the number of financing rounds continued unabated, with more than 20% more rounds completed than in the previous year.
In addition, the sum generated in 2020 is high in a long-term comparison – at about 67% above the comparative value in 2018 At CHF 3.9 million, the median investment is a good 20% higher than in the previous year. The majority of start-ups were able to attract more money in 2020 than in 2019. In 2020, the largest financing round – that of Scandit – amounted to CHF 77 million. Three of these rounds were announced in the first half of 2019. This decrease is due exclusively to the lack of mega-financing rounds in the three-digit million range. The total amount invested fell by 36% compared with the same period in 2019. The whole report can be downloaded in the "Assets" section. A total of CHF 763.4 million in venture capital went into young Swiss companies, with 105 financing rounds completed.
#Swiss number of rounds drivers#
However, technology stocks have been among the drivers of the markets during the corona crisis, which in turn is an indication of investment in start-ups.Ī survey by online news portal startupticker.ch and investor association SECA shows how investment developed in the first half of the year. These two facts suggest that investment will decline in a crisis such as that triggered by Covid-19. Investment in start-ups is associated with greater risk in addition, Swiss start-ups are nearly always active internationally.