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One-stop-shop and provider of personalized services for INNvestors

Innovaud is the investment and innovation promotion agency for the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Our organization is the one-stop-shop for all economic promotion activities in the canton and offers these services free of charge. The canton of Vaud is the only Swiss canton providing this level of support. We have a long history of supporting innovation by startups, scale-ups, SMEs and large tech companies. We are also the gateway for foreign companies and investors willing to set up a presence in the heart of Europe. Our services are offered free of charge and backed by the canton of Vaud’s Department of the Economy.

Vaud, at the heart of Europe

Geneva airport, located just 40 minutes from Lausanne, connects you with direct flights to four continents. Destinations include daily flights to New York City, Washington, Montréal, Dubai and Beijing. Paris can be reached from the city center of Lausanne by high-speed train in just over three and a half hours.
 

What services can I take advantage of?
  • Organizing roadshows and visits to meet key stakeholders in the ecosystem, from startups to research institutes and from the cantonal tax authorities to senior government officials
  • Access to investors’ clubs and Introductions to angel investors
  • Facilitation in the setting-up of family offices and managing companies
  • Matchmaking for investors to meet startups, scaleups and SMEs
  • Exclusive event and opportunities to network with fellow investors to explore opportunities to co-invest
  • Tax advisory
  • Work and residency permit support
What about the taxation?
Investors are frequently drawn to Switzerland thanks to its favorable tax policy. In addition to low income taxes and the absence of capital gains taxation, we also see the canton of Vaud attracting foreigners with lump-sum taxation. Switzerland has signed over 100 double taxation agreements with other countries, these include the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States and China.
 

Discover investment opportunities in the canton of Vaud

The canton of Vaud is the ideal place to invest in innovation. It is home to 35,000 companies, nearly 10% of which are involved in high-tech activities, including research and development in fields such as life sciences, cybersecurity and aerospace. The canton ranks second nationally in the attraction of venture capital funding and number of financing rounds and the Greater Lausanne Area been named 11th emerging ecosystem worldwide by Startup Genome.

The canton ranks second nationally in the attraction of venture capital funding

At first glance, the investment figures in the first half of 2024 are roughly similar to those of the previous year. Approximately CHF 1.1 billion was raised in 138 financing rounds, a decline of about 10% in both figures compared with 2023. However, in terms of phases and sectors there are more significant differences. Among the sectors, biotech in particular performed well, while ICT start-ups attracted only as much capital as in 2018.

Connections with startups and scale-ups 

The canton of Vaud benefits a dynamic startup ecosystem, active in many different domains and industries. Innovaud runs Vaud Scale-Ups, an exclusive club of over 45 high-growth, high-tech, companies. Most of them are often ranked in the TOP 100. 

Discover the Scale-Up Community

Vaud is home to

The economic fabric of Vaud is made up largely of SMEs but also numerous startups, scaleups and multinationals. These companies often choose to create or settle their business here due to the excellent industry, government and academic relations.

The canton of Vaud is home to excellent tertiary education institutions such as the Swiss Federal Institute of technology, Lausanne (EPFL), the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the School of Business and Engineering Vaud (HEIG-VD), the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and the EHL Hospitality Business School. In addition, the Lausanne University Hospital, CHUV, has been ranked in the top 10 best hospitals in the world numerous times.

Talents

Insead has ranked Switzerland 1st in the 2023 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, for 10 consecutive years. Over 10% of Vaud’s 800,000 inhabitants are involved in research and development of academia. Vaud is also one of the most cosmopolitan regions not only in Switzerland, but also in Europe with 30% of its population being foreign-born. Whatever talent which cannot be found in Switzerland can easily be recruited from abroad. Thanks to the country’s flexible labor and immigration laws and Innovaud’s assistance, obtaining work permits for citizens is an easy and pain-free process – especially for citizens of the European Union.


 

Contact Innovaud

To discuss investment opportunities in the canton of Vaud

Mrs Yuliya Blaser

Head of Investment

Mr Alexis Bittar

Project Coordinator