Switzerland's startup calendar is busiest in November, when Startup Nights, Swiss Robotics Day, FFX Zurich for women founders and the EPFL and SICTIC investor days fall within a few weeks. In 2027 the big dates are AMLD in Lausanne, Swiss Startup Days in Bern and AI for Good in Geneva.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Switzerland from November 2026 to the end of 2027, in Zurich, Lausanne, Geneva, Basel, Bern, St. Gallen and Winterthur. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. Where a date isn't published yet, we say so, and we mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only). Prices are in Swiss francs (CHF).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
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Best Startup Events in Switzerland 2026–2027: Calendar from November 2026 to October 2027
November 2026
Startup Nights, Winterthur: 5–6 November 2026
The festival had 9,500 visitors in 2025. Finalists of the Impact Tech Award and the Dual Use Tech Award pitch for CHF 10,000 each; applications are closed. This is the last edition in Winterthur. On 6 November the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program hosts a private side event, Women Who Fund and Found (14:30–16:00, host approval needed).
Machine Intelligence Summit, Dübendorf: 10 November 2026
About 300 people from AI labs, ETH research groups and startups, with six founder lightning talks. See our AI events list for more.
Female Founders & Investors Unpitched, Zurich: 12 November 2026
Sandborn Events and ETH Entrepreneurship run this evening twice a year. There are no decks, no stage and no timer, so it is an easy first meeting with Swiss investors.
Swiss Robotics Day, Zurich: 13 November 2026
Run by ETH Zurich's RobotX with the Swiss Robotics Association. Thomas Zurbuchen is a keynote speaker, and the afternoon main stage moves to pitches and short talks. More in our robotics events list.
Swiss AI Summit, Zurich: 16 November 2026
More than 500 attendees and 70 speakers, many from companies buying AI. Useful if you sell AI products to Swiss corporates.
Global Entrepreneurship Week runs from 16 to 22 November (genglobal.org), but no Swiss host or 2026 programme is published yet. The same weekend, EPFL students meet at the LauzHack hackathon (21–22 November, lauzhack.com); hacker applications are closed. Techstars Startup Weekend lists a Zurich edition in November 2026 without days yet (startupweekend.ch).
FFX Zurich: 23 November 2026
Female Founders brings about 120 women together for a day of sessions and introductions, including one on politics, economy and philanthropy with Carolina Müller-Möhl. Apply early: places are limited.
EPFL Investor Day, Lausanne: 25 November 2026
Selected Western Swiss deep-tech startups pitch to investors in the morning (applications closed on 31 August). The afternoon conference is open to all, so you can attend without being selected.
Open-i, Zurich: 26 November 2026
NZZ Connect's conference replaced the Swiss Innovation Forum in Basel. The Swiss Technology Award belongs to it; this year's finalists are already chosen.
December 2026
Swiss Fintech & AI Investor Day, Zurich: 1 December 2026
SICTIC, the Swiss angel network, runs 90-second elevator pitches and then 5-minute pitches. Its next regular investor days are on 17 November (with the Green Fintech Network) and 10 December (NEST Empa, Dübendorf). See our fintech events list.
Prêt? Partez, Pitch! Final, Bellevue (Geneva): 1 December 2026
Genilem's competition ends with 10 finalists and a live audience vote. A good evening to meet the Geneva and Vaud early-stage scene.
2027
AMLD Intelligence Summit, Lausanne: 9–11 March 2027
EPFL's AI Center runs one of Europe's big applied AI conferences. Its Open Stage has startup pitches, and reduced tickets may be available for startups.
START Summit, St. Gallen: 18–19 March 2027
Run by students from the University of St. Gallen, with 60-second elevator pitches, pitch competitions and investor side events.
Swiss Biotech Day, Basel: 26–27 April 2027
Run by the Swiss Biotech Association in Basel's pharma cluster. For more, see our biotech events and healthtech events lists.
Climate Week Zurich: 10–15 May 2027
The first edition in 2026 had more than 270 events. See our climate tech events list.
Swiss Startup Days, Bern: 27 May 2027
The country's main startup day has 1:1 investor meetings and a Newcomers pitch for deep-tech startups, and it offers free childcare, which helps founder parents. See our deep tech events list.
Swiss Medtech Day, Bern: 9 June 2027
The yearly meeting of the Swiss medtech industry association. Go if you look for partners or first customers in medtech.
AI for Good Global Summit, Geneva: 21–24 June 2027
Run by the UN's ITU, with the Innovation Factory pitch competition. The government-led Geneva AI Summit takes place on 21–22 June, back to back.
Startup Nights, Zurich: 7–8 October 2027
Startup Nights moves to Messe Zürich in 2027 on a three-year deal with MCH Group, with about 14,000 visitors expected (cash.ch). The official site doesn't show the 2027 dates yet.
Dates not announced yet
- A3F 2027, Zurich: an events listing gives 12 May 2027 at Kaufleuten, but Alan Frei's own page has no date yet. alanfrei.com
- Swiss Economic Forum, Interlaken: a trade-fair listing gives 3–4 June 2027; the official page shows no date yet. It is a business-leader forum, not a startup event. swisseconomic.ch
- Crypto Valley Conference, Rotkreuz (Zug): June 2027, days not published. See our web3 events list. cryptovalley.swiss
- CV Summit, Zurich (last 29–30 September 2026), Point Zero Forum, Zurich (last 23–25 June 2026) and Plan ₿ Forum, Lugano (last 23–24 October 2026): no 2027 dates yet. cvsummit.ch, pointzeroforum.com, planb.lugano.ch
- TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award and the Startup Champions Seed Night at EPFL (last 7 May 2026): expected again in 2027. top100startups.swiss
- Paused: HackZurich and Digital Festival Zurich both say they are on hiatus. hackzurich.com
Past events
- SECA Evening Event: Swiss VCs on Stage: 28 October 2026 at Europaallee 36, Zurich, an evening where new Swiss venture funds present themselves on stage.
- MassChallenge Switzerland 2026 Awards: 29 October 2026 at Beaulieu, Lausanne, the awards night that closes the accelerator's 2026 Swiss programme.
Recurring meetups and communities
- SICTIC: monthly investor days where startups pitch to angels, in Zurich and other cities, plus masterclasses. sictic.ch
- SECA: venture and private equity events, including Young SECA and Romandie evenings. seca.ch
- Venturelab: Innosuisse-backed trainings, pitch training and co-founder matchmaking (next in Lausanne on 3 December 2026). venturelab.swiss
- Startup Grind Zurich: chapter events through 2026 (May to August), with more than 3,300 members. startupgrind.com
- A3F Startup Breakfast, Zurich: a Christmas pitch edition on 4 December 2026; pitch applications until 20 November. alanfrei.com
- Founder Institute Switzerland: next cohort in spring 2027. fi.co
- Inactive: Startup Grind Geneva (no recent events) and GDG DevFest Switzerland (last held in 2018).
Events for women founders in Switzerland
Two events in the calendar are built for women: Female Founders & Investors Unpitched (12 November, free) and FFX Zurich (23 November). Also coming up:
- Women Investing in Startups, Geneva: SICTIC's workshop for women who want to become business angels, 10 November 2026, 17:30. sictic.ch
- Women Who Fund and Found, Winterthur: Startup Nights side event, 6 November 2026, private (host approval). luma.com
- Women in Entrepreneurship: a Venturelab talk on diverse founding teams at EPFL Innovation Park, 16 November 2026, 12:00–14:00.
- SEF.WomenAward: the Swiss Economic Forum's award for women entrepreneurs, last held on 13 March 2026 in Zurich; no 2027 date yet. swisseconomic.ch
- #wetechtogether, Zurich: the women-in-tech conference with the Hidden Figures Awards, last held on 25–26 September 2026; 2027 not dated. techface.ch
Swiss Startup Days (27 May 2027) offers free childcare on site. For money, read our guide to funding for female entrepreneurs and the female entrepreneurship events list. If you organise an event for women founders in Switzerland, send it to us and we'll add it.
Funding and support to know before you go
- Permits for non-EU founders: you can work in Switzerland as self-employed, but only after a review of labour-market conditions (Art. 19 FNIA). You must show a lasting positive effect on the Swiss labour market and apply through the canton. State Secretariat for Migration
- Innosuisse Start-up Coaching: coaching paid by vouchers, up to CHF 10,000 (Initial, 12 months), CHF 50,000 (Core, 36 months) and CHF 75,000 (Scale-up, 24 months). Innosuisse
- Venture Kick: for startups from Swiss universities, a first kick of CHF 10,000 and up to CHF 150,000 in total, with more from Kickfund and an InnoBooster grant, up to CHF 1.15 million. venturekick.ch
- Starting a company: a GmbH needs CHF 20,000 in capital, paid in full; an AG needs CHF 100,000, with at least CHF 50,000 paid in. EasyGov. The standard VAT rate is 8.1% (Federal Tax Administration).
- Compare other countries in our guide to startup visas in Europe.
How to get the most out of Switzerland startup events
- Plan around November. Startup Nights, Swiss Robotics Day, FFX Zurich and three investor days fall between 5 November and 1 December.
- Use the investor networks. SICTIC and SECA run events every month, and the SICTIC Fintech & AI day takes applications until 5 November.
- Buy the start-up tickets. Swiss Robotics Day, Open-i and Swiss Startup Days all have cheaper start-up rates; check whether prices include VAT.
- Cover both language regions. Lausanne and Geneva (EPFL, Genilem, AI for Good) have a different investor crowd from Zurich. Enter pitch competitions in both.
- Combine it with a trip nearby. Munich and Milan are a few hours away by train. See our guides to startup events in Germany, France and Italy, the Munich city guide and our guide to startup events in Europe.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Switzerland? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
🔗 Add an awesome event
Startup events in other countries
FAQ
What is the biggest startup event in Switzerland?
Startup Nights, with 9,500 visitors in 2025. The 2026 edition is on 5–6 November in Winterthur, and it moves to Messe Zürich on 7–8 October 2027.
When are Swiss Startup Days 2027?
27 May 2027 at the Kursaal in Bern. Startup tickets cost CHF 350, and there is free childcare on site.
Are there free startup events in Switzerland?
Yes. Female Founders & Investors Unpitched (12 November 2026) is free, and most Climate Week Zurich events (10–15 May 2027) are free with a ticket.
Are there events for women founders in Switzerland?
Yes: Female Founders & Investors Unpitched at ETH Zurich (12 November 2026), FFX Zurich (23 November 2026) and SICTIC's Women Investing in Startups workshop in Geneva (10 November 2026).
Where can I meet investors in Switzerland?
At SICTIC's monthly investor days, SECA events, the EPFL Investor Day (25 November 2026), the Swiss Fintech & AI Investor Day (1 December 2026) and Swiss Startup Days.
Can foreign founders start a company in Switzerland?
Yes, but non-EU founders need a self-employment permit, granted after a labour-market review. A GmbH needs CHF 20,000 in capital. Read more in our guide to startup visas in Europe.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
