Zurich's startup calendar is packed from early November to early December 2026: LAUNCH at ETH (3 November), Startup Nights in Winterthur (5–6 November), Swiss Robotics Day, FFX Zurich and SICTIC's Fintech & AI Investor Day. In 2027 come the DeepTech Investor Summit, GenAI Zürich, Swiss Fintech Week (28–30 June) and the first Startup Nights in Zurich (7–8 October).
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Zurich and its region from November 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. 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). For Geneva, Lausanne, Basel, Bern and St. Gallen, see our startup events in Switzerland guide.
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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Must Attend Startup Events in Zurich 2026–2027: Calendar from November 2026 to October 2027
Autumn 2026: November
LAUNCH at ETH Zurich: 3 November 2026
The ETH Entrepreneur Club and SICTIC expect 2,000+ visitors, 80+ exhibiting startups and 200+ investors, with a dealflow zone. One of the cheapest ways to meet many Swiss investors in a day. Tickets on Luma
Startup Nights, Winterthur: 5–6 November 2026
Switzerland's largest startup festival, in the canton of Zurich, with talks, side events and the Impact Tech and Dual Use Tech pitch awards (applications closed). From 2027 it moves to Zurich.
Startup Stories, Female Founders Edition: 9 November 2026
Startup Campus, the Female Founders Initiative Switzerland and Z-Kubator host Zurich female founders on leading change with AI.
Machine Intelligence Summit, Dübendorf: 10 November 2026
Hosted by ellipsis Venture, with six founder lightning talks and 50 student posters. See our AI startup events for 2027.
Female Founders & Investors Unpitched: 12 November 2026
No decks and no stage: founders and investors simply talk. A relaxed first contact with Zurich's angel scene.
Swiss Robotics Day: 13 November 2026
ETH Zurich RobotX's national robotics day, with Thomas Zurbuchen among the keynote speakers and startup pitches in the afternoon. More in our robotics startup events.
Swiss AI Summit: 16 November 2026
About 40 speakers and 400 participants, many of them buyers at large Swiss companies. Ask for the start-up ticket.
On 19 November the Swiss digital industry meets at the Hallenstadion for swissICT's Digital Economy Award (CHF 280, members CHF 220).
FFX Zurich: 23 November 2026
Female Founders' yearly Zurich gathering; FFX Barcelona and Paris follow in 2027. Apply on Luma.
Open-i: 26 November 2026
NZZ Connect's innovation conference (formerly the Swiss Innovation Forum). Its Innovation Challenge deadline passed on 9 October.
December 2026 to March 2027
Swiss Fintech & AI Investor Day: 1 December 2026
SICTIC, Switzerland's largest angel club, runs 90-second elevator pitches and 5-minute pitches, with keynotes by Alexandra Beckstein (QAI Ventures) and Yassine Zaied. SICTIC also holds investor days on 17 November (applications closed) and 10 December at NEST Empa, Dübendorf (apply by 12 November). All SICTIC events
DeepTech Investor Summit: 25–26 January 2027
ETH Zurich and UBS bring 120 investable deep-tech spin-offs together with more than 600 investors. See our deep tech startup events.
GenAI Zürich: 24–25 February 2027
The GenAI Zürich Award has a track for startups building GenAI products; apply by 22 November 2026, and the finalists pitch on the main stage.
Also in early 2027: Voxxed Days Zürich, a developer conference at Arena Cinemas Sihlcity on 9 March (voxxeddays.ch), and the M01N Startup Camp on 17–18 February in Rapperswil-Jona on Lake Zurich, with a pitch final for six startups (apply by 12 February; moin.camp).
Spring to autumn 2027
Climate Week Zurich: 10–15 May 2027
More than 270 events in 2026. Partner registration for 2027 is open. See our climate tech startup events.
A3F: 12 May 2027
Alan Frei's yearly conference; the first speakers include Yaël Meier (ZEAM), Merlin Ouboter (Microlino) and Prof. Vanessa Wood (ETH). Tickets on Eventfrog
On 31 May, SDS2027, the Swiss conference on data science and AI, fills The Circle at Zurich Airport: good for meeting corporate data buyers.
Swiss Fintech Week: 28–30 June 2027
Monday 28 June has the FuW FinTech Forum, the startup fair and Tenity's Startup Night with the Swiss Fintech Awards; the Point Zero Forum follows on 29–30 June. See our fintech startup events.
Startup Nights in Zurich: 7–8 October 2027
The festival moves from Winterthur to Messe Zürich for the first time, with about 14,000 visitors expected. The official site does not show 2027 yet.
Dates not announced yet
- Techstars Startup Weekend Zurich: listed for November 2026, but no days or venue yet. startupweekend.ch
- Swiss InsurTech Summit & Awards: listed for 1 December 2026 in Zurich by a fintech news site; no official page found. fintechnews.ch
- Zurich AI Festival with the AI+X Summit: 28 September–3 October in 2026. zurichaifestival.ch
- #wetechtogether 2027: Switzerland's women-in-tech conference was on 25–26 September in 2026. techface.ch
- Web3 Banking Symposium: November 2027 in Zurich, day not published. cryptovalley.swiss
On hold: HackZurich and the Digital Festival are on hiatus. Kickstart Innovation, Finance 2.0 and Worldwebforum have no new dates.
Past events
- SECA Evening Event: Swiss VCs on Stage: 28 October 2026 at Europaallee 36, Zurich.
- SURGE 2026: AI, Energy, Robotics: 29 October 2026 at Novu Campus, Zurich Airport.
- Digital Health Accelerator DemoDay, Batch 4: 29 October 2026 at Ergon Informatik, Zurich.
Recurring meetups and communities
- SICTIC Investor Days: about one a month, where startups pitch to Switzerland's largest angel club. sictic.ch
- SECA: venture and private equity events, including Young SECA evenings. seca.ch
- GDG Cloud Zürich: free tech talks, the next on 5 November 2026. luma.com
- Founder Institute Switzerland: pre-seed programme, next cohort spring 2027. fi.co
- Startup Campus and Venturelab: founder trainings and Startup Stories evenings. startup-campus.ch
Quiet now: Startup Grind Zurich has run only online events since mid-2026, and the old GDG Zurich chapter page is gone.
Events for women founders in Zurich
- Startup Stories: Female Founders Edition (9 November 2026, Zentrum Glockenhof, free): women founders building with AI.
- Female Founders & Investors Unpitched (12 November, OAT ETH Zürich, free): founders meet angels and VCs without pitching.
- FFX Zurich (23 November, CHF 199 + VAT, by application): a day for about 120 female founders and investors.
- Female Founder Coworking Mornings at Impact Hub Zürich Viadukt: 20 November and 11 December 2026, 09:00–12:00. impacthub.ch
Run an event for women founders in Zurich? Send it to us and we'll add it. See also our female entrepreneurship events for 2027.
Funding and support to know before you go
- Founders from outside the EU/EFTA: Canton Zurich's Office for Economy and Labour (AWA) decides on self-employment permits; a business plan and a planned balance sheet are mandatory, and the business must serve the overall economic interest. Canton of Zurich (PDF)
- Registering a company: the Zurich commercial register charges CHF 420 for a new GmbH or AG and CHF 80 for a sole proprietorship. To be sure of registration in 2026, file complete documents by 1 December. zh.ch
- Wealth tax on founder shares: until a startup has representative results, Zurich values its shares at their substance value, not the price of the latest funding round. Zurich tax manual
- ZKB Pionierpreis Technopark: CHF 100,000 for a Zurich tech startup; the 2026 winner was RTDT Laboratories. Applications for 2027 closed on 21 September 2026. Zürcher Kantonalbank
- Innovation Sandbox for AI: the canton helps AI startups test projects with regulators; 8 of 57 applicants were chosen in 2026. zh.ch
How to get the most out of Zurich startup events
- Go to LAUNCH on 3 November. A CHF 92.51 startup ticket puts you in a room with 200+ investors.
- Use the free evenings. Unpitched, Startup Stories and the Machine Intelligence Summit cost nothing.
- Apply for pitch slots. SICTIC's Fintech & AI Investor Day closes on 5 November, the GenAI Zürich Award on 22 November.
- Buy GenAI Zürich by 31 October. The early-bird conference pass is CHF 200.
- Check VAT. Swiss prices are often shown without 8.1% VAT; see more startup competitions.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Zurich? 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
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FAQ
What are the main startup events in Zurich?
LAUNCH at ETH (3 November 2026), Startup Nights in Winterthur (5–6 November), Swiss Robotics Day (13 November), FFX Zurich (23 November), the DeepTech Investor Summit (25–26 January 2027), GenAI Zürich (24–25 February 2027), Swiss Fintech Week (28–30 June 2027) and Startup Nights at Messe Zürich (7–8 October 2027).
Where can I pitch to investors in Zurich?
At SICTIC's investor days, including the Swiss Fintech & AI Investor Day on 1 December 2026 (apply by 5 November), the GenAI Zürich Award (apply by 22 November) and the DeepTech Investor Summit for ETH spin-offs.
Are there events for women founders in Zurich?
Yes: Startup Stories: Female Founders Edition (9 November 2026, free), Female Founders & Investors Unpitched (12 November, free), FFX Zurich (23 November) and Impact Hub's Female Founder Coworking Mornings.
Are there free startup events in Zurich?
Yes: the Machine Intelligence Summit (10 November), Unpitched (12 November), Startup Stories (9 November) and most Climate Week Zurich events.
How much does it cost to register a company in Zurich?
The Zurich commercial register charges CHF 420 to register a new GmbH or AG, and a GmbH needs at least CHF 20,000 of share capital.
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.
