REGISTRATION
We’re kicking off the next edition of STAGE UP. Are you in?
Sign up now for the Bern Business Creation Competition STAGE UP with your business idea. We look forward to seeing new, promising projects! The registration period is open until Tuesday, December 1, 2026.
Not sure if STAGE UP is the right fit for you and your idea? Then come to our “Pitch & Punch” inspiration event on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 . In a relaxed atmosphere with like-minded people, we’ll talk about pitching, and if you’d like, you can practice your pitch (maybe for the first time) in front of an audience: More info & registration
Participation in the competition is free and open to individuals or teams residing in Switzerland. If the company was founded, it must have been established no more than 18 months ago—that is, no earlier than June 30, 2025. You can find the detailed rules in the terms and conditions below.
Are you curious about what happened last year? Take a look at the 2026 yearbook!
COURSE OF THE COMPETITION
ELEVATOR PITCH
January 26, 2027
If your business idea is convincing in the pre-selection, you are admitted to the elevator pitch. Present your business idea in three minutes to our jury of renowned Bernese entrepreneurs. If the idea is convincing again, you will be invited to take part in the rest of the competition. Coaching sessions and workshops permitted.
AWARD NIGHT
May 25, 2027
With your developed business model you apply for a presentation of the top 5 in the final round in front of the audience and the jury. First place winners receive CHF 10,000, second place winners CHF 5,000 and third place winners CHF 3,000.
NETWORK
JURY
A high-caliber jury of well-known personalities from the world of business, with a track record from their own business activities and public commitment, independently evaluates the business ideas and models of the participating teams. In both the elevator pitch and the final round, the jury evaluates the quality and potential of the business idea or business model.
Dr. Antje-Christin Knopf
Director of the sitem-insel School
sitem-insel AG
Dr. Nina Hobi
Founder, Scientifc Director & Co-CEO
AlveoliX AG
Dr. Patrick Hofer-Noser
Owner & Managing Director
3S Solar Plus AG
Dr. h.c. Eva Jaisli
Owner & CEO
PB Swiss Tools
Roger Siegenthaler
CEO
mb-microtec AG
Representative of the Board of Directors
Traser
Philippe Stüdi
Founder and Managing Partner
COACHES
People with many years of practical experience and a connection to entrepreneurship support the qualified participants in the business management development of the idea into a business model. As sparring partners, they accompany the participants and are available to answer specific questions about the positioning of the project on the market and the next steps towards success.
Christian Brand
Partner & CEO
Patrick Perler
Holder
Perler Consulting GmbH
Pol Budmiger
CEO / Co-Owner viadiversa
Thomas Meier
Managing Director / CEO
TRAINERS
Experts share their specific knowledge and valuable tips & tricks on topics such as financial planning, legal matters and design in our workshops and are available in the evenings for a general exchange, specific professional feedback or further recommendations.
Artur Baldauf
Director of the Corporate Management Department
Cristina Zimmermann
Senior Manager I Assurance I Audit Service
Fabio Studer
Senior Manager Audit Services
EY
Jürg Schwarzenbach
Owner Marcaro and investor in “Höhle der Löwen Schweiz”
Marcaro
Kathrin Enderli
Attorney at Law and Counsel
Kellerhals Carrard
Marcel Hofstetter
Scientific Officer in the Start-up and Next Generation Innovators Division
Start-Up Internationalization, Innosuisse
Marta Gehring
HealthTech business development and marketing strategist
Melchior Glatthard
Attorney at Law and Notary Public
Law Office & Notary Glatthard
Michael Hilb
Founder of DBP Holding
Michèle Remund
Attorney at Law and Partner
Kellerhals Carrard
Stefan Weber
CEO at CASCINATION AG
EXPERTS
The experts bring practical knowledge and experience in start-up promotion. They support the jury in evaluating the business models and their feedback benefits the further development of the projects.
Anita Jörg
Head of Marketing/Communications
Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne AG
Anna-Leena Marti
Entrepreneur, Coach & Expert Entrepreneurship
Anthony Smith
Managing Director & Owner InnoSmith GmbH
Innovation Coach at be-advanced
Beni Hirt
CEO OF
Decomplix AG
Boris Kaiser
Head of Site Supply Chain
CSL Behring
Cristina Zimmermann
Senior Manager I Assurance I Audit Service
Dirk Raubald
Senior Director
CSL Behring
Elsa Callini
Innovation & Startup Advisor
Emanuel Roth
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Youngpreneurs Association
Fabio Studer
Senior Manager Audit Services
EY
Florian Baumann
Innovation Manager
Florian Kühni
Head of Innovation
Julian Liniger
Co-Founder & CEO
Linda Aerne
Innovation & Opportunity Manager
Monika Sattler
Managing Director, Change & Performance Coach & Trainer for Leaders, Keynote Speaker
Nicolas Gasser
CEO & Co-Founder
IMPLANZ
Patrick Felder
Head of Region Bern-South
Berner Kantonalbank AG
Peter Brunner
Head of Research & Services
BFH – Engineering & Information Technology
Philippe Wenger
Partner Audit Services
EY
Ralf Müssig
Senior Project Manager
Sébastien Hug
Head Innovation Office
Simon Nobs
PhD Candidate and Corporate Entrepreneurship Scholar
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Bern
Stefan Moser
Leiter Marktgebiet Bern, Emmental, Oberaargau sowie Leiter BEKB fokus@kmu
Thomas Bähler
Lawyer, Partner & Investor/Business Angel
Kellerhals Carrard
Tom Schlup
Partner / CFO on Demand
Yacine Michaelis
Expert for entrepreneurship
Yann Meyer
Business Development Manager
Yasmin Wieland
Project Manager
IN COOPERATION WITH
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
GOLD SPONSORS & MAIN PARTNERS
SILVER SPONSORS
OTHER PARTNERS
CONTACT
The business ideas are currently being evaluated by our expert panel. Who can pitch in front of the jury at the Elevator Pitch on January 27, 2026? We will keep you up to date in our newsfeed and on our social media channels!
The coaching sessions are in full swing!
On January 28, 2025, we spent an exciting day in the dome room of the University of Bern and listened to 25 innovative pitches.
After intensive discussion, the jury agreed and nominated xx teams for the next round. The next step for the Topxx is the coaching and workshop phase.
After the next evaluation round, only the best of the best make it to the next round and are allowed to take part in the Award Night 2025
The business models are ready!
Over the past few weeks, the teams have been working diligently with their coaches on their business models in order to face another round of evaluation. Our experts then assessed the projects again. The selected teams will pitch in front of our renowned jury at the Award Night on May 19 to compete for the podium places. We are delighted to announce the Top 5 of this year’s STAGE UP edition:
On January 27, the Elevator Pitch took place in front of our jury. Visionary founders took the opportunity to present their innovative ideas and show what the start-ups of tomorrow are working on. In short, concise pitches, they impressed with their creativity, courage and entrepreneurial thinking.
After intensive deliberations, the jury has made its decision. Curtain up for our Top 14 – we look forward to accompanying these promising teams on their further journey!
The five finalist teams have been chosen and the Award Night is just around the corner. On May 19, they will pitch their idea one last time. They will have the chance to win prize money worth a total of CHF 18,000 to promote their idea.
If you don’t want to miss this spectacle and want to be part of the Award Night on May 19, 2026, you should register now. Places are limited – it pays to be quick!
TOP 5
Here you can find this year’s top 5 teams. They will pitch their idea one last time to the jury and the large audience on May 19 at the Award Night in the Bierhüebli.
AZYGOS
AZYGOS is a digital learning platform for medical students and offers realistic OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) cases for practicing anamnesis, clinical examination and clinical reasoning, individually or in teams, with ready-to-use cases.
Team
Lukas Arnold
Driton Knepper
Agron Knepper
GoRehab
DextEgg is an egg-shaped, connected device that supports fine motor skills training. In combination with an app, it makes exercises more motivating, provides real-time feedback and enables therapists to monitor patients remotely, making rehabilitation at home easier.
Team
Nic Krummenacher
Samuel Knobel
HORAO
HORAO is developing a real-time imaging system for brain tumor surgery. Integrated into surgical microscopes, it helps surgeons to differentiate between healthy and tumorous tissue and perform operations more safely and precisely.
Team
David Hasler
Philippe Schucht
Omar Rodríguez Núñez
PolaSight
PolaSight offers a fast, non-destructive alternative to conventional histologic examination during surgery. Simple, cost-effective and clinically validated, it allows tissue samples to be stored for further analysis and meets the increasing demand due to rising cancer cases and the shortage of pathologists.
Team
Raphael Sznitman
Davide Scandella
Pablo Márquez Neila
Sefit Health
Sefit Health offers virtual reality therapy to help neurodivergent young people manage sensory overload, promote social integration and improve their quality of life, education and employment opportunities.
Team
Elena Börlin
WHAT DO STARTUPS NEED?
We asked our trainers and coaches what sets good startups apart. Check out the video to find out their answers!
STAGE UP
DO YOU HAVE A PROMISING BUSINESS IDEA?
The application deadline for STAGE UP 2026 has expired. The next entry period for STAGE UP begins in September 2026.
THE STAGE UP PODIUM PLACES 2026
DextEgg is an egg-shaped, connected device that supports fine motor skills training. In combination with an app, it makes exercises more motivating, provides real-time feedback and enables therapists to monitor patients remotely, making rehabilitation at home easier.
Team
Nic Krummenacher
Samuel Knobel
PolaSight offers a fast, non-destructive alternative to conventional histologic examination during surgery. Simple, cost-effective and clinically validated, it allows tissue samples to be stored for further analysis and meets the increasing demand due to rising cancer cases and the shortage of pathologists.
Team
Raphael Sznitman
Davide Scandella
Pablo Márquez Neila
Sefit Health offers virtual reality therapy that helps neurodivergent young people to cope with sensory overload, promote social integration and improve their quality of life as well as educational and career opportunities.
Team
Elena Börlin
Eric Leung
AZYGOS is a digital learning platform for medical students and offers realistic OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) cases for practicing anamnesis, clinical examination and clinical reasoning, individually or in teams, with ready-to-use cases.
Team
Lukas Arnold
Driton Knepper
Agron Knepper
Afreed Ashraf
HORAO is developing a real-time imaging system for brain tumor surgery. Integrated into surgical microscopes, it helps surgeons to differentiate between healthy and tumorous tissue and perform operations more safely and precisely.
Team
David Hasler
Philippe Schucht
Omar Rodríguez Núñez
Team GoRehab
Samuel Knobel, Nic Krummenacher, Winners of STAGE UP 2026 (1st Place), CTO / CEO of "GoRehab".
STAGE UP was an incredible experience for us as founders. The combination of expert feedback, dedicated coaching, and challenging discussions helped us refine both our pitch and our business strategy. Beyond the competition itself, we made valuable connections within the Bernese startup ecosystem and learned how to communicate our vision more effectively. Reaching the finals and winning first place was a fantastic milestone. The opportunity to pitch our vision to such a large audience was truly inspiring, and yet the entire experience still felt personal and supportive—a unique combination that gave us momentum for the next stage of our journey.
Team PolaSight
Roy Finish, Pablo Marquez, Raphael Sznitman, Winners of STAGE UP 2026 (2nd Place), CEO / CSO / Advisor of "PolaSight".
Participating in STAGE UP was incredibly valuable for our team. The process pushed us to refine our product positioning, deepen our understanding of our target customers, and think much more deeply about product-market fit. The feedback and questions challenged many of our assumptions and helped us articulate our value proposition more clearly. We came away with a stronger strategy and a better understanding of where we fit in the market.
Team Sefit Health
Eric Leung, Elena Börlin, Winners of STAGE UP 2026 (3rd Place), COO / CEO of Sefit Health.
STAGE UP supported us in so many ways throughout the entire process. From pitch training to business model development, regulatory matters, and new contacts, this has been an amazing journey. The prize money is one thing, but the lessons learned, the new contacts we’ve made, and the improvements to our startup strategy are invaluable. We learned a lot and highly recommend that startups apply to STAGE UP.
ITEM 6-14
Here you can find this year’s Top 14 teams that didn’t make it to the Award Night and therefore didn’t make it into the Top 5.
Algantix
Algantix has developed a system that detects and locates active cell phones in prisons with 90% accuracy. It enables real-time monitoring, efficient confiscation and a significant reduction in illegal phone calls and offers a cost-effective, vandal-resistant alternative to jammers via a sensor-as-a-service model.
Team
Tobias Zaugg
Amela Biosciences
Amela Biosciences develops next-generation bioinks that are reliable and standardized, enabling human-relevant 3D cell culture, tissue engineering and bioprinting without animal or synthetic materials.
Team
Sandra Nunez
Diavolo
Diavolo develops an innovative, tasty and healthier beer. Tested with over 120 consumers, the MVP achieved more than 300 pre-orders and confirmed the strong market demand.
Team
Martino Corti
Yannick Nagel
gapeer
Gapeer is a community platform that supports graduates during their gap year, bundles information and opportunities and connects motivated students with companies to make the year structured and enriching.
Team
Louisa Sodige
Jana Rotzetter
Mariya.ai
Mariya.ai combines digital intelligence with human empathy to support migrants, expats and career changers with individual coaching, emotional check-ins and resources for integration, career transition and personal development.
Team
Larysa Aleksieieva
Danylo Rebi
Olga Verbitskaya
northfen
Nordfen is developing an automated solution that converts real-world topographic data into interactive, physically accurate 3D simulations that can be quickly used to support autonomous systems development, tactical training and operational planning.
Team
Philip Cherupallikattu
Rex Kendall
Jack Kendall
PRIMA genetics
PRIMA genetics offers a rapid genotyping platform that identifies relevant genetic variants in stroke patients directly on site. This enables doctors to quickly select the most effective, personalized treatments, improve patient care and reduce the risk of relapse.
Team
Misako Yamazaki
Megumi Mizoguchi
SOPHIA Health
SOPHIA is an AI assistant for doctors in the DACH region that automates clinical documentation and can reduce the associated costs by up to 30%. It analyzes patient records, creates automated reports and processes unstructured documents, integrating seamlessly with hospital information systems.
Team
Moritz Neesen
Fiona Beer
Julian Brummer
Windtracx
Windtracx is developing an innovative wind-assisted propulsion system for cargo vessels with autonomous aero-kite drones that saves fuel, meets regulatory requirements and offers economic benefits, targeting the maritime decarbonization market.
Team
Aldo Cattano
Andrea Mazzucchelli
Borka Hajdin
SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM STAGE UP 2026
The STAGE UP winners 2026 have been announced! The five finalist teams pitched their business ideas and the jury decided on the three podium places live – in front of around 200 guests.
Out of 55 business ideas, these teams overcame several selection hurdles and convinced two independent committees. But they all deserved it – as the intensive jury discussion about places 1-3 showed.
The STAGE UP podium places
Beyond Diagnostics aims to revolutionize diabetes care by developing a point-of-care test for insulin efficacy that enables more precise dosing during treatment. This will reduce insulin wastage, reduce serious health complications and healthcare costs, and improve care worldwide.
Team
Maren Schinz
Stefanie Dobitz
Ema Grabenweger
Hanne Ballhausen
Hanna Boëthius
1/3 of food is wasted and is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. GoNina helps restaurants, bakeries and retailers reduce waste and costs by using AI to predict demand with 90% accuracy and selling surplus to consumers at a discount through its platform.
Team
Matthieu Ochsner
Ferdinand von Hagen
Luke Tilsley
Shiraz Hasni
Richard Lichtenberg
wearefreemovers is the first one-stop-shop platform for freemovers, connecting independent study abroad students with universities and service providers to usher in a new era of international mobility.
Team
Andrea Pellini
Fabio Pellini
TOP5
The other finalist teams:
Duatic
Duatic AG builds human-sized robots for intralogistics that navigate and handle objects like humans, enabling rapid deployment and low acquisition costs. Using advanced actuators, they have developed a unique robotic arm that provides solutions for industries such as manufacturing, retail and many more.
Team
Eris Sako
Timo Schwarzer
Michael Schlappbach
Antonis Kantounias
Daniel Kaufmann
Dimitris Sako
EPOcell Therapeutics
EPOcel Therapeutics is developing an autologous cellular therapy for the treatment of chronic kidney disease. The therapy is intended to prevent further degeneration of the kidney and thus save patients from dialysis.
Team
Benjamin Lüscher
Faik Imeri
Michael Daskalakis
Mariana Clar
Press reports
TightValve
TightValve is a novel surgical device for aortic valve repair. Today, there is no established and reproducible way to measure intraoperatively if a repaired valve is really closing tightly. The device offers the surgeon immediate feedback during the critical phases of surgery.
Team
Pascal Buchs
Dr. Silje Ekroll years
Dr. med. Emmanuel Zimmer
Dominik Obrist
Pathy
Pathy aims to simplify medical image analysis in histopathology. Their Software-as-a-Service platform provides AI-powered digital staining solutions that enable pre-screening of patients in urgent biopsy analyses, and assist pathologists in both diagnosis and research.
Team
Rina Mehmeti
Nhi Luong
Aous Khadhraoui
Oussama Ben Ghorbel
Kidemis
Kidemis produces a fish and animal feed ingredient based on fermented mycoprotein. The ingredient has both functional and nutritional properties, and was developed as a sustainable alternative for fishmeal and soy. The innovative bioprocessing solution allows for a zero-waste conversion of low-value agricultural side-streams into high-quality ingredient.
Team
Constantin Marakhov
Sean Wassermann
painbreaker
The aim of painbreaker is to offer people with chronic pain additional support in the form of an online course. The online course is the ideal complement to existing pain therapies and allows patients to work on their symptoms at their own pace.
Team
Sandra Zimmermann
Oliver Ludwig
CleanStent
Obstructions of the ureter can increase pressure in the kidney, leading to potential kidney failure if left untreated. Current ureteral stents restore urine flow but their frequent clogging requires stent replacement every few weeks. CleanStent’s innovative technology eliminates this need, ensuring long-term stent performance.
Team
Pedro Amado
Dr. Cornel Dillinger
PD Francesco Clavica
Daniel Ahmed
Press reports
