At its 2023 Annual General Meeting on May 16, Fri Up presented its results for 2022. The Fri Up team worked with 30 start-ups, supported 16 fund-raisings and advised 306 people wishing to launch their own business. Several of the projects supported won major awards. This success reflects the Canton of Fribourg’s highly encouraging entrepreneurial dynamic, particularly in the field of Tech Transfer.
Last year was a successful one for the companies supported by Fri Up. Several start-ups won international, national and cantonal awards:
- Mitipi, which produces an intelligent anti-burglary presence simulator, and was selected for the first US Launching Pad organized by the ZID innovation and digitalization center in Berne. It was also able to join the American start-up gas pedal Newchip.
- Simon & Joseph, which specializes in the digitalization of the hotel industry, has successfully completed the three stages of the nationally renowned Venture Kick program and won CHF 150,000 in funding.
- Neuria, whose team develops digital therapies in the form of video games, won a prize at the Swiss Accelerators Showcase 2022 at EPFL, and was awarded the Future of Health Grant. Neuria was also awarded the Prix à l’innovation 21-22 by the canton of Fribourg, in the start-up category. Its video game “The Diner” is based on many years of research in neuroscience and psychology at the University of Fribourg.
Neuria is a fine example of Tech Transfer, the entrepreneurial realization of an academic project. Supporting the transition from laboratory to start-up is one of Fri Up’s main objectives, and at its General Meeting 2023, Fri Up presented to its members its strengthened collaboration with the University of Fribourg’s Knowledge & Technology Transfer(KTT) department.
Also at the AGM, three high-potential research projects had the opportunity to pitch their innovations to the public:
- Impossible Materials has developed a natural white colorant based on cellulose, offering a genuine alternative to titanium dioxide, the potentially carcinogenic colorant most widely used in industry (medicines, paint, etc.).
- Separatic , which uses a prototype composed of several membranes to separate gas components for reuse, starting with helium and hydrogen,
- Nanofertilizerswhich“boost” crops’ natural defenses with a nanofertilizer containing silicon dioxide, a nutrient naturally present in flora. With its protective effect, this process offers a real alternative to pesticides that attack vegetation and soil.