ETH Zurich spin-offs more successful than other Swiss start-ups, study reveals

Spin-offs from ETH-Zürich create more jobs, attract more funding, generate higher returns and have higher survival rates than the average Swiss start-up, a UK study says.

Alexander Schläpfer and Ingvi Oskarsson at the London Business School examined the 130 companies spun off by ETH-Zürich between 1998 and 2007. In this period, 88% of spin-offs created by ETH-Zürich survived, compared to 68% of university spin-offs created in the US.

Between 1998 and 2007, ETH-Zürich spin-offs created around 1,500 indirect and direct jobs in total – an average of over seven jobs per spin-off, and almost twice that of the average Swiss start-up. ETH-Zürich spin-offs also grew faster, attracted six times as much backing from venture capitalists and business angels, and generated higher returns than the average Swiss start-up.

However, the survey authors identified a funding gap in the initial seed stage, and stress that there is still more that could be done by ETH-Zürich.

Professor Peter Chen, Vice President Research and Corporate Relations at ETH-Zürich, said: “ETH Zurich’s spin-off success reflects an ongoing and fundamental change in thinking that increasingly is entrepreneurial. We will continue to create and refine the conditions needed to found viable and competitive companies, and sharpen our focus on attracting more risk capital in the seed phase.”