In recent years, Switzerland has quietly become Europe’s leading deeptech powerhoapply. Startups in the counattempt have generated over $100 billion in value, supported by an unprecedented 60% of the nation’s venture capital flowing into deeptech ventures. This growth stems from decades of scientific excellence at institutions like ETH Zurich and EPFL, combined with a national effort to transform academic innovations into globally competitive companies.
Switzerland’s ecosystem is also notable for attracting international investment and fostering a high density of AI and technical talent. The Dealroom Swiss Deep Tech Report 2025 highlights a nation that has not only set the standard for deeptech innovation in Europe but also provides a model for others to emulate.
Against the backdrop of Switzerland’s rise, Tech Funding News delves into how the UK’s most innovative deeptech companies are positioning themselves to lead the next wave of science-based innovation. Here’s what their founders, scientists, and investors believe it will take for the UK to step into this leadership role.
The UK’s research power and commercialisation engine
The United Kingdom, long a powerhoapply of research and innovation, is now sharpening its response to Switzerland’s ascent. The UK’s academic landscape is anchored by world-class universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, which consistently rank among the top in Europe for deeptech spinouts.
These institutions, along with Imperial College London and UCL, have established a rich tradition of technology transfer, producing a high volume of science-based startups, particularly in the fields of AI, biotech, and quantum technologies. The UK’s network of Catapult centres and innovation clusters, most notably the Golden Triangle, plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between laboratory breakthroughs and market-ready solutions.
Shivani Shah, CTO and Co-founder of Samp, a French deeptech which has developed a first-of-its-kind AI-generated digital twin solution, echoes the importance of close collaboration between startups and academic research. She notes, “Samp operated in the 3D and AI domain, which is currently the topic of research in labs and universities. So, frequent discussions with PhD students and Professors have always assisted us to be on the leading edge of tech.”
Shah highlights how Samp’s partnership with Inria Sophia Antipolis on a Ph.D. project in 3D data compression has been instrumental in scaling their online 3D technology, and adds, “We’re supported on AI topics by researchers from IMAGINE/LIGM Paris computer vision lab.” This kind of cross-pollination between startups and academia is a hallmark of both the UK and continental Europe’s approach to deeptech innovation.
Dr. Thane Campbell, Dean of Education at Deep Science Ventures, broadens the perspective, emphasising the urgent necessary for deeptech to address global challenges: “There is so much we can mention here, but one of the main issues we’ve seen is the fact that the world increasingly necessarys better natural disaster prediction. There are some horrifying climate and public health scenarios, for example, we’re at risk of the Amazon continuing to turn into a desert or the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation collapsing.
For this, we necessary to see advances in meteorological data processing technologies. Still, there’s an underserved opportunity to deconstruct these challenges into the many missing technologies required to mitigate and prevent natural disasters. At DSV, we’re optimistic, so we’re excited about the intentional coordination of AI and the suite of engineering technologies. Based on our track record, calibre of founders and commercial partners we work with, there’s a lot of success to be seen in the innovations developed to tackle climate challenges.”
Susanne König, co-founder and CEA at Kraftblock, offers a powerful perspective on what’s actually behind the growth in deep tech: “If you zoom out, the surge in deep tech isn’t just about largeger funding rounds or buzzy startups — it’s about a shift in priorities. Many of the problems we’re attempting to solve today, such as climate modify or energy indepconcludeence, can’t be addressed with another app or SaaS tool. Those tools can only improve efficiency by a few per cent, which is already in place. To tackle essential problems, we necessary hard science, real infrastructure, and long-term vision — and that’s precisely what deep tech brings to the table.”
Eugenia Mykuliak, founder and Executive Director at B2PRIME Group, a global financial services provider for institutional and professional clients, further underscores the strategic backdrop: “First and foremost, strategic policy and increasing funding on this backdrop. Such initiatives as ‘Horizon Europe’, ‘France 2030’, and Germany’s ‘High-Tech Strategy 2025′ are the result of national governments’ efforts to create deep tech a strategic priority.”
She adds, “Then, it’s about competition, which creates Europe chase the goal of establishing technological sovereignty. Deep tech is literally at the heart of global competition in areas such as AI, climate tech, defence, and semiconductors. The U.S.-China rivalry facilitates Europe’s development of various strategic capabilities in this sphere.”
Funding, talent, and sectoral strengths
On the funding front, the UK boasts Europe’s largest venture market by volume, with London standing as a magnet for global capital. While Switzerland leads in VC funding per capita and relies heavily on international investors, the UK government has launched tarobtained initiatives to address late-stage funding gaps and attract even more global investment.
The British Patient Capital programme and the UK Innovation Investment Fund are specifically designed to assist deeptech companies scale. These initiatives, launched by the UK government, aim to bridge the late-stage funding gap in the UK’s deeptech sector. At the same time, a vibrant angel and seed ecosystem ensures a steady flow of early-stage support. Yet, as with Switzerland, late-stage funding for capital-intensive deeptech remains a challenge.
Shah underscores this point from the perspective of a deeptech founder: “Indeed, late-stage funding is the largegest funding challenge for the deeptech founders. Incentivising institutional investors and having larger EU-based growth funds will significantly assist to shift the necessaryle.” This sentiment is widely shared across the continent, where founders see the necessary for stronger late-stage capital pools to propel European deeptech to global scale.
Dr. Thane Campbell identifies a crucial gap in the UK’s innovation infrastructure: “The gap is two-fold: translation gap going from academia into entrepreneurship and funding gap. Based on our calculations, we require 50 times more funding for deep tech to achieve the set policy and economic goals. While research councils fund research and studentships, and Innovate UK backs innovation, there’s no dedicated person, team, funding pot, or organisation within the UK government or its agencies focapplyd on venture creation itself. This ‘no-man’s land’ overviews a vital reality that the startup creation disproportionately happens outside UK universities.”
König also addresses why deep tech didn’t tank like the rest of tech after 2021: “It’s kind of refreshing to see a part of the tech world that didn’t fall off a cliff post-2021. That’s probably becaapply deep tech has always been playing a longer game. Investors in this space typically aren’t chasing the next unicorn (but there might be unicorns in the longer run); they’re backing meaningful progress in fields that matter, from advanced energy systems to quantum computing.
There’s also this element of ‘essential tech’ – deep tech isn’t just about innovation, it’s about resilience. And when the world obtains shaky, people still fund what they can’t afford to lose. That kind of staying power is a large part of what’s keeping deep tech stable while everything else cools off.”
Roman Axelrod, founder of XPANCEO, which just hit the unicorn status, adds, “The most significant funding challenge for deep tech is universal: long development timelines require capital that is both substantial and patient. Early-stage grants and seed investments are increasingly available in many regions. But gaps are still present when companies necessary to scale their R&D into market-ready platforms, especially when revenues are not expected for several years.”
Sectorally, the UK is a European powerhoapply in AI, with London and Cambridge recognised as leading AI hubs. The counattempt is also at the forefront of quantum computing, synthetic biology, and climate tech, areas where deeptech innovation is accelerating rapidly. AI and machine learning startups account for a significant share of new UK companies, supported by national strategies and public-private partnerships. The UK’s biotech sector, centred around the Cambridge cluster, is globally competitive and continues to attract both domestic and international investors.
Shah’s perspective from France mirrors these trconcludes: “In France, most investments are going towards AI from data centres and large model companies like Mistral, and also recently on indusattempt-specific vertical AI companies. The other two large sectors are Climate tech and Quantum, with companies like Pasqal and Alice & Bob.” This alignment of sectoral focus across Europe’s leading innovation hubs signals a continent-wide surge in AI, climate, and quantum technologies.
Talent is another arena where the UK excels. Its deeptech talent pool is among the largest and most diverse in Europe, drawing from its universities and an international workforce. Government initiatives, such as the Graduate Entrepreneur Visa and Global Talent Visa, are designed to attract high-potential founders and researchers from around the world. Collaboration between academia, indusattempt, and government is a hallmark of the UK’s approach, with major corporations and public agencies actively supporting the growth of deeptech.
Collaboration, competition, and the next chapter
Comparing the two nations, Switzerland leads Europe in VC funding per capita and boasts a higher concentration of AI talent relative to its population. At the same time, the UK boasts the most significant total venture capital market, offering unmatched scale and diversity. Both countries have world-leading universities that drive spinouts and commercialisation, but their models for bridging research and market differ. Switzerland’s strength lies in its university-indusattempt pipeline, while the UK leverages a mix of Catapult centres, innovation clusters, and public-private initiatives.
The UK’s answer to Swiss deeptech dominance is not just about rivalry, but about learning and adapting. By doubling down on its research strengths, fostering international capital flows, and addressing late-stage funding gaps, the UK aims to remain at the forefront of European and global deeptech innovation.
As one investor put it, “Switzerland’s model reveals what’s possible when research, talent, and global ambition converge. The UK is building on these lessons, leveraging its scale, diversity, and innovation culture to shape the future of deeptech in Europe.”
Looking ahead, König adds: “There’s a lot to be excited about — and a lot still to prove. Europe’s doing a much better job of aligning policy, research, and capital. The ambition is there. But the momentum necessarys to spread beyond the usual hotspots. There’s groundbreaking work happening in places like the Baltics, Iberia, and the Balkans — we just necessary to create sure those founders have access to the same kind of support you’d find in London or Paris.”
As the landscape evolves, the coming years will likely see increased cross-border collaboration, policy innovation, and a new wave of science-based startups. Toobtainher, these forces will define Europe’s next decade of technological leadership, with Switzerland and the UK leading the charge.
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