Investing in Growth Opportunities for a modern Switzerland
We invest in startups in Switzerland and abroad. These investments are important because they allow us to understand market developments and emerging customer behaviors. Some startups will develop successfully in our core business and we will consider purchasing all of their shares. This was for example the case with Notime, which we have just acquired. This young tech company is based in Zurich and offers bicycle courier services.
Roberto Cirillo, Swiss Post CEO, in Bilan.ch Oct 2020
To startups, we can provide our infrastructure and our credibility. By combining these strengths with the technological innovations of startups (for example the development and manufacturing of drones), we can create innovative ecosystems with high added value.
I. Collaboration
Do you have an attractive start-up?
Is your business up and running and do you have at least a working prototype which you can demonstrate to Swiss Post employees and decision makers? We can initiate collaborations with the business directly or we set-up start-up pitching days regularly, where you will find opportunities to pitch to our business units and receive helpful feedback.
Benefits Swiss Post can offer to startups in a joint collaboration
In a joint collaboration, Swiss Post can offer startups project funding, act as a reference customer, provide access to the Swiss market, share business expertise, and promote the startup within the industry and to potential future clients, such as through the PIP program.
Some of our most successful projects
Urban Connect
The strategic partnership aims to holistically shape the mobility of corporate customers in the area of digitization and the integration of multimodal and sustainable services and to promote these mobility solutions in companies. As part of the collaboration, Urban Connect will offer the multimodal mobility platform and ensure the provision of associated services together with Post Company Cars.
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Hacknowledge
Hacknowledge provides Swiss Post with the expertise necessary to continually minimize security risks within its own digital services, as well as those of its partners and customers. By supporting the identification and response to targeted cyber threats, Hacknowledge helps protect public authorities, SMEs, partner companies, and Swiss Post from potential attacks.
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Profital
Profital is a Swiss Post Startup out of a collaboration with the German Group Offerista. Profital is a platform, which offers digital brochures to its customers.
Scandit
Swiss Post’s focus on user experience is key for its customers and employee. The barcode scanning software from Scandit for smart devices turns every smartphone into cost-effective data acquisition tool for high business demands.
II. Venture capital investment
The nature of our investment in start-ups
Swiss Post invests in early-stage companies that fit well with the Group’s business development areas and offer potential for Swiss Post’s core competencies to make a significant contribution to their success in the long-term future. In return, Swiss Post aims for a minority interest. This ensures that the start-up is agile and autonomous as it develops and goes to market.
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Stage: between Pre-Series A and B financing round
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First investment ticket size from $ 500,000 to $ 2 million
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Lean and fast investment decision process
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Active business development activities for our portfolio companies
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International focus
III. Partner network
Start-ups, universities, federal institutions, international postal companies and corporate groups: Swiss Post works in a targeted manner to maintain a network of external development partners. A good example of this is the mobility lab in Sion: the joint project between the city of Sion, the Canton of Valais, the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne), HES-SO (the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland) and Swiss Post has rapidly developed into a testing environment for mobility-related growth topics. All participants benefit from the networking opportunities.
We support our business to achieve operational excellence as well as to identify and test growth opportunities. We develop the ideas, evaluate their business potential with the business units and define an appropriate strategy together. In addition, we cooperate with research partners like EPFL, ETHZ and UniFR to develop future technologies in untapped business areas.
IV. Development areas
Swiss Post has locations in 15 countries and employs a total of 46,000 staff members, 1’200 of whom are based outside Switzerland. It operates in the communication, logistics, financial services, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and mobility markets.
Swiss Post in numbers: Key figures
Contact
Do you have any questions about Swiss Post’s innovations, or would you like to become an innovation partner? Are you interested in Swiss Post as an investor? Do you have any questions about start-up investments? If so, contact us. We would be happy to help.
Swiss Post Ltd
«Business Development» - CEO Stab
Wankdorfallee 4
3030 Berne
Switzerland
innovation@post.ch