Switzerland’s Fintech Sector Still Struggles to Attract Capital

2026-02-19 - 04:03

Fintech funding in Switzerland remained low in 2025, as investors continued to favor biotech, cleantech, and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors, according to the annual Swiss venture capital (VC) report by Startupticker.ch, in collaboration with the Swiss Private Equity and Corporate Finance Association (SECA), and Startup.ch. In 2025, Swiss fintech companies secured a total of CHF 236.4 million through 30 transactions, representing roughly 8 % of total VC funding and of total transactions, and placing fintech fifth in funding volume and sixth in deal count. These figures contrast sharply with those of 2021 and 2022 when fintech ranked first or second in both funding amount and number of deals. In 2021, Swiss fintech companies raised CHF 857 million, accounting for 28% of the CHF 3 billion invested in Swiss startups that year. Invested capital by sector 2016-2025, Source: Swiss Venture Capital Report 2026, Startupticker.ch, SECA, Startup.ch, Jan 2026 Financing rounds by sector 2016-2025, Source: Swiss Venture Capital Report 2026, Startupticker.ch, SECA, Startup.ch, Jan 2026 Fintech’s modest performance was reflected in the size of the sector’s deals. Only two fintech transactions entered the top 20 financing rounds of 2025, and both were under CHF 100 million. Wefox secured CHF 70.88 million to strengthen the insurance broker’s market position in Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, while Sygnum Bank, a regulated digital asset banking group, raised CHF 52.93 million to expand in the European Union (EU) and Hong Kong, broaden its product portfolio with a focus on Bitcoin technology, and pursue strategic acquisitions. ICT, biotech capture the majority of Swiss VC funding While the fintech sector struggled, the ICT sector, in comparison, experienced a strong recovery. Funding to ICT companies rose from CHF 315.9 million in 2024 to CHF 773.6 million in 2025, marking a 150% year-over-year (YoY) increase and capturing 26.24% of all VC funding. This represents a return to the level first reached in 2019 and compensates for the sharp decline in the exceptionally poor year of 2024. Biotech was another standout startup category in 2025. The sector posted a record CHF 946.4 million, about 25% higher than the previous peak set in 2020, and secured a 32.1% share of total VC funding. It remained among the top three verticals for the third consecutive year, reflecting continued strong momentum. Renewed appetite for early-stage investment Overall, VC funding activity in Switzerland increased 23.9% year-over-year (YoY) in 2025 to CHF 2,948 million. This growth marks a turnaround after the financing crisis of the past two years, which followed the excesses of 2022 and 2023. Early-stage financing also surged, with CHF 1.116 billion invested, up 73% YoY. Seed rounds saw a rise of 23.8% YoY, with CHF 298 million invested, further indicating a return of risk appetite. A late-2025 survey of about 112 domestic investors highlighted renewed optimism. 55% of respondents made up to five new investments in 2025, and approximately a fifth made up to ten. Looking ahead, a quarter are planning to invest CHF 51 million to CHF 120 million for the next three years, more than twice as many as a year ago. The number of open funds is also expected to increase further. While only 40% of managers planned to launch a new fund in 2025, 66% now intend to do so in 2026. This would translate to an estimated minimum of 43 new funds campaigns during the current year. Intended fundraising campaign by year, Source: Swiss Venture Capital Report 2026, Startupticker.ch, SECA, Startup.ch, Jan 2026 Divergence from global patterns Fintech funding activity in Switzerland in 2025 was in stark contrast to global trends. In 2025, fintech companies secured a total of US$52.7 billion globally, accounting for 11% of global venture funding, according to CB Insights. The figure represents a rebound from the previous year, increasing 35.5% YoY from US$38.9 billion in 2024, signaling sustained appetite for fintech investments. It also put fintech as the second biggest startup vertical by VC funding, second only to artificial intelligence (AI). The payments vertical took the lion’s share, capturing 23.33% of all fintech funding in 2025 (US$12.3 billion), followed by digital lending with a 18% share (US$9.5 billion), and banking with a 13.1% share (US$6.9 billion). Annual fintech equity funding and deals, Source: State of Venture 2025, CB Insights, Jan 2026 Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on images by dvoevnore and PAKMUD via Freepik