EDWATEC Wins the Grand Prize at the 2026 >>venture>> Startup Competition

EDWATEC has been awarded the Grand Prize of the 2026 >>venture>> Startup Competition, Switzerland’s leading startup competition for early-stage ventures.

The award was announced on June 15 following the competition’s final pitches and award ceremony. The 2026 edition attracted a record 451 startup applications from across Switzerland. After being selected as a finalist and presenting before the >>venture>> Advisory Board, EDWATEC was chosen as the overall Grand Prize winner across all competition verticals.

The recognition marks an important milestone for the company and reflects the efforts of the entire EDWATEC team, including Peter Ils, Parsa Khorasani, Baoyun Sun, Grigorii Likhachev, Sachin Verlekar, and all team members who have contributed to the company's growth. The company also acknowledges the scientific foundations established through the research of Prof. Tobias J. Kippenberg at EPFL, which laid the groundwork for the technologies now being commercialized by EDWATEC.

EDWATEC would like to thank >>venture>>, its organizers, mentors, jury members, and advisory board for creating one of Switzerland’s most impactful platforms for entrepreneurship and deep-tech innovation, and for placing their trust in the company’s technology and vision.

The event also provided an opportunity to exchange with key members of the Swiss innovation ecosystem, including Dr. Thomas Knecht, founder of >>venture>>, Dominique Gruhl-Bégin, CEO of Innosuisse, and Prof. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, President of EPFL, where EDWATEC originated as a spin-off.

This recognition comes at a period of strong momentum for the company as it expands its activities, strengthens industrial collaborations, and prepares for the next phase of growth. While the award represents a significant achievement, the focus remains on scaling the technology and accelerating its adoption across the photonics industry.