"Concluding that AI cannibalizes cleantech is a simplistic and false reading"

The decline is worrying. The peak of 827 million francs reached in 2022 by the cleantech sector now seems distant, compared with the roughly 386 million raised in 2025. Conversely, investments in computing — and more specifically in AI — more than doubled between 2024 and 2025, rising from 315 to over 770 million.

These figures, published in the latest report by “The Swiss Venture Capital”, do they signal a passing of the torch and the crystallization of a profound shift in innovation in Switzerland, as was recently written in “Le Nouvelliste”? Or is it only a pause in an industry marked in recent years by exceptional fundraising rounds like that of Climeworks? Does Switzerland retain its potential in the development and deployment of renewable energies — despite the budget cuts decided in Bern? We discuss this with Eric Plan, Secretary General of the association CleantechAlps.

Is AI really siphoning off funds to the detriment of cleantechs?

No, this perception is misleading and unfortunately all too widespread. It is neither fair nor constructive to oppose technologies in an alleged race for funding: it’s a false debate. Compared to cleantech, digital technologies have always enjoyed greater favor among investors. One reason lies directly in the execution and deployment costs of the different solutions. 

In the IT sector, building an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), for example in the form of a mock-up, can be not only very quick but also relatively “inexpensive.” By contrast, implementing a product or pilot project in cleantech, often linked to the construction of substantial infrastructure, requires significant resources. 

With the emergence of AI, the potential of digital technologies has grown considerably, as have investment opportunities. In this context, it is clear that some venture capital funds, traditionally active in digital and considering diversification into cleantech, preferred to refocus on their core business at the expense of other sectors. From this strictly analytical angle, one could conclude that AI is cannibalizing cleantech — a reading that is however simplistic and mistaken.

Isn't there also a problem of definition for some startups located at the border between these two worlds?

The way technologies are categorized can indeed be open to debate. Take the example of Corintis (No. 1 of the Top100 Swiss Startup Award 2025), which develops liquid cooling systems for high-power chips used in data centers. Its aim is to reduce energy needs while improving semiconductor performance. In this respect, Corintis should also be considered a cleantech.

Taking the reasoning further, its solution could even be described as an “enabling technology” — or facilitating technology — like new materials and other innovations that generate significant sustainability impacts. With this analytical lens, in 2025 cleantechs rose to second place in the Top 100 with 18 representatives, just behind biotech (20).

For three years, the annual amount of investment in cleantech has consistently reached several hundred million francs, and everything indicates that this trend should continue in 2026.

What are the reasons explaining the continuous decline, over the past three years, in funds raised by startups active in cleantech?

In 2022, the whole venture capital world coughed, and startups across all sectors were affected. Paradoxically, that same year, boosted by Climeworks' large fundraising round, represents a record for investments in cleantech startups in Switzerland.

I would also like to point out that, for three years, the annual amount of investment in cleantech has consistently reached several hundred million francs, and everything indicates that this trend should continue in 2026. The ecosystem has acquired solid momentum, with investment volumes oscillating around half a billion francs per year. However, our concern in recent months has been the Confederation's savings plan. The substantial cuts envisaged in Bern could have a damaging impact on the entire ecosystem.

However, we are seeing fewer mega-deals comparable to Climeworks... Are we lacking new gems or potential unicorns in cleantech?

First, it should be noted that in Switzerland the number of unicorns currently remains quite limited in cleantechs. And the likelihood of new ones emerging in the short term remains fairly low. Indeed, this is not a sector in which massive profits can be generated quickly. Unicorns are rarer here, mainly due to the significant investment needs associated with the infrastructure required to deploy solutions. These development and go-to-market cycles are generally longer than in digital or, for example, in pharma. However, the steady increase in the number of scale-ups clearly indicates that more companies should reach this status in the future.

In the absence of sufficient political commitment, is the positive momentum of previous years now threatened?

The savings measures proposed in Bern, aimed at reducing support funds intended for pilot projects of all kinds, are worrying and indeed risk breaking the current momentum. This political direction is all the more risky as it could encourage some startups to turn abroad. Some are already being courted by countries that do not hesitate to subsidize pilot projects and installations at a loss. It is a dangerous game, capable of breaking in a few months a positive momentum built over nearly two decades.

The climate emergency should be treated as an extension of the Covid-19 crisis, but with an intensity without comparison.

As far as possible, how can this trend be reversed?

Switzerland must preserve its economic dynamism as well as its standard of living. To achieve this, we can draw inspiration from the path taken during the health crisis: under pressure, the authorities showed that they could decide and implement extraordinary measures quickly and involving substantial amounts.

The climate emergency should be treated as an extension of the Covid-19 crisis, but with an intensity like no other. Recurring natural damages — river overflows, Rhône floods, torrential mudflows in the Alps, storms, landslides, etc. — are there to bring climate skeptics to reason. We no longer have a choice: we must strengthen the resilience of our country.

From this perspective, I often wonder who will be the next visionary capable of building Switzerland's future — after Alfred Escher, after the builders of the dams, or after those of the NLFA. I am convinced that the answer will come through an alliance of citizens and economic actors. At least provided that we stop favoring a silo logic and prioritizing our own interests, most often in the short term.

The debt brake is clearly being misused today — both at the national and cantonal levels. It is too systematically invoked as a pretext for inaction, while we must change paradigm. I advocate the creation of a strategic fund, fed by part of the SNB's surpluses. Its purpose would be to finance projects decisive for the country's future: natural hazard prevention, security of supply (energy and resources), or preparedness for health crises. 

In the long term and on an international scale, can Switzerland play a key role in the energy transition?

Switzerland today has a well-stocked catalogue of solutions for the energy transition and carbon neutrality (“net zero”). This is a significant contribution to the global effort, but nothing is won yet. Indeed, there is no point in having the best cake in the world if nobody wants to taste it.

From this perspective, the major challenge for the current decade is clearly identified: crossing a threshold in strategic international markets for Swiss expertise. While Switzerland has many assets to succeed in this final stage and ensure sustainable growth, it must nevertheless step up the pace and better coordinate.

The current framework conditions are generally favorable, but we must take advantage of the current momentum to consolidate them further. The bet is not won, in a context of ever more intense international competition. The absolute priority is to ensure that at all levels — and especially among decision-makers — everyone is fully aware of the position and potential that the Swiss cleantech scene occupies today.

Putting this strategic sector into orbit for the country's future requires a significant and targeted increase in financial means. We must imperatively capitalize on our historical strengths — precision, quality of execution (“Swiss finish”), efficiency and robustness — in order to remain at the forefront of innovation in areas identified as strategic and deeply rooted in the Swiss DNA (seasonal energy storage, sustainable chemistry, bioprocesses or the reduction of CO₂ emissions). Finally, let us recall that innovation is not limited to technology: it more broadly consists of a new way of creating value — economic, social or environmental.

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