Switzerland's deep tech sector is thriving in 2025. Despite late-stage investment slowdowns across Europe, the Swiss ecosystem remains a beacon of resilience, particularly in areas like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and natural language processing (NLP).

The team at DeepRec.ai explores the latest market developments, key players, and what they mean for hiring trends across the region.

Microsoft and inait: A New Digital Brain Collaboration

On March 18, Microsoft announced a partnership with Swiss AI startup inait to accelerate the development and commercialisation of inait’s digital brain AI platform. The project will initially focus on the finance and robotics sectors.

Unlike traditional AI models that rely on static pattern recognition, inait’s platform is governed by a “casual learning” approach — learning from cause-and-effect relationships. This adaptive logic is designed to handle the real-world complexity many legacy systems still struggle with.

For deep tech employers and talent specialists, it’s a sign that Switzerland is becoming a global hub for next-gen AI development, attracting both venture capital and high-value cross-disciplinary talent.

A New Deep Tech Information Platform for Investors

To streamline investment into Switzerland’s decentralised deep tech ecosystem, Deep Tech Nation (DTN) Switzerland and the Startupticker Foundation have launched a new sector-specific information platform.

The goal? To increase funding in fields like AI, robotics, life sciences, and climate tech by providing VCs and institutional investors with structured, actionable insights.

DTN has already announced ambitions to mobilise CHF 5 billion for deep tech startups – a figure that would more than double existing investment levels. The move not only raises visibility but also reflects increasing interest in specialist deep tech recruitment and the need for strategic hiring at scale.

M&A at the Intersection of Tech and Life Sciences

Switzerland's deep tech and biotech sectors are converging in powerful ways. According to Dealroom, Swiss oncology startups raised $55 million in VC funding in early 2025 alone, helping push total health sector investments to over $430 million.

Recent major deals include:

  • TargImmune Therapeutics (Basel) acquired by Florida-based iOncologi, with Swiss operations remaining in place.

  • Araris Biotech AG (developing next-gen ADCs) was acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical in a deal worth up to $1.14 billion — one of the largest in Swiss biotech this year.

These deals reflect Switzerland’s position as a source of globally sought-after innovation and signal a rise in demand for biotech and life sciences recruitment with niche, research-focused skill sets.

Regulatory Movement in Artificial Intelligence

The Swiss Federal Council issued a press release in February outlining its intention to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on AI by updating existing laws.

This pragmatic, innovation-friendly approach has been welcomed by the Swiss Bankers Association and the wider tech business community. For companies operating in AI and financial services, it creates a clearer compliance roadmap, one that balances regulatory alignment with international standards and local innovation.

For recruitment? It’s good news. Regulatory stability tends to unlock headcount approval in AI, regtech, and compliance-heavy deep tech environments.

Robotics Funding Surges Ahead

According to data from DTN, Switzerland's robotics sector saw a 25.9% increase in funding rounds last year, significantly outperforming markets in North America and Europe, where funding declined by over 14%.

Service robotics continues to dominate, with Statista projecting a market volume of $753.68 million by the end of 2025.

As investment accelerates, we expect to see rising demand for robotics recruitment and engineering staffing, especially in areas like autonomous mobility, warehouse automation, and precision robotics for life sciences.

Going Quantum: ZuriQ’s Seed Round and Governance Concerns

Quantum computing continues to be a defining frontier of Swiss deep tech.

ZuriQ, an ETH Zurich spinout, raised $4.2 million in seed funding to solve long-standing qubit scaling challenges using novel ion trap technology. Investors included Founderful, SquareOne, Onsight Ventures, and QAI Ventures.

In parallel, the Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND) has issued a warning to financial institutions about the cybersecurity implications of quantum tech, stressing that Switzerland’s technology-neutral stance may no longer suffice. Read more here.

This dual push — innovation and governance — is intensifying demand for quantum computing recruitment, particularly at the intersection of hardware, security, and research.

Talent Market Realities in Swiss Deep Tech

Despite having one of the most attractive talent environments globally, Switzerland faces significant skill shortages across AI, computer vision, blockchain, and data science domains.

Recruitment processes are evolving, but sourcing elite talent remains time-intensive and resource-heavy, especially in a landscape where product timelines, funding windows, and research breakthroughs move fast.

That’s where specialist agencies like DeepRec.ai come in.

We help pioneering deep tech firms bridge the gap between innovation and implementation, with targeted support in areas like:

  • AI recruitment

  • Machine learning staffing

  • Quantum computing and C++ engineering

  • Natural language processing recruitment

  • Blockchain and GenAI hiring

  • Computer vision research staffing

If your team is scaling in Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, the UK, or the US — and you need deep tech recruitment solutions tailored to your niche — we’re here to help.

Get in touch: nathan.wills@deeprec.ai.