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Good practice Imported

EPFL Innovation Park (Lausanne)

Switzerland · Lausanne · See the Switzerland profile · See the Lausanne profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 29% 76/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Science park attached to a technical university that has hosted 500+ deep-tech startups over three decades, with EPFL spin-offs raising CHF 470 million in 2023 and a 90% five-year survival rate versus a ~50% global average.

293
Spin-off companies since 2000
116
Spin-offs based at the Park (January 2020)
500+
Deep-tech startups hosted over 30+ years
~350
EPFL spin-offs at the Park
50+
Scale-ups at the Park
CHF 470 million
Funding raised by EPFL-linked startups (2023)
CHF 285.8 million
Funding raised by EPFL-linked startups (2019)
CHF 397 million
Funding raised by EPFL-linked startups (prior peak) (2016)
90%
Five-year survival rate
~50%
Typical startup five-year survival rate (comparison)
~8%
Buyout/acquisition rate
9
Acquisitions since 2008
50+
Technologies licensed to industry per year
EPFL Innovation Park (Lausanne)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) / EPFL Innovation Park Foundation
Period
2000–present
Region (NUTS)
CH01
Keywords
Deep-tech, technology transfer, university spin-offs, venture funding

Context

EPFL Innovation Park sits on the campus of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and channels the university's research into company creation, hosting more than 500 deep-tech startups over its 30+ year history.

Activities

EPFL's Technology Transfer Office negotiates licensing of over 50 technologies a year from EPFL laboratories to industry; the university has produced 293 spin-off companies since 2000 (116 based at the Park as of January 2020) across health care, IT and hardware.

Results

EPFL-linked startups raised CHF 470 million in 2023 per EPFL's own reporting, building on a longer track record independently reported by startupticker.ch at CHF 285.8 million in 2019 and a prior peak of CHF 397 million in 2016. EPFL reports a 90% five-year survival rate for its spin-offs, far above the ~50% typical startup rate, though its ~8% buyout/acquisition rate (nine acquisitions since 2008, including Lemoptix by Intel) trails MIT/Stanford's ~25%.

Conclusions

EPFL's own communications are the source for the most recent (2023) funding figure, corroborated here against an independent industry outlet for earlier years rather than for 2023 itself.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
EPFL Technology Transfer Office negotiating licensing agreements; EPFL Innovation Park Foundation operating the park

Conditions for success

  • A high-volume technology-licensing pipeline (50+ technologies/year) feeding the spin-off pipeline
  • Sustained multi-year funding track record attracting repeat investor interest
  • Dense co-location of spin-offs, scale-ups and corporate R&D on one campus

Common failure modes

  • Lower buyout/acquisition rate (~8%) than leading US peers (~25%), suggesting relatively fewer high-profile trade sales

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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