evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

ETH transfer — ETH Zurich's University Spin-off Ecosystem

Switzerland · Zurich · See the Switzerland profile · See the Zurich profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 42% 71/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

ETH Zurich's technology-transfer office has helped create roughly 500 university spin-offs since 1996. An independent 2020 University of St Gallen study of 145 of them found CHF 900m revenue, 4,500 FTE jobs and a 93% five-year survival rate.

~500
Spin-off companies created since 1996
37
New spin-offs in 2024 (record year) (2024)
145 of 429
Spin-offs studied (2020 study)
CHF 900 million
Combined spin-off revenue (2017)
almost CHF 5 billion (≈CHF 10 billion extrapolated across all spin-offs)
Sample equity value (2020 study)
≈4,500
Full-time-equivalent jobs created (2020 study)
30
Average jobs per company (2020 study)
93%
Five-year survival rate (2020 study)
≈10%
Trade-sale exit rate (2020 study)
95%
Spin-offs remaining in Switzerland (2020 study)
≈8%
Female founders share
ETH transfer — ETH Zurich's University Spin-off Ecosystem

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
ETH Zurich (ETH transfer technology transfer office)
Period
1996–present (TTO founded 2005)
Region (NUTS)
CH04
Keywords
deep tech, university technology transfer, entrepreneurship

Context

ETH transfer is ETH Zurich's technology transfer office, founded in 2005, building on a university spin-off programme running since 1996 that has produced roughly 500 companies, including a 2024 record of 37 new spin-offs in a single year.

Objectives

ETH transfer supports ETH Zurich researchers in spinning companies out of university research and commercialising deep-tech innovations.

Activities

The office provides institutional support for spin-off creation, while an independent 2020 study by the University of St Gallen analysed the resulting companies' economic impact.

Results

The St Gallen study of 145 of the (then) 429 ETH spin-offs found CHF 900 million in combined 2017 revenue, an equity value of almost CHF 5 billion in the sample (extrapolated to roughly CHF 10 billion across all spin-offs), about 4,500 full-time-equivalent jobs, and an average of 30 jobs per company — more than twice the average for Swiss start-ups generally; 93% of sampled firms passed the five-year survival milestone, about 10% had achieved a trade-sale exit, and 95% of spin-offs remained located in Switzerland.

Conclusions

Female founders remain a minority at roughly 8% of spin-off founders (rising slowly since 2007), and the model draws on ETH Zurich's unusually large, well-funded research base, raising open questions about how directly it would transfer to less-resourced universities or cities.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — No specific programme budget disclosed in sources reviewed; scale implied by roughly 500 spin-offs supported since 1996.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Spin-off programme running since 1996; dedicated TTO founded 2005; still growing through a 2024 record year of 37 new spin-offs.
Staffing & skills
ETH transfer technology transfer office (founded 2005) supports spin-off creation; the independent evaluation was conducted by the University of St Gallen.

Conditions for success

  • Large, well-funded research base at ETH Zurich
  • A dedicated technology transfer office
  • Concentration within the Greater Zurich innovation ecosystem

Common failure modes

  • Female founders remain a minority (~8%), limiting inclusiveness
  • The model depends on ETH's unusually large research base, raising doubts about transfer to less-resourced institutions

Where it fits

Governance type
university technology transfer office
Scale
single major research university
Income level
high-income (Switzerland)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

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

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 86

EPFL Innovation Park

Switzerland

The EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne houses 250 high-tech companies and 2,500 researchers, enabling structured university–industry knowledge transfer. EPFL-related startups …