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Good practice Imported

Greater Zurich Area — official investment-promotion and talent-attraction agency

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

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 65% 62/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Official investment-promotion agency of the Zurich region: 91 companies settled in 2024 (OpenAI, Revolut, BYD), 98 in 2025 (1,295 planned jobs); 1,000+ companies since 1998. Switzerland #1 in the IMD World Talent Ranking for 10 consecutive years.

1,000+ companies
Companies settled since inception (1998-2025)
91 companies
Companies settled (2024)
98 companies
Companies settled (2025)
1,295 jobs
Planned jobs over five years (2025 cohort) (2025)
29 centres
New R&D centres (2025)
24 HQs
New headquarters (2025)
5,000+ employees
Google development centre employees (current)
1 rank
Switzerland IMD World Talent Ranking (2016-2025)
Greater Zurich Area — official investment-promotion and talent-attraction agency

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Greater Zurich Area Ltd. (public-private partnership of nine cantons and municipalities)
Period
{'end': '', 'start': '1998'}
Region (NUTS)
CH04
Keywords
Investment promotion, international talent attraction

Context

Greater Zurich Area Ltd. (GZA) is the official investment promotion agency for the Zurich economic region, covering nine cantons of German- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. Founded in 1998 as a public-private partnership between cantonal governments, municipalities, and business stakeholders, it operates with a lean team of ~20 experts across six global offices: Zurich, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Activities

GZA provides free, tailor-made support to international companies evaluating the Zurich area: site and regulatory navigation, tax analysis, partner introductions, talent-pipeline access, and long-term aftercare. Targeted sectors include artificial intelligence, biotech/pharma, blockchain, cleantech, and food-tech / autonomous systems.

Results

Since inception GZA has helped more than 1,000 companies establish a presence in the region. In 2024, 91 international companies were settled, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Revolut, and BYD. In 2025, 98 companies were settled, projecting 1,295 planned jobs over five years, including 29 new R&D centres and 24 new headquarters. Google operates its largest development centre outside the US in the region, with 5,000+ employees from 85 nations. Switzerland ranked #1 in the IMD World Talent Ranking for ten consecutive years (2016–2025).

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Founded 1998; continuous operation with annual company-settlement reporting through 2025.
Staffing & skills
Lean team of ~20 experts across six global offices (Zurich, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, Guangzhou)

Conditions for success

  • Public-private partnership structure spanning nine cantons, municipalities and business stakeholders
  • Free, tailor-made support (site/regulatory navigation, tax analysis, partner introductions, talent-pipeline access, long-term aftercare)
  • Global office network located close to target company hubs in the US and China

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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