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The Innogrants June 2010

Aïmago Aleva Neurotherapeutics Attolight Cytomec Daav technologies Digital Optim Enairys ExCellness Biotech Imina Technologies iNoCs Jilion Lemoptix MadeinLocal Mimosys Minsh Novagan Ozwe Prediggo RouteRank StereoTools

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Table of contents

Summary ................................................................................................... 3 Medical technologies and Biotechnologies Aïmago ........................................................................................................... 4 Aleva Neurotherapeutics ................................................................................... 5 Cytomec ......................................................................................................... 7 ExCellness Biotech ......................................................................................... 11 StereoTools ................................................................................................... 23 Nano- and micro-technologies, electronics and energy Attolight ......................................................................................................... 6 Enairys ......................................................................................................... 10 Imina Technologies ........................................................................................ 12 iNoCs ........................................................................................................... 13 Lemoptix ...................................................................................................... 15 Mimosys ....................................................................................................... 17 Novagan ....................................................................................................... 19 Information Technologies (Computing, Software and Internet) Daav technologies ............................................................................................ 8 Digital Optim ................................................................................................... 9 Jilion ............................................................................................................ 14 MadeinLocal .................................................................................................. 16 Minsh ........................................................................................................... 18 Ozwe ............................................................................................................ 20 Prediggo ....................................................................................................... 21 RouteRank .................................................................................................... 22

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Summary The Innogrants were created by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2005 to encourage and develop the entrepreneurial spirit. These are “à fonds perdus” projects, closer to a grant than to an investment. They are however innovation and not research projects, therefore the name Innogrant. To date, 35 projects were founded which enabled the creation of 20 start-ups. 5 such companies were launched in the field of life sciences (biotechnologies and medical devices), 7 in the broad field of micro- and nano-technologies, including electronics and energy, and 8 in information technologies (from computing to software and Internet technologies).

Year Number of Innogrants

Related companies

2005 7 4 2006 9 4 2007 7 4 2008 8 5 2009 5 3

Total 36 20 From inception, the vision of the EPFL initiators was that the decision process should be fast and simple. Any EPFL researcher or student who has an innovation project is invited to submit his idea in a very informal manner to the program manager. A meeting where the idea is discussed, its potential assessed and more importantly the motivation of the project owner evaluated is the critical step. A simple due diligence is added thanks to contacts with EPFL labs and the actors of the EPFL innovation ecosystem. If the analysis is positive, the candidate is asked to send a two-page proposal which describes more formally the project. It should be noticed that individuals external to EPFL can also submit their ideas, but they can receive an Innogrant only if they become an employee of an EPFL laboratory. An Innogrant is a 12-month salary for the project owner in an EPFL laboratory and the beneficiary is freed of teaching or research activities so that he/she can fully dedicate him/herself to the proof of concept (demonstrator, prototype) and the early business development (customer contacts, support from the ecosystem actors) that should enable the future development of the start-up. An Innograntee benefits from the support of the nearby Science Park (PSE) and its professional coaches as well as of the services of the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency (CTI). When a company is created, the entrepreneur obtains a license from EPFL Technology Transfer Office (SRI) and may open an office at the Garage, a building dedicated to very early start-ups, or at PSE. The following pages briefly describe the technologies, current status of the companies and include a brief biography of the entrepreneurs. More information can be found online at http://vpiv.epfl.ch/page20576-en.html The Innogrants have been supported since their inception in 2005 by Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie.

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AÏMAGO Medical technologies

www.aimago.ch Innogrant approved in 2008 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology Aïmago’s technology is able to measure blood flow thanks to Doppler imaging. This optical method is similar to radars which measure the speed of moving objects. With Aïmago, it is the speed of the blood which is measured. The technology was developed in the laboratory of biomedical imaging headed by Professor Theo Lasser.

The company status and model/strategy Aïmago develops medical diagnostic imaging instruments to visualize microcirculation, the capillary blood flow. The products are real-time, non-invasive and contact-less. Applications include reconstructive surgery, intensive care, dermatology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and metabolic imaging. The company plans to expand the commercialization of its devices outside of the research field in 2010.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Michael’s life as a serial entrepreneur started in 1999 as deputy CEO of the Berne Byte Bears GmbH, a software engineering company he created together with friends at high school. Holding a Master in Microtechnology from EPFL, combined with ten years of experience in professional software engineering, he has a broad horizon in engineering and life sciences. He also started the EPFL Sunraycing Team, a $2.2M student project for building a high performance solar car.

Michael Friedrich

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ALEVA NEUROTHERAPEUTICS Medical technologies

www.aleva-neuro.com Innogrant approved in 2008 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology Aleva Neurotherapeutics is developing implantable microelectrodes used in Deep Brain Stimulation therapy for neurological disorders. Aleva’s technology enables placing more than fifty electrodes where today there are only four. The microfabrication techniques ensure reliability and inexpensive manufacturing. The microscale electrode sites permit highly localized stimulation and provide new functionality for therapy. Quicker stimulation site identification means quicker, simpler surgery.

The company status and model/strategy The company is at a development stage. Target customers are neurosurgeons performing therapy using implantable neurostimulators seeking to improve the efficiency and success rate of the therapy while decreasing surgery time and complexity. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy, used in indications including Parkinson’s Disease, is an existing $500M market growing at 25% annually and is Aleva’s first target market.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Andre received his BS in Engineering Physics at the University of Toronto in 2003. During his undergraduate studies, he carried out summer research projects at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto and at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Andre was first exposed to high-tech entrepreneurship during a 1-year internship at Zyvex Corp (Dallas), the first company to commercialize molecular nanotechnology. In 2006, he spent four months as a graduate intern at Bosch Research in Palo Alto, CA, where he was involved with the development of silicon microfabrication processes for automotive sensors at the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility. In 2007, Andre founded Aleva Neurotherapeutics to commercialize the results from his thesis.

Andre Mercanzini

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ATTOLIGHT Nanotechnologies

www.atto-light.com Innogrant approved in 2006 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology Attolight's proprietary technology overcomes the intrinsic limitation of ultrafast optical measurement techniques, enabling scientists and researchers to achieve nanometer spatial resolution and picosecond temporal resolution - simultaneously. The technology was developed at the Institute of Quantum Electronics and Photonics. It is the result of almost ten years of research and development.

The company status and model/strategy Attolight provides complete time-resolved cathodoluminescence set-up consisting of ultrafast pulsed scanning electron microscopes and a time-resolved cathodoluminescence detection lines. The company is at a development stage and its target customers are today research laboratories. Its next generation products should address needs in the semiconductor and photonics test industry.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Samuel has many years experience in the design and development of ultrafast electron microscope technology. He studied at EPFL and Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France) and obtained a MS of Physics from EPFL. His thesis on the optical properties of semiconductors was conducted at the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute (Russia). Jean is an expert in ultrafast spectroscopy and semiconductor technologies. He has extensive experience in the automation of scientific measurements and user interface programming. He studied at EPFL, University of Waterloo (Canada), received a MS in Physics and a PhD in Photonics from EPFL.

Samuel Sonderegger

Jean Berney

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CYTOMEC Biotechnologies

www.cytomec.com Innogrant approved in 2005 Founded in 2005, based in Canada and Switzerland

The innovation/technology The Cellerator is a patented device for culturing cells in a fundamentally new way: on highly extendable surfaces. This is a powerful alternative to passaging - transferring process - because it can be automated easily (replacing very expensive robotics-based industrial cell culture systems) and the culture surface can be increased with minimal perturbation to cells. Complete with motor and control software with PC interface, The Cellerator represents a novel platform technology for efficient production of cells for tissue engineering and biotechnology.

The company status and model/strategy Cytomec GmbH is a company created by Thomas Quinn in 2005 for commercialization of The Cellerator. Cytomec is a small company currently addressing specific needs of research laboratories. Cytomec further plans to develop products for the emerging tissue engineering market.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Thomas was born in Calgary, Canada. He obtained a BSc in Engineering Physics from Queen's University at Kingston, and an SM in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. He then studied cartilage cell responses to compression during doctoral work, obtaining a PhD in Mechanical and Medical Engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in 1996. After a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Bern, he established the Cartilage Biomechanics Group at EPFL in Lausanne.

Thomas Quinn

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DAAV TECHNOLOGIES Internet

www.daav.cn Innogrant approved in 2005 Founded in 2008, based in China

The innovation/technology Cellular phones are evolving fast into PCs in palm, with more and more powerful processing capacity, and the capability to be a smart information node on the emerging Wireless Internet. However, such a transformation brings users not only conveniences, but also new big challenges. Two among the most prominent ones are: text messaging spam, and the possibility of getting lost in the Wireless Internet. Traditional E-mail anti-spam strategy does not fit very well with the mobile phone circumstances. By adding an extra dimension in its solution, DAAV takes advantage of the very characteristics of mobile phones: personalization. Personalized interests of a phone user are automatically learnt using technologies of natural language processing and machine learning.

The company status and model/strategy The company was incorporated in early 2008. It has developed a family of intelligent anti-spam software products for mobile phones. Among them, a couple of programs have been released as Freeware. DAAV will continue product development and is currently enhancing marketing efforts in China. It is working to become a leader in the mobile phone anti-spam industry. DAAV also plans to provide target advertising services to cellular users based on a similar strategy.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Jie got his PhD from EPFL on the subject of decentralized/P2P search engine technologies. He was once in McKinsey's Insight Europe program and later in the Swiss National venture leaders program. His experiences include working in a government section, serving as the president of a student association, and sitting on the governing board of non-profit alumni foundation registered in the USA.

Jie Wu

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DIGITAL OPTIM Software

www.opt.im Innogrant approved in 2005 Founded in 2008, based in California

The innovation/technology The technology belongs to the field of Service Composition, acquired during a number of research projects in the last 5 years that resulted in a number of publications. The approach also involves a number of artificial intelligence techniques such as agent-based protocols (bidding and negotiation), semantic annotations and constrained optimization. Other important technologies are rich and dynamic web interfaces (AJAX), Java Enterprise (J2EE) middleware, Geography Information System (GIS) toolkits and mobile, location-based technology (J2ME).

The company status and model/strategy Digital Optim builds software products with architectures of new generation. Founded in 2007 in San Francisco, it currently acts in the field of multi-agent systems, semantic web services and real-time financial trading systems.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Ion was born and grew in Bucharest, Romania. He graduated from the Politehnica University Bucharest in the Computer Science department. He finished his PhD at EPFL in artificial intelligence (LIA) at the end of 2006 and received an Innogrant for exploring the commercialization possibilities of his research, on which he worked until the beginning of 2007, when he quitted LIA. Currently he lives in California, USA, doing consultancy and working on developing software in the area of multi-service environments.

Ion

Constantinescu

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ENAIRYS Energy

www.enairys.com Innogrant approved in 2007 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology Enairys develops, manufactures and markets clean energy storage and management systems (HyPES), based on its patented hydro-pneumatic and power electronics technologies. These systems aim at improving consumers’ energy efficiency and enhancing the exploitation of intermittent renewable energy sources like photovoltaic and wind sources.

The company status and model/strategy Enairys is currently finalizing the phase of “Technology Proof” with a new 10kW industrial prototype which will be available for demonstration in 2010. The company is therefore preparing to launch the “Product Development” phase. This phase which is expected to last about two years aims at developing the first commercial HyPES systems and proceeding to their field testing through the realization of few pilot installations.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Sylvain received his PhD in power electronics from EPFL in 2006, during which he develops a new, highly efficient, hydraulic gas compression/expansion concept which is the core technology of Enairys’ clean energy storage solutions. Sylvain holds a Master degree in electrical engineering from the University of Douala-Cameroon. Before joining EPFL in 2002 for a PhD, he worked for several years as industrial consultant in power electronics and as electronic teacher in many technical secondary schools in Cameroon, his home country.

Sylvain

Lemofouet

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EXCELLNESS BIOTECH Biotechnologies

www.excellness.com Innogrant approved in 2008 Founded in 2009

The innovation/technology The physical properties of the substrate on which cells are grown profoundly influence the culture. Substrate stiffness & softness are as powerful to determine cell behavior and identity as is their chemical milieu. ExCellness Biotech provides non-degradable culture surfaces with the elasticity of human tissue, ranging from the stiffness of bone to the softness of brain. Culturing cells on adapted culture substrates makes them "feeling at home".

The company status and model/strategy ExCellness is an early stage company which develops, produces and sells biomimetic cell culture substrates. ExCellness targets initially research labs, from both industry and academia. The company will start producing dishes locally, distributing them directly to its customers. As volumes will ramp up, it will be selling through distributors who will help reaching further into more remote markets. This dual-mode of operation will continue in the future of the company, specifically for high-volume accounts.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs After having completed his Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology and in Bioengineering at the Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (France) Pierre-Jean worked for Octapharma S.A.S (Linglosheim, France). Then, he prepared a PhD in Bioengineering at EPFL which he defended in June 2008. In 2009, Pierre-Jean founded ExCellness Biotech.

Pierre-Jean Wipff

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IMINA TECHNOLOGIES Microtechnologies

www.imina.ch Innogrant approved in 2009 Founded in 2009

The innovation/technology The miBot, Imina’s flagship technology, provides never achieved intuitiveness and flexibility of use for the handling of micro- and nano-scaled objects. The miBot is an ultra compact mobile micro-robot, which can position with nanometer resolution a wide range of micro-tools plugged onto its arm (e.g. sharp tips, electrical probes, and force sensors), in a workspace of several tenths of squared centimeters.

The company status and model/strategy Imina Technologies designs and fabricates high precision manipulators for research and development activities in nanotechnologies and life science. The estimated addressable annual market is over $200M. Imina Technologies is a privately held company founded to exploit more than ten years of research in high precision robotics at the Laboratoire de Systèmes Robotiques, a laboratory famous for its numerous robotic developments, including the Delta Robot.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Benoît is responsible for the business development and marketing. He has a BS in microengineering from EPFL and a MS in robotics from Stanford University, USA. He is currently completing his PhD in the group of Virtual Reality and Active Interfaces at EPFL. Christophe leads sales and market development. Prior to his experience at EPFL, he worked as a research engineer at STMicroelectronics. Christophe holds a MS in mechanical engineering and design from the University of Technology of Belfort Montbéliard, France. He achieved part of his studies at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea. Guillaume leads the product development and industrialization. Guillaume holds a MS in mechanical engineering from the University of Technology of Belfort Montbéliard.

Benoît Dagon

Christophe Canales

Guillaume Boetsch

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INOCS Semiconductor

www.inocs.com Innogrant approved in 2006 Founded in 2007

The innovation/technology Today's chips are an ensemble of a large amount of cores - processing elements, memories, accelerators, communication interfaces. When it comes to interconnecting them, various constraints (bandwidth, congestion, latency, propagation delay, floorplanning) come into play, and the expression "design complexity" assumes a concrete meaning. iNoCs is a provider of hardware and software technology for interconnecting cores. iNoCs is also a supplier of cutting-edge design tools. 85% of the chip designs are known to be delivered substantially behind schedule, due to ever-changing constraint iterations and timing closure issues. iNoCs tools greatly contribute to the achievement of design closure and shorten time-to-market, thanks to a smart approach which automatically generates on-chip connectivity based on application requirements. Design simplicity at its best.

The company status and model/strategy The company was incorporated in 2007. iNoCs is currently working on smaller designs, validating hardware and software. It develops the hardware for the interconnect for specific applications and provides it to the customer. The company plans to release its cores and tools on a licensing basis in the coming years.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Srinivasan holds a master and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, CA, USA, on the subject of Networks-on-Chips. He is the recipient of a Best PhD Dissertation Award from the EDAA Council in 2008. His background includes CAD tooling and design automation for system design. Federico got his PhD in Electronic Engineering from University of Bologna, Italy, in 2008, with a PhD thesis on the subject of Networks-on-Chip and more than 30 international publications. His research background includes multicore Systems-on-Chip, memory hierarchies and simulation platforms.

Srinivasan Murali

Federico Angiolini

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JILION Internet

www.jilion.com Innogrant approved in 2006 Founded in 2009

The innovation/technology The Jilion team has built expertise on Internet and mobile phone projects through a number of projects. Jime, a stealth project, was the first project developed through the Innogrant. Expertise includes the Ruby on Rails framework and the Facebook Platform by adding advanced social media integration.

The company status and model/strategy Jilion is a team of developers and designers based in Lausanne on the EPFL start-up campus. It was incorporated in January 2009. The company provides expertise in Internet software development and consulting services in addition to developing our own products. Its next product will be an html5 video player suitable for most internet platforms.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Zeno brings to Jilion his passion to materialize ideas and deliver hi-quality results in a consumer friendly way. His expertise in software development has been recognized by the “Logitech Swiss Award” and “Maillefer Award” when he graduated in 2004 as an EPFL engineer. Zeno worked at EPFL also on the Witeach project using mobile phones for education as well as with Professor Shokrollahi on the delivery of rich media over wireless networks.

Zeno Crivelli

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LEMOPTIX Electronics

www.lemoptix.com Innogrant approved in 2007 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology Lemoptix designs, develops and commercializes plug & play laser microprojection systems based on optical MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) scanning micromirror technology. The Lemoptix modules integrate control electronics, laser light sources and simple projection optics. This unique technology combination enables unprecedented miniaturization and integration of microprojectors directly within information display systems and mobile devices.

The company status and model/strategy Lemoptix is the direct beneficiary of more than a decade of R&D work in the field of MEMS, initially carried out at the Microsystems Laboratory of the EPFL. Lemoptix has taken the MEMS scanning mirror technology to the next level, incorporating breakthrough innovations that contribute to making MEMS scanning mirrors viable and essential building blocks of next generation information display- and microprojection systems. Lemoptix microprojection modules are destined to be embedded within various Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Nicolas has extensive experience in MEMS product- and business development through his previous activity at STMicroelectronics, where he acted as the liaison between the engineering-, marketing- and sales teams. He has strong knowledge of large volume industrial environments and innovation technology transfer. He was the laureate of the 2005 European Award for Innovation and has been involved in several European Projects. Nicolas has obtained his PhD degree from EPFL and holds numerous patents in the field of MEMS components.

Nicolas Abelé

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MADEINLOCAL Internet

www.madeinlocal.com Innogrant approved in 2008 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology MadeinLocal is a combination of social network principles and locally-aware platforms. The service combines the most recent web and mobile applications including social network applications.

The company status and model/strategy MadeinLocal is an internet service targeting local life. It represents a platform for social networking that allows its users to experience the Real World by connecting with friends in the local community via 2 interlinked mediums: the website and iPhone Applications. MadeinLocal has been launched in 2009 and is focusing initially on the Lausanne area as a test bed. MadeinLocal main source of revenues will be advertising stimulated by web pages viewed. The market has received extreme attention due to the development of FourSquare and its 40 million users and the interest of Google and Facebook.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Manuel graduated from EPFL in 2002 after attending high-school in his native Spain. After a few months with NEC in Princeton (USA), he became a project manager for the Geneva canton where he was in charge of Internet services. He developed there the idea of MadeinLocal which he began to develop in 2008.

Manuel Acevedo

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MIMOSYS Semiconductor

www.mimosys.com Innogrant approved in 2005 Founded in 2007, was based in Zurich (in liquidation)

The innovation/technology Mimosys Clarity is a software tool that automatically identifies hardware accelerators directly from C source code. This unique automation technology is accompanied by rich graphical representations of key aspects of the application C source to enable the user to understand where and how acceleration is achieved and specialise them if desired. Additionally it automates the generation of the HDL and integration of the application software. Clarity enables the user with little or no knowledge of an application or hardware to quickly produce accelerated applications.

The company status and model/strategy Founded in 2007, Mimosys raised seed and early stage money trough private investors and venture capital. Mimosys stopped its activity in 2009 following the analysis that the market opportunity was not attractive enough for the company and its investors.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Jason obtained a BSc in computer science from the University of Edinburgh and his PhD from the University of Oxford. He was a project manager with Hewlett Packard from 1996 to 2001 and with the Swatch Group until 2004. He developed semiconductor technologies from EPFL that led to the foundation of Mimosys in 2007.

Jason Brown

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MINSH Internet

www.minsh.net Innogrant approved in 2009 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology Minsh opens up existing social networks with an underwater virtual world. As a first step, each fish in Minsh represents a user from the social network Twitter. In time, Minsh will bridge all social networks in the same ocean. Thanks to Minsh, users can visualize their network in a 3D environment, rather than a 2D text page. It becomes easy to explore beyond one’s own connections and meet new people all around the globe. Minsh brings a social world without frontiers, and enables entertaining interactions between users of all networks, cultures, and horizons.

The company status and model/strategy Minsh is free. Anybody can enter the virtual world and meet new people everywhere on the planet. Minsh plans on developing several revenue sources; in the initial phases of the company development, it intends to let users buy virtual items in order to customize their fish and tease their friends.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Barbara, co-founder & CEO, has a PhD in Computer Graphics. She has four years of expertise in Computer Graphics and large crowd simulation. She has obtained her PhD at EPFL Virtual Reality Laboratory (VRLAB) in May 2009. She has been working on Minsh since the summer 2007. Jonathan, co-founder & CTO, also received a PhD in Computer Graphics. He has achieved his PhD studies at the VRLAB too, where he and Barbara have worked in close collaboration. Jonathan also obtained his PhD in May 2009. During their collaboration, they have written together over 10 scientific papers and contributed to 2 books in the domain of virtual crowds.

Barbara Yersin

Jonathan Maim

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NOVAGAN Semiconductor

www.novagan.com Innogrant approved in 2008 Founded in 2009

The innovation/technology After years of research at EPFL, the NOVAGAN team brings to its customers its unique expertise in the epitaxy of AlInN heterostructures for electronic applications. The project consists in developing new advanced light sources based on GaN semiconductor. Blue lasers and superluminescent diodes will have a strong impact in domains such as high resolution medical imaging, displays and picoprojectors.

The company status and model/strategy NOVAGAN offers epitaxy foundry services for the fabrication of photonic and electronic devices made of AlInGaN semiconductors. NOVAGAN is the first global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers for nitride based laser products designed for medical care and projection applications. The company works in close partnership with its customers to design custom solutions engineered with atomic layer precision.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Eric obtained his PhD in Physics from the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis in 2003 on new development in the growth of GaN on silicon for light emitting diodes. He joined the LASPE at EPFL in 2004 where he worked on growth of semiconductors (GaN and its alloys). In 2009, he founded NOVAGAN. He is the author or coauthor of more than 80 publications in peer-reviewed international journals.

Eric Feltin

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OZWE Internet

www.ozwe.com Innogrant approved in 2009 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology This project deals with interactive systems ranging from gesture-controlled displays to multi-touch screens, new technologies that transform radically the experience of interacting with computers. Three applications are considered: (a) interfaces for home entertainment, (b) hospitality solutions for hotels, restaurants, health-care institutes, fitness and spas and (c) interactive systems for urban spaces, museum, retail stores and marketing.

The company status and model/strategy The company was founded in 2008 by an engineer, Frédéric Kaplan and an industrial designer, Martino d'Esposito. Frédéric, now researcher at EPFL, worked ten years for Sony. Martino, teacher at ECAL (The University of Art and Design Lausanne), designs objects and furniture for several companies including Ligne Roset, Cinna, Neweba and Monodor. OZWE is a spin-off of the CRAFT. It currently employs a team of 5 people, in its Lausanne’s office. OZWE creates interfaces and objects that permit to interact physically with digital data.The company offers also its services and know-how to others companies that wish to change the interactive experience of their customers.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Frédéric is an internationally recognized scientist and inventor. Born in Paris, he graduated as an engineer of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Telecommunications in Paris and received a PhD degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University Paris VI. He worked ten years as a researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Paris and supervises since 2006 a research team on new interfaces at CRAFT laboratory at EPFL. He published about a hundred scientific papers, five popular science books, and has filed ten patents. His research is regularly features in the international press and his inventions and prototypes have been exhibited in several museums including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Frédéric Kaplan

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PREDIGGO Internet

www.prediggo.com Innogrant approved in 2007 Founded in 2008

The innovation/technology In 1995, Amazon.com pioneered recommendation software with their famous “Customers who bought this also bought…”. Since then, a few start-up companies have entered the recommendation market; yet only around 17% of eShops today have a recommender system. During his PhD thesis at EPFL, Vincent Schickel has conceived a proprietary and patented technology – ‘Automated Ontology Filtering’ - that can accurately estimate what a user will like based on his needs and preferences, even with little information. This technology differentiates from competition through its accuracy, robustness, flexibility, real-time nature and end-user interactivity. Prediggo is commercializing this unique technology under an exclusive worldwide license from EPFL.

The company status and model/strategy Prediggo is in a commercialization phase and has already acquired nine customers. Prediggo is currently focusing its sales on the Swiss market, and will address neighbor country beginning of next year through its IT partner network. Prediggo has two main revenue streams: Commission on eShop sales facilitated by Prediggo and Sponsored Recommendation Fees.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Vincent graduated from EPFL with a Master in Computer Science in 2003. During his Master thesis, Vincent worked as an intern at the Nokia Research Center (ATG group) in Boston, where he conceived and fully implemented a negotiation protocol for an multi-agent platform. In 2007, and under the supervision of Prof. Boi Faltings, Vincent obtained his PhD in Artificial Intelligence. During his thesis, Vincent developed and patented the “Ontology Filtering” technology. This technology was also awarded “Breakthrough Technology Award 2008” by the N. Dimitris Foundation. At the end of his PhD, and in November 2008, Prediggo SA was created. To this day, Prediggo is active in Switzerland and already has many customers among the leaders in Switzerland (ex: Moevenpick-wine, Payot….).

Vincent Schickel

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ROUTERANK Internet

www.routerank.com Innogrant approved in 2006 Founded in 2007

The innovation/technology routeRANK provides a software solution for travel planning. Unlike other solutions that consider only one means of transport at a time, routeRANK addresses the entire travel route by integrating rail, road and air connections. In a single search, routeRANK's patent-pending technology finds and ranks the best possible travel routes, allowing users to sort them according to their priorities such as price, travel time and CO2 emissions.

The company status and model/strategy Custom developed versions of the proprietary software are offered to corporate customers, for their internal use or use on their own website, in both travel and logistics. Customers include the Travel Helper for WWF at http://travel.panda.org and the Nokia Green Explorer at http://greenexplorer.nokia.com and the Swiss Confederation. Having won the Swiss National venture leaders and venture kick competitions in September 2008, routeRANK was selected as one of the four finalists in the PICNIC Green Challenge, and in November, it was the laureate of the 2008 KPMG Tomorrow's Market Award. It was nominated for Red Herring 100, the Green IT Innovation Award, the TechCrunch Europas Awards 2009 as well as the Microsoft ICT Award in the Academic Enterprise Awards 2009, and named Microsoft Startup of the Day.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Jochen graduated in mathematics with computer science from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, in 2001. In 2002, he obtained his MPhil in Statistical Science and in 2005 his PhD at the Statistical Laboratory, Cambridge. He has been awarded numerous scholarships and prizes. He worked as a senior researcher at EPFL before starting routeRANK in 2006, where he is now founder and chairman.

Jochen

Mundinger

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STEREOTOOLS Medical technologies

www.stereotools.com Innogrant approved in 2007 Founded in 2009

The innovation/technology StereoTools proposes a new kind of guide for needle or electrode placement during stereotactic neurosurgery. Combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), this guide allows reaching a precise target inside the brain, for biopsies, deep brain stimulations, etc. It has significant advantages over the existing solutions. This device gathers simplicity and innovation to allow state of the art procedures like intra operative MRI or simultaneous bilateral procedures.

The company status and model/strategy StereoTools has been founded in May 2009 to bring the StereoPod to the market. This company gathers experts of neurosurgery, medical technologies, micro-mechanics, homologation as well as business development aspects. It is based in Lausanne, in an area with an important density of medical companies. The company has been supported by grants from venture kick and FIT in addition to the initial Innogrant. It was also a laureate of the PERL award organized by Lausanne Région.

A brief background of the entrepreneurs Rémi is a graduate of CPE Lyon and spent one year at EPFL where he specialized in medical technologies. He was more recently a project manager at “Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers” where he developed image processing software linked to the analysis of muscles in myopathy, as well as at the University of North Carolina, Theralys-Bioimaging, the French Agency against Myopathy. StereoTools has also been co-founded by professors Jean-Philippe Thiran (EPFL) and Claudio Pollo (CHUV).

Rémi Charrier

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Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 1015 Lausanne Switzerland