Featured image credit: CERN - Marina Cavazza
ZURICH (25 April 2025) – CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has partnered with Stryber, a business growth services provider, to create the Stryber-CERN Venture Connect Programme. Its aim is to address the “Valley of Death” in deep tech commercialization, whereby promising innovations struggle to transition from research to solutions such as licenced spin-offs and joint market-ready ventures.
"CERN’s technologies are a goldmine of potential, and with Stryber’s business-building expertise and commercialization strategies, it’s a match made in heaven that will bring innovations from lab to market, while delivering ROI,” said Felix Christanell, Associate Partner at Stryber and leader of the company’s Deep Tech practice.
Stryber and CERN will identify a select portfolio of high-potential technologies to transition into market-ready business solutions and will recruit top-tier entrepreneurs, corporate clients, and investors for partnerships.
The Venture Connect Programme will harness Stryber’s proven framework for scalable business growth, tapping into its deep expertise in commercialization and venture capital, along with its extensive network. By embedding a startup mindset, the programme aims to validate innovations rapidly and repeatedly, ensuring a clear path from idea to market impact.
Image credit: CERN - Maximilien Brice
“We see immense potential in our technologies to revolutionize industries like renewable energy, robotics, and quantum computing. With Stryber’s deep expertise in business growth and venture capital, they are the ideal partner to help us turn this potential into reality," commented Linn Kretzschmar, Head of the CERN Venture Connect Programme at CERN.
The Programme will focus on transformational technologies in areas where CERN’s expertise and know-how have demonstrated leadership, including aerospace, AI and machine learning, quantum applications, environment, and healthcare across the DACH region and the UK.
“Our goal is to contribute to closing the European Deep Tech commercialization gap. We are aligning science and technology with strategic business objectives such as facilitating market entries and building new business.
"Our teams will bring in mindset and methodology. Ultimately, we will create a bridge between CERN technologies and fitting corporate partners, investors, and entrepreneurial talent from our network,” added Christanell.
CERN Venture Connect provides startups with access to seven advanced technologies, including ultra-precise lasers and microelectronics, that can be used in various fields. Startups in the Programme get a license to use these technologies without giving up equity and only pay a 2% royalty after reaching 1 million Swiss francs in revenue.
For more information, visit Stryber’s resources on Deep Tech or read the firm's deeper analysis on the challenges with deep tech commercialization in Europe.
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About Stryber:
Stryber is a professional services firm thriving at the intersection of strategy and execution. We solve the complex challenges preventing established companies from achieving breakthrough growth.
We’ve been helping our clients uncover and seize new business growth opportunities for over a decade. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, but our expert teams will help you find the right approach that fits your unique needs.
Business growth isn’t easy, but we’re here to help you achieve it.
About CERN:
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s leading laboratories for particle physics. The Organization is located on the French-Swiss border, with its headquarters in Geneva. Its Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Cyprus and Slovenia are Associate Member States in the pre-stage to Membership. Brazil, Croatia, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Türkiye and Ukraine are Associate Member States. Japan and the United States of America currently have Observer status, as do the European Union and UNESCO. The Observer status of JINR is suspended in accordance with the CERN Council Resolution of 25 March 2022.
About CERN Venture Connect
The CERN Venture Connect (CVC) Programme is designed to provide startups a fast, streamlined, and customised service. CVC aims to support deep-tech startups in all of CERN’s Member States and Associate Member States . The Pprogramme will help the founders succeed by giving them fast access to cutting-edge CERN technologies and partner investor companies or venture incubators that will provide further possibilities for investment, distribution, expert mentoring and service providers.
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