VI Partners

What VI Partners does

VI Partners is the longest-established venture capital firm in Switzerland, founded in 2001 by ETH Zurich and McKinsey Switzerland and headquartered in Altendorf. Operating as Vi Partners AG under Swiss FinSA regulation, the firm invests at Seed and Series A stages in two verticals: technology (mission-critical software, AI, fintech, and industrial applications) and healthcare (biotech, medtech, and digital health). Across 25+ years the firm has deployed approximately CHF 400 million into 72-73 portfolio companies and produced five unicorns, including Nexthink (acquired by Vista Equity Partners at a $3 billion valuation in 2025), Araris Biotech (acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical for up to $1.14 billion), Oculis (NASDAQ-listed), and SumUp (reportedly pursuing an IPO at $10-15 billion). The firm has a small investment team (11-50 employees) led by managing partners Arnd Kaltofen, Olivier Laplace, Diego Braguglia, and Gaetano Zanon, supported by founder/senior advisor Alain Nicod, venture partner Daniel Gutenberg, operating partner Yassine Zaied, and partner Julien Pache.

Name

VI Partners

Legal name

Vi Partners AG

Website

https://vipartners.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VI Partners is the longest-established Swiss venture capital firm (founded 2001), investing Seed and Series A capital in technology and healthcare startups, having deployed CHF 400M across 72-73 companies and closing a new CHF 150M fund in January 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Seed funding
• Series A investment
• Early-stage startups
• Healthcare venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Altendorf

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: VI Partners generates revenue through management fees on assets under management and carried interest (performance fees) from successful portfolio company exits. The firm manages multiple funds including a new CHF 150 million fund targeting Seed and Series A investments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

VI Partners is a Swiss venture capital firm that provides Seed and Series A equity financing to early-stage startups in technology (mission-critical software, AI, fintech, industrial applications) and healthcare (biotech, medtech, digital health) sectors. The firm pairs capital with board-level strategic guidance, operating partner support, and introductions to its network of Swiss corporate partners and international co-investors. Its most recent vehicle is a CHF 150 million fund with first close completed in January 2026.

Product overview

VI Partners is a Swiss venture capital firm that provides investment funding and support to early-stage technology and healthcare startups at Seed and Series A stages. The firm does not offer traditional software products or services but rather acts as an investor and partner to portfolio companies developing various technologies and therapies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CHF 150 Million Venture Capital Fund A CHF 150 million venture capital fund investing in Seed and Series A technology and healthcare startups in Switzerland and Europe. For institutional limited partners and the founders receiving investment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 unicorns generated from portfolio including Nexthink ($3B), Araris Biotech (up to $1.14B acquisition), Oculis (NASDAQ listed)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• European Medicines AgencycoreOthers · 1 March 2026Oculis received EMA PRIME designation for Privosegtor, advancing a potential first-in-class neuroprotective candidate for optic neuritis. This regulatory milestone validates the drug candidate's potential.
• FDAcoreOthers · 1 October 2025Oculis, a VI Partners portfolio company, had a positive FDA meeting regarding Privosegtor (OCS-05) for acute optic neuritis, advancing the neuroprotective candidate into registrational trials (PIONEER program).
• Taiho PharmaceuticalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2025Taiho Pharmaceutical fully acquired Araris Biotech AG, a VI Partners portfolio company, for USD 400 million at closing plus up to USD 740 million in milestone payments (total up to USD 1.14 billion). This represents VI Partners' successful exit from Araris following a research collaboration that began in November 2023.
• Chugai PharmaceuticalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2025Araris Biotech entered a Research Collaboration and Option to License Agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical to develop next-generation ADCs using Araris' proprietary AraLinQ technology. Araris eligible for up to USD 780 million in milestone payments plus royalties.
• Taiho PharmaceuticalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2023Araris Biotech and Taiho Pharmaceutical entered initial research collaboration to develop next-generation ADCs using Araris' proprietary linker-conjugation technology. This collaboration preceded Taiho's acquisition of Araris.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Creandum: Northern European (Stockholm/Berlin/San Francisco) early-stage venture capital firm. While geographically focused on Nordics rather than Switzerland, Creandum competes for similar Seed/Series A European technology opportunities and represents a comparable category of European VC.
• Atomico: European-focused technology venture capital firm founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström. While significantly larger and broader in geography than VI Partners, Atomico targets similar category-creating technology companies and competes for European founder mindshare.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: One of Europe's leading early-stage VCs with a healthcare/biotech franchise (Earlybird Health) directly comparable to VI Partners' healthcare practice. Operates from Berlin/Munich/London and is a relevant peer for European Seed/Series A healthcare investing.
• Index Ventures: One of Europe's largest venture capital firms with deep technology and healthcare franchises. While far larger than VI Partners, Index competes for the same category-defining European Seed/Series A opportunities and provides a benchmark for successful European VC outcomes.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based European early-stage venture capital firm with sector-focused funds across technology verticals. Comparable in Seed/Series A focus but operates at substantially larger fund sizes and broader European footprint than VI Partners.
• Balderton Capital: London-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in European technology companies. Operates at significantly larger fund sizes but competes for similar Seed/Series A European technology founders and has co-invested in companies like SumUp.

Direct peers

• btov Partners: European venture capital firm founded in 2000 with offices in Switzerland, Germany, and the Baltics. Operates multiple sector-focused funds including digital, industrial, and biotech strategies, directly comparable to VI Partners' Seed/Series A model and Swiss/European footprint.
• Redalpine Venture Partners: Swiss-founded European venture capital firm with a multi-stage tech and healthcare thesis. Comparable to VI Partners in geography and Seed/Series A focus, making it a directly competitive peer for Swiss and European early-stage deal flow.
• Endeavour Vision: Swiss/European medtech and digital health-focused VC. Co-led CeQur's $115M round alongside VI Partners-backed companies, sharing a deep tech and healthcare thesis with direct co-investment overlap.
• Verve Ventures: Swiss early-stage VC investing in technology and healthcare across Switzerland and Europe. New VI Partners Partner Julien Pache previously led investment at Verve Ventures, making this a directly comparable European Seed/Series A firm with overlapping thesis and geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vi-partners-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments113 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VI Partners