What Hasler Foundation does

The Hasler Foundation (legal name: Hasler Stiftung) is a private Swiss non-profit foundation established in 1948 and headquartered at Hirschengraben 6, CH-3011 Bern, Switzerland. Its statutory purpose is to promote information and communications technology (ICT) for the well-being and benefit of Switzerland as an intellectual and industrial centre. The foundation provides financing and co-financing of selected educational, research, and innovation projects in the ICT field, while remaining politically and religiously neutral and free of any commercial interests. Unlike a charity, its support is explicitly results-based and tied to the foundation's mandate.

The foundation operates a portfolio of grant-funding programs rather than commercial products. Core offerings include a website-based Grants Portal (grants.haslerstiftung.ch, mandatory channel since 27.03.2024), themed research programs such as Hasler Responsible AI (a three-year program launched November 2020) and Hasler Mercator Digitalization & Democracy, and open-support tiers ranging from Support Funding (up to CHF 10,000), to Small Projects (up to CHF 50,000), to Special Projects (exceeding CHF 50,000). Beneficiaries are categorised as universities and university-like institutions, non-commercial organisations, companies (early-phase startup funding discontinued November 2021), and individuals (scholarships). Several endowed professorships are co-funded at Swiss higher-education institutions including FHNW, PH Schwyz, PH Luzern, Hochschule Luzern, and PH Vaud.

The business model is non-commercial: the foundation is funded by returns on its endowment and investments, not by product revenue. There are no subsidiaries, no parent company, no publicly traded shares, and no app, API, or SDK surface. Distribution is single-channel and domestic — applications flow through the online grants portal, and news has been distributed exclusively via the Hasler Stiftung LinkedIn channel since May 2024. Governance is provided by a Foundation Board (Stiftungsrat) including President Heinz Karrer and Vice President Prof. Dr. Lothar Thiele; the Managing Director (Sinja Christiani) took office in August 2024. In June 2023, after roughly 40 years of foundation advocacy, the Federal Council anchored computer science as a basic subject in the Gymnasium under the Matura Recognition Ordinance, a milestone outcome the foundation has publicly cited.

Name

Hasler Foundation

Legal name

Hasler Stiftung

Website

https://haslerstiftung.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Hasler Foundation (Hasler Stiftung) is a private Swiss non-profit foundation, founded in 1948 and headquartered in Bern, that promotes ICT research, education, and innovation in Switzerland through themed grant programs and tiered funding (CHF 10,000 to over CHF 50,000) to universities, non-profits, and individuals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Grants and ICT Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• ICT research funding
• Non-profit grants
• Computer science education
• Responsible AI research
• Digitalization programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment/Investment Returns: As a non-profit foundation, Hasler Foundation generates revenue from its endowment and investments to fund ICT research, education, and innovation projects. The foundation does not engage in commercial activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hasler Foundation is a Swiss non-profit foundation that promotes information and communications technology (ICT) for the well-being and benefit of Switzerland. It provides financing or co-financing of selected educational, research, and innovation projects in ICT, including thematic programs (Hasler Responsible AI, Hasler Mercator Digitalization & Democracy), open support funding (small projects up to CHF 50,000, special projects exceeding CHF 50,000, support funding up to CHF 10,000), and individual scholarships. Applications are submitted exclusively through its online grants portal.

Product overview

The Hasler Foundation is a Swiss foundation that promotes information and communications technology (ICT) for the benefit of Switzerland. Rather than offering a traditional product platform, the Foundation operates grant-funding programs that provide financial support to ICT research, education, and innovation projects. The core offering is the online Grants Portal (grants.haslerstiftung.ch), through which applicants submit funding requests. The Foundation's programmatic products include the Hasler Responsible AI research program (a three-year initiative), the Hasler Mercator Digitalization & Democracy program, and open funding mechanisms ranging from small project grants (up to CHF 10,000) to larger special projects (exceeding CHF 50,000), as well as scholarship programs for individuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hasler Responsible AI: Three-year research program on responsible artificial intelligence
• Hasler Mercator Digitalization & Democracy

Products and services

• Grants Portal Online portal for submitting funding applications to the Hasler Foundation. Since March 27, 2024, all applications must be submitted exclusively through this platform.
• Hasler Responsible AI Program A three-year thematic research program focused on responsible development and use of artificial intelligence, funding academic research projects in Switzerland.
• Hasler Mercator Digitalization & Democracy Thematic funding program supporting projects at the intersection of digitalization and democracy in Switzerland.
• Special Projects Funding Open support funding for special projects where requested amounts exceed CHF 50,000, supporting larger-scale ICT research and innovation initiatives.
• Small Projects Funding Flexible funding for small projects with requested amounts up to CHF 50,000, providing accessible support for ICT-related initiatives.
• Support Funding (up to CHF 10,000) Direct funding contributions of up to CHF 10,000 for targeted ICT projects and initiatives.
• Grants/Scholarships Scholarship programs for individuals pursuing ICT-related education and research in Switzerland.

Quantifiable outcome

• After about 40 years of advocacy, computer science was anchored as a basic subject in the Gymnasium (secondary school) in June 2023 through the Federal Council's decision on the Matura Recognition Ordinance revision

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FHNW (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014The Hasler Foundation funded the Professorship for Informatics Education at the Teachers College of the FHNW from 2014-2018, with a press release published in July 2019 about the results.
• PH SZ, PH LU, and Hochschule LUcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated a joint endowed professorship in informatics education funded by the Hasler Foundation for these three universities, announced in February 2019.
• PH Waadt (Haute école pédagogique du canton de Vaud)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hasler Foundation endowed a professorship in informatics education at the pedagogical university of the Canton Vaud, announced February 2019.
• SwissFoundationsminorOthersListed as a related organization. SwissFoundations is the association of Swiss foundations. The Hasler Foundation follows their recommendations on overhead costs.
• Innosuisse (Swiss Innovation Agency)minorOthersListed as a related organization for innovation promotion in Switzerland.
• SNF (Swiss National Science Foundation)minorOthersListed as a related organization. Reference document on approaches for doctoral candidates and social contributions aligns with SNF standards.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Volkswagen Foundation (VolkswagenStiftung): One of Germany's largest science and technology grantmaking foundations. Comparable thematic focus on ICT and research funding but at a much larger scale and broader geographic reach, serving as a benchmark for Hasler's potential trajectory.
• Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation: German foundation supporting biomedical and life sciences research with a long-term, results-based funding model. Comparable in scale and institutional approach to Hasler, though focused on life sciences rather than ICT.

Regional players

• Stiftung für Technologie, Innovation und Forschung (STIFT) Liechtenstein: Liechtenstein-based foundation supporting applied research and innovation in the region. Comparable as a small DACH-region science/technology grantmaking foundation with similar funding programs and grant sizes.
• ETH Zurich Foundation: Fundraising arm of ETH Zurich, one of Switzerland's leading technical universities. Comparable as a Swiss ICT-adjacent grantmaking vehicle, though channeled through a single institution versus Hasler's broader university-based grants.

Direct peers

• Klaus Tschira Foundation (Klaus Tschira Stiftung): German foundation focused on natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science education and research. Highly comparable thematic scope to Hasler's ICT mandate and operates a similar results-based grantmaking model.
• Gebert Rüf Foundation: Swiss science and education grantmaking foundation based in Basel. Operates with a similar results-based, non-charitable Swiss foundation model and funds STEM and education projects, providing direct comparability on grant size, structure, and Swiss policy engagement.
• Innosuisse (Swiss Innovation Agency): Federal innovation funding agency supporting science-based innovation in Switzerland. Direct peer in the Swiss ICT/innovation funding ecosystem; Hasler discontinued startup funding partly overlapping Innosuisse's mandate.
• Fondation Botnar: Swiss-based foundation (registered in Basel) focused on AI, digital health, and education for young people. Highly relevant given overlapping themes in AI and digital transformation, with broader geographic scope than Hasler.
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF): Switzerland's primary federal research funding body. Both fund Swiss academic research through competitive grants and are listed as related organizations by Hasler, but SNF operates at national scale across all disciplines while Hasler focuses on ICT.

Others

• SwissFoundations: Association of Swiss grantmaking foundations of which Hasler is a member. Industry association setting standards (e.g., overhead cost recommendations Hasler follows), making it a relevant ecosystem peer rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hasler-stiftung
• Xx.com/HaslerStiftung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments5 records

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Frequently asked questions about Hasler Foundation