Tag: Smart Buildings

  • PropTech Switzerland 2025

    PropTech Switzerland 2025

    Around 430 PropTech companies are currently active in Switzerland, many of them with roots at ETH or EPFL. This is an indication of the strong focus on deep tech and research. A large proportion of the companies are still in the early stages of development, with around half generating less than CHF 0.5 million in annual revenue. Nevertheless, the majority of companies expect increasing revenues, which characterises the mix of young start-ups, growing scale-ups and established technology companies.

    Funding, segments and sustainability pressure
    Due to the high number of completed financing rounds in 2024 and according to estimates, several hundred million francs have flowed into Swiss PropTechs in recent years. Solutions for smart buildings, energy efficiency, digital transactions, data analysis and AI-based services are particularly in demand. Around a fifth of companies are active in digital brokerage, followed by smart building solutions and data and AI products. The area of sustainability and lifecycle management is becoming increasingly important, driven by ESG requirements and net zero strategies. A significant proportion of PropTechs now integrate environmental sustainability as a core function of their offerings.

    Internationalisation and visibility in the start-up ecosystem
    Between 30 and 40 Swiss PropTech companies are already active in European or global markets, exporting their technologies or testing them in international pilot projects. At the same time, PropTechs regularly appear in rankings of the most promising Swiss start-ups, where they are among the fastest-growing young companies. The picture is thus shifting from a niche to a visible growth segment in the national innovation ecosystem.


    Slow adoption meets increasing digitalisation pressure
    Despite scalable products, customer acquisition remains challenging. Decision-making and procurement processes in the property industry often take one to one and a half years, which delays market entry and stretches out roll-outs. At the same time, there is increasing pressure to digitalise processes, make better use of data and operate buildings more sustainably. From regulatory requirements to rising energy prices. For PropTechs, this creates a field of tension between long cycles on the customer side and the fast pace of technology and capital requirements.

    Europe as a growth lever and opportunity for Switzerland
    The European PropTech market is growing dynamically and is expected to expand its volume significantly by the end of the decade, driven by investments in AI, smart buildings and sustainable refurbishment technologies. Europe currently holds a substantial share of the global PropTech market, from which Switzerland can benefit disproportionately with its high level of innovation, strong university landscape and exportable solutions. Overall, the scene is small but highly innovative. It is in the process of professionalising itself, becoming internationally oriented and changing the real estate industry in the long term.

    Facts & Figures PropTech Switzerland 2025

  • Intelligent building technology thanks to shared innovation

    Intelligent building technology thanks to shared innovation

    Today, real estate has to meet a multitude of requirements. As a significant driver of CO2 emissions in Switzerland, they play a central role in Swiss climate and energy policy. The requirements for economical and efficient energy use in buildings are correspondingly high. On the other hand, there are ever-increasing demands for safety and comfort on the part of the users – with a simultaneous reduction in the complexity of the application. One component for solving these sometimes seemingly contradictory requirements lies in the digital networking of sensors and devices in buildings.

    Valuable partnerships as innovation drivers
    The cooperation with the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) in Dübendorf is proving to be an extremely valuable and fruitful partnership with regard to the development of intelligent and sustainable buildings. In the modular research and innovation building NEST, Empa develops and tests technologies, systems and materials together with partners from research, industry and the public sector.

    Bouygues Energies & Services supplied prefabricated HVAC components as part of the NEST unit HiLo (“High Performance – Low Emissions”). Using Building Information Modelling (BIM), a factory and assembly plan including manufacturer’s specifications were created, allowing materials to be ordered directly from the model. In the NEST unit “Sprint”, Empa has successfully put circular construction and “urban mining” into practice. Recycled materials and components were used to create flexible office space in a very short time, while conserving resources.

    In the field of predictive control, learning algorithms enable considerable energy savings compared to conventional, rule-based control algorithms, while at the same time increasing the comfort and user-friendliness of building systems.