Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

In this final episode before the summer break of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss a new Swiss growth fund, the old VC math and whether payments in Switzerland have become an invisible tax. In the news segment, they cover the new Swiss Champion Fund targeting CHF 100M for Series A and B, Swisscom closing its Silicon Valley office after 28 years, and new Pitc...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss European billion-dollar rounds, a new AI venture studio and whether European venture capital faces a structural correction. In the news segment, they cover the eight European startups that have each raised over USD 1 billion in 2026 – accounting for nearly a quarter of all European funding. They then look...

Burn Rate Episode 100! In this anniversary episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi go behind the scenes of the podcast: how Burn Rate started, how the format evolved since 2023, and why they're still doing this every week after 100 episodes. Along the way: numbers on more than 250 funding rounds covered, over CHF 3 billion in disclosed funding volume, and listeners in 103 countries. Then it's back...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi review the Swiss and European venture market in May 2026, discuss the SpaceX IPO and address why so many exits are communicated far too positively. In the news segment, they cover the W.A. de Vigier Award 2026 with five winning startups across healthcare, dental robotics, nano-semiconductors and energy. They then...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss Swiss startup sentiment, the shift from SaaS to Physical AI and the new Swiss Startup Agenda. In the news segment, they cover the new Swiss Startup Days sentiment barometer showing slightly improved optimism, the Technology Fund's 13 new portfolio companies as an example of growth financing beyond equity,...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the state of the Swiss ecosystem, Nvidia's role as an AI financier and the biggest fundraising mistakes founders make. In the news segment, they cover the Swiss Startup Days 2026 in Bern with 1,500 attendees and the question of how accessible the Swiss startup ecosystem really is. They then look at two new...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss mega seed rounds, fast follow-on financings and whether Legal AI still has a future. In the news segment, they cover five Swiss scale-ups awarded the SEF.Growth High Potential Label, the recovery of the Swiss crowdfunding market to CHF 629 million in 2025, and the phenomenon of billion-dollar seed rounds i...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the Swiss and European venture market in April 2026. In the news segment, they cover the ZKB Pionierpreis Technopark 2026, won by RTDT Laboratories with a sensor system for wind turbines, the bankruptcy of Farmy as a cautionary tale about pandemic booms and missing unit economics, and the launch of Acceler...

In this special episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast – we record live for the first time: at the BEA Expo in Bern, as part of the KMU-Impulsprogramm. Guy Giuffredi talks with Sebastian Betschen, founder of Almer Technologies and now CEO of Realwear, about building a hardware startup from Bern that reached global relevance. Almer was founded in 2021 and developed lightweight augmented real...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss Physical AI, a new Swiss unicorn and the question of how to become a great VC. In the news segment, they cover the Sifted ranking of Europe's top Physical AI hubs – with Zurich ranking #2 by deal count – the unicorn status of vVARDIS following a strategic investment from Apollo, and the structural shift in...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current developments in the Swiss startup and venture capital ecosystem. In the news segment, they cover the Stanford AI Index 2026, where Switzerland ranks first globally for AI talent per capita, Swiss founders featured on the Forbes Europe 30 Under 30 list, and Goldman Sachs’ investment in BLP Digital....

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss current developments in the Swiss and European venture capital landscape. In the news segment, they cover the first closing of Herbert Fund I, the growing compute bottleneck in the AI market, and the latest Innosuisse certificates awarded to Swiss startups. The focus is on new fund models without follow-on...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss a structural shift in the venture capital market. In the news segment, they cover the current shift from software to hardware, the new quantum partnership between ETH Zurich and IBM, and the ambitious potential SpaceX valuation ahead of a possible IPO. The discussion focuses on defensibility in the age of...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss new dynamics in the Swiss and European venture capital landscape. In the news segment, they analyze the first cohort of Project Switzerland, discuss the acquisition of Zurich-based AI startup Starmind by Capacity, and break down the appointment of Michael Stucky as the new CEO of the Swiss Startup Associat...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss new dynamics in the Swiss and global venture capital landscape. In the news segment, they cover the Digital Shapers 2026, break down the latest European Deep Tech Report by Dealroom and Lakestar, and discuss the first closing of the new climate-tech VC Vitamin C. The focus is on Europe’s deep tech opportun...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss new dynamics in the Swiss and international venture capital market. In the news segment, they analyze Kickfund’s highly scalable VC model with more than 100 portfolio companies in less than two years, discuss the new Startup Selection Switzerland ranking launched by NZZ and ZHAW, and break down Yann LeCun’...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down the most important startup deals from February 2026 in the Swiss venture ecosystem. In the Burn Rate Market Snapshot, they review a quieter Swiss funding month with around CHF 100 million invested across 15 disclosed rounds, discuss positive ecosystem signals from ETH, EPFL, the Swiss Startup Associatio...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss recent developments in the Swiss venture capital ecosystem. In the news segment, they analyze ETH Zurich’s record year with 46 new ventures, the rebound in invested capital highlighted by the EY Startup Barometer, and Switzerland’s strong performance in the Financial Times European startup support ranking....

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down the latest developments in the Swiss and international venture capital landscape. In the news segment, they analyze the record number of startup liquidations in Switzerland in 2025 and explain why rising shutdowns and recovering investment volumes are not contradictory, but typical for a delayed market...

In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down key developments across the Swiss and global venture capital landscape. In the news segment, they analyze the record year of EPFL with 39 new spin-offs and CHF 701m in funding, discuss the new startup reform agenda introduced by the Swiss Startup Association, and examine the launch of the $10 billion me...

Here is the English version of your Spotify description for Episode 82, in your standard Burn Rate format: In this episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi analyze the most important startup deals from January 2026 in the Swiss venture capital ecosystem. In the Burn Rate Market Snapshot, they break down around CHF 496 million invested across 19 financing rounds, discuss the strong accel...

In this episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi cover the latest signals from Switzerland’s venture ecosystem — recorded on Thursday, February 5. In the news segment, they discuss the first closing of Constructor Capital Fund I ($110M), the new cohort of the Microsoft for Startups Switzerland AI Tech Accelerator, and a look back at 20 years of Venture Leaders with standout ecosystem re...

In this episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the key signals shaping the Swiss venture capital ecosystem. Guy shares insights from the ETH Deep Tech Summit, with over 1'000 participants, around 100 spin-offs from ETH, EPFL, PSI and EMPA, and clearly rising international investor interest. In the news segment, the episode covers the final closing of b2venture Fund V (€150m),...

In this episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down the key developments shaping the Swiss venture capital ecosystem at the start of 2026. In the news section, they discuss the exit of Zurich-based mobility fintech MyBikePlan to Germany’s JobRad Group, the €192 million mega-round raised by battery storage player Terralayr, and the upcoming generational transition at global VC fi...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down the most important startup deals from December 2025 in the Swiss venture ecosystem. In the Burn Rate Market Snapshot, they contextualize CHF 250m invested across 22 rounds, discuss a strong month for biotech M&A (including acquisitions by Grupo Landsteiner), SK Capital’s majority takeover of Swyx Biopharma, the sale of Homebuddy, and the ne...