Three Swiss startups tackling regulatory compliance, agricultural lending and settlement infrastructure have been named as business and finance finalists for the >>venture>> 2026 competition.
The companies were selected from a record 451 applications in this year’s edition of the Swiss startup programme.
The business and finance category highlights a shift toward deep business-to-business infrastructure and novel financing models.
The 3 Business and Finance Finalists
RegCheck
A platform spun out of ETH Zurich, uses AI to simulate regulatory audits. The system connects to corporate document management systems to identify compliance gaps before official submission, aiming to reduce the risk of failed audits.
UAC LABS
Building a coordination infrastructure to enable atomic settlement across traditional and decentralised finance.
The Zurich-based startup replaces traditional smart contract execution with cryptographic proofs, allowing institutions to orchestrate complex multiparty workflows without exposing capital to custody risks.
reilo.
Turns natural assets into bankable collateral to help smallholder farmers access credit.
The company is currently running pilot programmes in Tanzania and Brazil, securing agricultural loans against nature-based carbon values to bridge the financing gap for unbanked communities.
The finalists will present their pitches to the competition’s advisory board on June 15.
The winner of the business and finance vertical will receive 50,000 Swiss francs and a consulting package from McKinsey and Company.
The remaining two vertical finalists will each receive 10,000 Swiss francs.
All category winners will then compete for the overall grand prize, which carries a total award of 150,000 Swiss francs.
The event will also feature a live audience vote and the inaugural Spotlight Award, which will grant 50,000 Swiss francs to a startup using Switzerland’s new open-source language model Apertus.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Nadifa99 via Magnific