Recapping the Highlights of the HackSummit

HackSummit is truly at the top of the chart when it comes to startup events.

Lausanne brought the views — but even more, the right conversations. From reconnecting with founders to meeting new ones building sharp science in agrifood, materials, biomanufacturing, mobility, carbon, nature and beyond.

Finally meeting people in real life after years of decks and video calls felt different. The HackSummit is one of the most relaxed yet focused events we’ve been part of. Everyone there was pulling in the same direction. You could feel it.

Discover all 15 highlights

A Road Map for ClimateTech Adoption

Bertrand Piccard of Solar Impulse Foundation joined us for the Opening Keynote. He told us:

“Solutions exist that are logical more than just ecological, that can create jobs and generate profit while also reducing polluting emissions and preserving natural resources. It’s by actively investing using the latest solutions, the best technology and common sense that we will have a real positive impact, this goal is in your hands. Let’s make a positive impact.”

He then welcomed OroraTech’s Managing Director, Viktor Gauk on to the stage to explain their wildfire intelligence technology - having just extended their Series B to €37 million to scale AI-powered thermal satellite platform for real-time global wildfire detection and risk assessment. 

Unlocking Traditional Finance for Climate

Jerome Unidad, Co-Founder and CEO of Centeon summarises his learnings on how financing is a key milestone to unlock scale and deployment:

For solutions that make it through earlier “valleys of death”, the next challenge is unlocking growth. 

• Real assets, real manufacturing capacity requires serious capital beyond equity financing. 

• Surfing the waves of change across public, private financing is key

• Organising a financing stack around grant funding, equity financing, debt/ project financing, pre-purchases and other pools of capital.

• Stability dictates a balance between multiple streams – and not a single over-reliance on any single one.

And Marie Asano, Partner at European Circular Bioeconomy Fund gives her take: "Despite current headwinds, many institutional investors, family offices, and catalytic capital providers remain confident in the long-term potential of impact and climate investments, viewing them as viable and competitive with traditional assets-given time and a high performing team. Different types of investors with different products working in tandem will help “unlock” financing in this space.”

Mining Smarter, Not Harder

Benjamin Hamelmann of BioInnovation Institute tells us that a big takeaway for me was the discussion around the copper crisis in the coming decade, given that approximately 70% of global copper reserves are in low-grade or hard-to-process ores, which have traditionally been considered uneconomical to exploit. The session with Endolith was fascinating - showcasing how new technologies, particularly the use of specific microbial consortia in the bioleaching process, can boost copper recovery rates from ore significantly. 

“Curiosity and collaboration drive innovation. When we take the time to meaningfully step away from the day to day we leave more energized and with better ideas to solve the improbable,” summarises Liz Dennett, CEO and Founder of Endolith.

Environmental Philanthropy

Philipp Staudcher of Innovate 4 Nature joined us for a workshop on accelerating Climate Tech with philanthropy.

With one clear message standing out: we need a fundamental shift in how we value, finance, and protect nature. 

"Philanthropy is at a turning point. Today’s social and environmental challenges require foundations to move beyond traditional grant-making. The old model of distant check-writing no longer works. Foundations need to be humble, flexible, and willing to embrace innovation and risk. Every foundation has a role to play in supporting climate solutions, even without impact investing. Now is the time to step up, lead by example, and help actively build a better future. The cost of inaction is already too high."

Designing out Waste

Jacob Nathan of Epoch Biodesign explained how they are harnessing the power of AI to design enzyme-driven solutions. Epoch Biodesign’s bio-recycling platform unlocks circularity for the toughest-to-recycle materials and enables infinite recycling for mixed plastics and textiles at low temperatures while producing sustainable outputs for use in apparel, automotive, packaging and more.

‘Epoch's biorecycling approach is a great example of how biotech and AI can help with resilience and supply-chain independence. Therefore, the company offers a real benefit to its customers and is not dependent on regulatory support, which is a must criteria for climate startups in 2025,’ summarises Christian Guba, Principal at Extantia Capital.

FoodTech World Cup Final

With the support of Givaudan and Nestlé Research and Development Lausanne, the 2025 edition of the FoodTech World Cup put the spotlight on the next wave of startups tackling Food for Health.

Argentina's Future Biome came out on top. They are creating a new class of health products by mining the function of microbes that naturally colonize the gut to address  inflammatory disorders.

After winning the FoodTech World Cup, Soledad tells us:“This is a great opportunity for startups to showcase their impactful approaches to solve global problems regarding food. Being recognised as a finalist and later as winners not only means gaining visibility it also encourages us to go forward, do the impossible and never give up.“ 

Open Collaboration Takes Centre Stage

Collaborating with startups enables corporates to accelerate innovation, access emerging trends, and develop scalable solutions, bridging the critical gap between visionary ideas and practical implementation.

“Collaboration is the new competitive edge — when corporates invest with strategic intent, they unlock value far beyond capital. Our panel highlighted how aligned partnerships can accelerate innovation, de-risk scale-up, and drive lasting impact,” summarises Hadar Sutovsky, VP Corporate of Investments of ICL Group and General Manager of ICL Planet Startup Hub.

“Collaboration is more than a buzzword—it’s an investment of time, energy, and resources for both companies and startups. For ingredient innovation to work, both parties must commit fully to shared goals, creating value through purpose, mutual effort and open collaboration,” highlights Christian Sobolta, Managing Director of CSM Ingredients

“Efficient collaboration between startups and global corporates is reshaping traditional investment models — from venture capital to accelerators and incubators. More investors are realising that real growth doesn’t happen in isolation — it thrives on strategic partnerships with market leaders,” notes Uri Weinheber, Partner of URIKA Partners

Designing Beyond Limits

Founders like Fredrik Indebetou are reshaping the green transition, not by chasing moonshots, but by rethinking waste, scaling what already works, and turning overlooked resources into real-world solutions.

“The most powerful shift is not just technological—it’s mental. Seeing waste as a resource requires challenging assumptions, building unlikely partnerships, and designing business models that thrive within ecological limits. Fredrik’s journey shows how founders can lead the green transition by unlocking overlooked value, not by waiting for moonshots, but by making the systems we already have work smarter, cleaner, and fairer,”shares JC Jung, Managing Partner at Anywhere Ventures

”That the green transition is no longer a future bet on unproven innovation—it's a near-term opportunity grounded in scalable, existing technologies. The winning strategy now is to shift from waiting for the next breakthrough to deploying what already works. Investors who recognise this inflection point will lead the buildout of the next generation of sustainable, resilient industrial systems—and capture the value that comes with it,” adds Fredrik Indebetou, Founder of WA3RM

For Dainis Kruze the summit in Lausanne captured both the spirit of the setting and the urgency of the moment for climate innovation.

“Lausanne is a wonderful location; it truly felt like a fairytale setting, which added to the overall positive experience of the summit. The vibrant and growing intersection of technology and sustainability was so clearly on display. The summit highlighted the significant opportunities for innovation and investment in solutions addressing critical global challenges,” notes Dainis Kruze, CEO at Aerones.

Africa’s Climate Tech Momentum

Elzin Fawaxab-Mushambi of Impact Tank Namibia and Desirée Petterson of Satgana joined us for a workshop to explore how to navigate Climate Tech investment in Africa.

“Never underestimate the power of local partnerships. We’ve seen firsthand how blending global capital with hyper-local execution unlocks impact and returns. The next wave of climate wins won’t come from parachuting in solutions—but from backing local innovators who understand the terrain – Lets close the funding gap of  2.8T in climate infrastructure the continent needs by 2030—but attracts <2% of global capital,” says Elzin

Desirée adds: "Africa’s abundant renewable energy resources, vast arable land, critical minerals to the energy transition, and young hustling population are a few of the key competitive advantages the region has to offer in the global climate transition. Therefore, navigating the unique dynamics of investing in Africa will reward the founders and investors who are determined and creative enough to capitalize on these opportunities."

Data Infrastructure for Climate Tech 

The panel underscored the fundamental role of robust data infrastructure in enabling effective climate technology solutions. 

“For carbon accounting data infrastructure, pre-competitive collaboration supported by public and philanthropic finance is critical. Such collaboration is seen as essential to ensure the necessary trust and integrity of the data and systems. Chloris Geospatial brings trust to nature-based carbon markets and supply chains with its proprietary MRV technology and unique datasets,” recaps Marco Albani, Co-Founder and CEO, Chloris Geospatial

Mario Michan, Founder, Sixteen44, Co-Founder Daphne Technology) adds: New sources of data have significantly changed our understanding of the dynamics at play. As we gain better understanding through data, the business models and opportunities in the climate sector are evolving. Citing an example from Daphne Technology's origins, it was noted that 7 years ago, the general understanding was that methane slip didn't exist. Thanks, in part, to their measurement product, PureMetrics, there is now real knowledge of the actual magnitude of methane slip emissions. PureMetrics is a product designed to directly measure in real-time GHG emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from commercial ships.

And Jan Palasinski Partner at Future Energy Ventures concludes: A core principle is that if you can't measure it, you can't control it and, more importantly, reduce it. This reinforces the idea that data is the new gold, and AI helps mining it at scale. Startups like Chloris (focused on processing satellite data for carbon accounting) and Sixteen44 (focused on Atmospheric Methane Abatement), backed by climatetech VC funds such as Future Energy Ventures, were described as the 'jewellers'. These companies are turning the raw data ('gold') into unique, valuable products (‘jewels’) that will eventually decarbonize our planet.

Scaling at Speed

"To build a deep tech company that moves fast enough, you need to think creatively and be surrounded with the right, scrappy people.”

These are insights shared by Torbjørn from Again in a conversation with investor Daniel Niemi from Atlantic Labs.

As a practical example, Torbjørn noted how taking over and repurposing an existing asset, rather than building one from scratch, allowed Again to speed up the completion of their pilot facility by several months – and importantly have it up and running by the time they raised the seed round.

Systemic Investing

Tech4Regen from EPFL Innovation Park explored how systemic investing can address challenges linked to expanding urbanization. 

Discussions focused on emerging capital investment approaches beyond traditional models, synergistic strategies across capital types, and real-world case studies from the ecological transition in construction and urban development. 

The session highlighted how finance, policy, technology, and remediation can align to regenerate value chains and urban ecosystems as we were joined by Ginkgo Advisor, The Good Investors, Bouygues Group, ALIEN Limited, and Medusoil SA – moderated by Arthur Garaud from Edmond de Rothschild.

Building a Circular Food System

A truly circular food system isn’t just about reducing waste. It’s about unlocking the full value of what we already have. 

“At Yeap, we upcycle spent yeast into a clean-label, high-protein ingredient that replaces traditional inputs like milk proteins and eggs. We take it a step further by using our own production side streams to create a second, fiber and protein-rich food supplement for health and wellness. It’s 100% circular, from waste to zero waste. If more companies start turning waste streams into valuable inputs, we can reduce raw material use, lower food costs, and build a food system that actually works in the long run for the people and planet,” says Jonathan Goshen, CEO and Co-Founder of Yeap.

All About the Side Events

The full roster of Side Events meant we could all continue the conversation, build friendships and connect over similar interest.

A few highlights included the world’s first cell-cultivated cacao ceremony, a breakfast hike for Founders, investor breakfast, Speaker dinner in the vineyards and of course the After Party (on both Day 1 and Day 2) at L’Auberge de Beaulieu.

Continue the Conversations

Next up. Register your interest for the 2026 edition of the HackSummit in Lausanne, or join us in December at Newlab in New York.

Can’t wait until then? Join us at a local Meetup hosted by a global network of Ambassadors across FoodHack and ClimateHack

Carry on today. The networking app will be live for the next few months, so make sure to browse the attendee list and follow up on conversations started in Lausanne.