AI for Energy Efficiency: How viboo Makes Buildings Smart

The Challenge: Wasted Energy in Commercial Buildings

Commercial buildings are a massive source of wasted energy, a costly problem for property owners across Switzerland. But what if there was a way to significantly cut those costs with a smart, low-investment solution? A Zurich-based startup is demonstrating exactly how.

viboo: An Intelligent Solution Born from Swiss Research

viboo, a spin-off from the prestigious Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), has developed a cloud-based AI that intelligently manages heating in commercial buildings. The system connects wirelessly to existing smart thermostats, learns heating patterns, and predicts future needs to optimize energy use without sacrificing comfort. This practical and powerful approach quickly caught the eye of investors.

Investor Confidence Signals a Strong Swiss Tech Scene

Following a successful CHF 3.3 million funding round in October 2023 with backers like Zürcher Kantonalbank and Swisscom Ventures, viboo has now secured another investment from the European Rise PropTech Fund. This isn't just a win for one startup; it’s a powerful signal for the entire Swiss tech scene. It proves that our deep-tech innovations, born from world-class institutions like EMPA, can attract significant international capital by solving high-value, real-world problems.

The key to viboo’s model is its accessibility:

Rapid Scaling: The solution is designed for widespread adoption.
Easy Implementation: It can be quickly set up by installers.
Fast ROI: It offers a quick return on investment for property managers and public sector clients.

This focus on tangible, immediate value is a hallmark of successful Swiss engineering.

Pragmatic Innovation is the Future

This trend underscores a key shift in the market: AI and automation are moving from abstract concepts to practical tools that drive efficiency and profitability. Switzerland is becoming a hub for this kind of pragmatic innovation, leveraging its strengths in technology and engineering to build solutions that are not only smart but also economically sensible.

We see this same pragmatism in the industries we serve. Swiss businesses don't want AI for its own sake; they want it to solve concrete problems like reducing administrative overhead or improving customer service. This focus on delivering measurable results is why we believe Switzerland is the perfect market for intelligent automation.