Establishing Switzerland as Europe’s Sandbox for Innovation

Europe’s strength has always been its diversity – a mosaic of ideas, values, and talents. Yet, when it comes to digital innovation and emerging technologies, this diversity often becomes a challenge. Regulation, national differences, and fragmented markets can slow down what Europe needs most: fast and responsible experimentation. What if Switzerland could help change that?

Imagine Switzerland not just as a hub for local startups, but as Europe’s sandbox for innovation – a place where startups from all over Europe can establish, scale, and validate their technologies in a safe, regulated, and highly supportive environment. With this unprecedented new division of roles between the EU and Switzerland, innovation and regulation no longer clash – they co-evolve.

Governance by Design – A New Paradigm for Europe

A sandbox approach does not simply balance innovation, regulation, and impact — it redefines their relationship. It turns Europe’s complexity from a challenge into an engine for progress.

To make this more tangible, we can think of Switzerland as Europe’s innovation sandbox in terms of a balance sheet – showing how both Switzerland and the EU stand to gain:

Dimension	Switzerland	European Union (EU)
Organizational	Provides startups from across Europe with a safe, regulated environment to test, validate, and scale their innovations, while fostering research collaborations and generating measurable economic impact.	Can rely on Switzerland as a safe, regulated test environment, allowing the EU to observe and learn from startups without setting up its own infrastructure.
Regulatory	Tests pilot projects under real-world conditions, generating actionable insights that inform forward-looking, practical regulations.	Able to implement tested, evidence-based regulations EU-wide, leveraging the insights generated from the Swiss sandbox.
Societal & Economic	Structurally improves and deepens its long-term relationship with the EU. Strenghtens its position as the small but innovation-driven economic Powerhouse of Europe. Turns a disadvantage (a small domestic market) into a long-term advantage by supporting AI startups and scaleups in expanding into larger European markets to succeed and grow further. In return, Switzerland secures agreements enabling startups to keep their headquarters or intellectual property in the country.	Structurally strengthens its long-term relationship with Switzerland. Gains access to a continuous flow of growth-ready, innovative, and validated startups, boosting European market competitiveness and helping Europe compete effectively with global innovation leaders such as the USA and China. Attracts more investors and venture capital, as market-validated startups reduce investment risk, channeling more capital into European markets. Retains top talent in Europe, bolstering innovation ecosystems as market-entering startups bring skilled employees and international expertise, and enhancing cross-border knowledge transfer.

A Win-Win Model for a Smarter Europe

This approach reshapes how Europe innovates — creating tangible benefits on multiple levels:

• Startups from across Europe gain a launchpad to test, scale, and refine their innovations in a real-world, well-regulated environment.
• Regulators receive direct, actionable insights into emerging technologies, enabling smarter and more adaptive policy design.
• Innovation and responsibility evolve together — reducing risk, strengthening trust, and accelerating progress.
• Switzerland deepens its role as a hub for innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based policymaking.
• The EU benefits from a pipeline effect: mature startups return ready to scale across European markets, spreading proven technologies and sustainable growth.

Switzerland, with its neutrality, strong research base, and culture of trust, provides the ideal environment to make this vision a reality.

Join the Discussion

Our upcoming event at the AI Startup Center will bring together startups, research institutions, and policymakers to explore this vision. The focus will be on:

• How Switzerland can act as a testbed for AI and emerging technologies
• How sandbox approaches can create a new symbiosis between innovators and regulators
• How these insights could strengthen Europe’s global competitiveness

Join us to help shape the next chapter of Europe’s innovation story — one where experimentation, evidence, and ethics go hand in hand. Because the future of innovation will not be negotiated — it will be tested, learned, and built in the sandbox.

Photo & Video Recordings
As part of this event, photographs and/or video recordings may be taken by or on behalf of the AI Startup Center. By registering for the event, you acknowledge that these recordings may be published at a later date in digital media and/or printed materials.