Sponsors

Founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet in the Swiss village of Le Brassus, Audemars Piguet is the oldest Manufacture of Haute Horlogerie never to have left the hands of the founding families. Today, its range encompasses complex mechanical watches, Haute Joaillerie creations as well as a line of jewellery. At each stage in its history, the Manufacture has daringly adopted avant-garde techniques in order to place them in the service of traditional craftsmanship. This approach has earned it an unparalleled number of world firsts in the field of Haute Horlogerie.

Egon Zehnder International was founded in 1964 in Zurich and today the firm specializes in Board Effectiveness Reviews, Leadership Strategy Services and Executive Search at the Management and Board levels. The Firm has a distinctive vision and structure aimed at achieving two basic goals - placing clients' interests first and to lead its profession in creating value for its clients through the assessment and recruitment of top-level management resources. The Firm has a structure which is unique in its profession. The Firm's 385 consultants, operating from 63 wholly owned offices in 37 countries, are organized around a single-profit center partnership. This is designed to eliminate competitive barriers between offices. It allows the Firm to operate seamlessly when engagements call for multi-office, cross collaboration and knowledge sharing. Large or small, local or global, clients benefit from this structure by having access to the Firm's most relevant resources and relationships wherever they may reside.

Endeavour Vision is European cross-boarder venture capital firm providing expertise and funding to entrepreneurs with global ambitions in technology, cleantech and life sciences. Endeavour Vision combines a team of experienced venture capital professionals responsible for investments in over 70 companies in 12 countries in Technology and Life Sciences since 1989. We are passionate about building the next entrepreneurial success story and being entrepreneurs ourselves, we have a deep understanding of what it takes to develop successful companies. Endeavour Vision’s DNA comes from three established firms: Genevest, an early European VC started in 1983, Vision Capital Europe, established in 1997 as a pioneer in Trans-Atlantic venture capital, and Endeavour, a VC formed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. To better support entrepreneurs, the firm is a main supporter of: the European Tech Tour Association, a non-profit foundation generating networking opportunities for Entrepreneurs with VC’s, large corporations and corporate advisors.

For more than a century, Morgan Lewis lawyers have helped clients achieve their business goals, and clients have come to rely on the firm for its tradition of professional excellence, integrity and client service. Morgan Lewis has more than 1,400 lawyers and 300 other professionals (including technical specialists, patent agents and paralegals) in 22 offices worldwide. We have a complete range of practices and are well positioned to meet clients' critical legal needs.

For clean tech companies in every stage of development, our Emerging Business Practice provides customized legal guidance and international connections to address critical business issues. We bring together a powerful combination of industry knowledge and legal experience advising companies of all sizes engaged in the new opportunities presented by the explosive growth in the clean technology arena. Over the last three years, Morgan Lewis has represented more than 100 energy companies and handled more than 150 energy-related transactions, including venture financing, project financing, strategic partnerships and merger and acquisition transactions for clean tech companies.

Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris. We invest in early stage companies and corporate spin-offs, in the technology and life sciences spaces:

- 460 companies financed in Europe since 1972
- Over 1 in 5 companies financed have gone public
- Over 1 in 5 companies financed have been acquired
- 40 jobs created per company on average between financing and exit
- Revenues multiplied by 8 on average between financing and exit

The mission of the Department for Economic Affairs of the State of Vaud is to put in place the framework conditions required to promote economic growth. Its objectives are designed to highlight the know-how of companies and to make the canton an attractive and competitive environment.
The vitality of economy in the Canton of Vaud is particularly remarkable in state-of-the-art industries with high added value such as life sciences, information technology, micro- and nanotechnology, environmental and agri-food technologies. Strong political support and many concrete state support and incentives serve to reinforce growth in these sectors.

Launched in April 2008, Acton Capital Partners is a Munich-based specialist investor in internet- and mobile-based, consumer-oriented businesses. Having managed more than 30 investments since 1999 as the corporate venture capital business of Hubert Burda Media, the German family-owned global media company, the Acton team brings a wealth of expertise to the companies in which it invests, delivering superior capital returns.

Big Bang Ventures is emerging as a leader in seed and early-stage venture capital funding for high-growth ICT companies. In addition to funding, Big Bang Ventures leverages its extensive operational experience and worldwide networks to actively help startups accelerate their growth.

Doughty Hanson & Co is one of Europe's largest independent private Equity fund managers, with funds focused on private equity, European real estate, and technology start-up companies . Headquartered in London, the firm has offices throughout Europe as well as in the United States. Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures invest in outstanding management teams to build world-class companies. The fund provides early-stage venture capital financing to technology companies throughout Europe, focusing on software, communications technologies and semiconductors. For more information, please visit www.doughtyhanson.com.

It takes more than capital to help a company succeed. It takes insights. The kind that improve your performance today, and take you further than where you dreamed you’d be tomorrow. It takes experience. Hands-on experience in every aspect of running a growth business, from strategic planning to recruiting an effective management team. And it takes connections. Well-established, influential connections that open doors with potential customers and partners all over the globe. Fidelity Ventures provides the expertise, resources and connections entrepreneurs at early stage and growth equity companies need to take their businesses further, faster. With Fidelity as our primary provider of capital, we have the ability to access resources that make us a proven and powerful partner for companies just entering the market as well as those ready for the next phase of growth. We commit these resources, along with the talents, passion, and energy of our people, to the success of every one of our portfolio companies. From identifying and delivering new revenue opportunities, to offering insight on everything from organizational development to global expansion, we provide Capital + whatever it takes to help make good companies great.

Backing companies is about more than money. Yes, growing companies need funds to develop markets and reveal their full potential. But they also need support, insight, and honesty. Above all, they need backers who can share their vision and match it with experience and judgement - as well as capital.
Frog Capital is an investment partner to some of Europe's most exciting growth-stage companies. We help management teams make the leap from exciting young companies to successful, grown-up businesses.

Founded in 1982, Partech International is a leading global venture capital firm with offices in the U.S., Europe and Israel. With $800M under active management, our investment team focuses exclusively on Information Technology. Specific areas where we invest include Software & Internet, and Communications & Components. In each of these sectors, our team diligently sources companies with high return potential and disruptive technologies.
It is our belief that "technology is global" and therefore, venture capital must be global. This global way of thinking and investing is not a new strategy for us. We have successfully executed this approach for over twenty years and like to think of ourselves as pioneers of international venture capital. Some of our globally successful companies include: Ascend Communications, Alvarion, Business Objects, Cadence, CSG Systems, Digital Island, Informatica, Pentasafe, VeriFone and Vignette.

Serena Capital targets high-growth, technology-driven companies, with proven product or service offerings that address the needs of a large market, and management teams that demonstrate entrepreneurial skills and strong execution capacities. Serena Capital will back the growth of its portfolio companies by providing financing and operational support at every stage of the company development.
The entrepreneurial experience of the investment team and its high-level global network of business partners and industry relationships are critical to help portfolio companies grow to a leadership status.

Time Equity Partners is a growth Capital Fund focusing on equity investments in companies operating at the heart of the digital revolution. Funded by Yaminvest, an investment platform created by four European entrepreneurs, Time Equity partners was created to support the development of innovative companies in the telecommunications, internet media and entertainment sectors. Time’s Partners combine a strong background in management, technology and finance with an entrepreneurial approach, necessary to understand and support companies at a critical growth period.

Wellington Partners has been one of the most successful pan-European venture capital firms for more than 10 years. With funds totaling some € 800 million and offices in London, Munich, Palo Alto and Zurich, we invest in companies throughout Europe that have the potential for becoming global leaders. Our investment areas include Digital Media, Information Technology, Cleantech and Life Science. We have a long and successful track record of supporting young companies on their way to becoming leaders in their specific markets or publicly traded corporations like Actelion (936767), SAF (A0JD78) and Xing (XNG888).

Biz-News.com is an online media group providing consumer electronic business news to professionals worldwide. Biz-News.com reaches its global business readership in niche audience segments across medias specialized in the consumer electronic markets. Biz-News.com currently acts in the HDTV, Smartphone, VOIP and Storage markets. We provide news on semiconductors, software, hardware, OEM, content, manufacturer's brands, wireless operators, distributors and retailers on a global scale. We focus on worldwide consumer electronics markets.

Informilo is a news site that covers tech sector developments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The site covers entrepreneurship and innovation in every part of the pipeline ? from the smallest start-up with the best idea to big companies that embrace creative disruption. The aim is to help start-ups and venture capitalists benchmark the global competition and connect with big corporates. The site covers Internet, telecommunications, software, hardware, semiconductors, biotech, med tech and clean tech. Founded by veteran journalist Jennifer L. Schenker, Informilo vows to adhere to the highest standards of editorial integrity.

The Chilli is a unique media platform for high-tech entrepreneurs, investors and advisors. The Chilli is an established global brand in the technology entrepreneurial food chain in Europe, US and now expanding out in Asia. Our information and in-depth analysis are available through regular newsletter updates, online products and live at seminars, conferences and events.

The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) is a member-based, non-profit trade association and was established in 1983 and is based in Brussels. EVCA represents, promotes and protects the interests of the European private equity and venture capital industry.