E80 [AI-Translated] ETH Summit | b2venture | Vi | PitchBook | Neolabs | Waterfall | Zombie-VC | Oviva | Tech5 | Sparkli

In this episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the key signals shaping the Swiss venture capital ecosystem. Guy shares insights from the ETH Deep Tech Summit, with over 1'000 participants, around 100 spin-offs from ETH, EPFL, PSI and EMPA, and clearly rising international investor interest. In the news segment, the episode covers the final closing of b2venture Fund V (€150m), the first closing of the new Vi Partners fund (CHF 150m), and PitchBook data showing Switzerland among the global leaders in VC funding per capita. The discussion also touches on “Neolabs” – AI startups raising billions for pure research without products or revenues. In the main topic, the episode breaks down exit waterfalls using the Brex deal to show why contractual terms such as liquidation preferences often matter more than headline valuations. The listener question explains what zombie funds are and why they are becoming more common in the current market. The episode closes with the most notable deals of the week, including Oviva, Tech5 and Sparkli.