E81 [AI-Translated] Constructor | MS AI Acc | Venture Leaders | VC Report | Founder Associate | Orama VR | Schole AI

In this episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi cover the latest signals from Switzerland’s venture ecosystem — recorded on Thursday, February 5. In the news segment, they discuss the first closing of Constructor Capital Fund I ($110M), the new cohort of the Microsoft for Startups Switzerland AI Tech Accelerator, and a look back at 20 years of Venture Leaders with standout ecosystem results.

The main segment is a deep dive into the Swiss Venture Capital Report 2026 (“Trend Reversal”), featuring an interview with Thomas Heimann (co-initiator and co-author). Together, they unpack what’s really behind the headline numbers: record activity in early-stage funding, continued pressure in later-stage rounds, the importance of international investors, and why AI — despite the hype — still isn’t the dominant driver of funding volumes in Switzerland.

In the listener Q&A, Max and Guy explain what a Founder Associate actually does, how the role differs from a traditional assistant, and what makes it a value-add versus a potential red flag from an investor’s perspective.

To wrap up: Deals of the week featuring Orama VR ($4.5M late-seed), Schole AI ($3M+), and Haelixa (€2M pre-Series A). Episode partners: Are Ventures and Wenger Vieli.