Young Sohn at the Swiss Economic Forum

"THERE NEEDS TO BE FURTHER CORRECTIONS IN THE VALUATION OF START-UPS"

"There is way too much investor money floating around," Young Sohn analysed the global startup market at SEF. Last year, only half as much money was invested in start-ups, the American-Korean founder and managing partner of Walden Catalyst Ventures continued. But the valuations of many start-ups are still far too high. In his opinion, further corrections are needed here. This would make the excellent start-ups more visible again. One of these, according to Sohn, is the Swiss robot manufacturer Anybotics, in which Sohn invested with Walden Catalyst and which won the SEF.Award in 2020.

The technology of Anybotics is pioneering, and the spin-off from ETH Zurich has also convinced with its early sales successes. Sohn believes that a close connection between the start-up scene and the best universities is crucial for good companies to emerge. Furthermore, the investor from Silicon Valley said, one has to be careful in which countries one still invests; in China, for example, one should be very cautious. Chips have become a kind of new currency for intellectual power - and this market is currently absolutely dominated by Southeast Asia.