Canton Zurich SME Program
AI Program for SME in the Canton of Zurich
The 2025 cohort results are available further down on this page.
The program is now open for its 2026 edition. Please review application details below.
BENEFITS
Benefits for SMEs
Low-Risk Experimentation
Through guided prototyping, test AI solutions without upfront investment or risk.
Expert Feedback & Support
Obtain hands-on support and feedback from multidisciplinary expert teams to further refine your ideas.
Scalable Innovation
Promising prototypes are further developed into pilot projects integrated into your industry context.
Collaborative Network
Connect with peers and experts to jointly address the challenges and develop solutions.
Tailored AI Learning
Gain an understanding of AI technologies that translate into practical applications relevant to your business.
Strategic Positioning
Enhance your innovation profile and readiness for AI-driven solutions.
News
Latest news
Data Science & AI Briefing Series for Executives
Data Science & AI Briefing Series for Executives
PAIRED-HYDRO | Increasing the Lifespan of Hydropower Turbines with Machine Learning
PAIRED-HYDRO | Increasing the Lifespan of Hydropower Turbines with Machine Learning
First National Calls: 50 selected projects to start in 2025
First National Calls: 50 selected projects to start in 2025
Information
SME AI Program - 2026 Edition
Register Here
To ensure the greatest possible value for you, we keep participating companies to a reasonable number.
Interested and eligible SMEs can register by completing this
Online Form.
Important Dates
- August 9, 2026: Application Form submission deadline
- September 15, 2026: Announcement of selected 2026 SME Roundtable cohort.
- September 2026 - March 2027: Roundtable collaboration towards AI prototype development.
- April - May 2027: Transitioning AI prototypes to pilot projects.
For more information, please contact Dr. Anna Fournier, anna.fournier@sdsc.ethz.ch
Related Information & Links
2025 Program Outputs - Open Source CODE:
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) tool:
https://github.com/SwissDataScienceCenter/sme-kt-zh-collaboration-rag Timeseries Forecasting for Business Impact:
https://github.com/SwissDataScienceCenter/sme-kt-zh-collaboration-forecasting2025 Program Outputs - REPORTS:
Watch Info Session
View recording of the Information Session from 30.06.2026. (EN/DE)
Raphael von Thiessen, Program Lead AI Hub at the Canton of Zurich, Anna Fournier, Principal Data Scientist at the SDSC, and Paulina Körner, Data Scientist at the SDSC, talk you through the 2026 program application.
Video Case Studies
AI-based Customer Support with Forecasting Models (German)
As part of the first edition of the AI program for SMEs in the Canton of Zurich, two participating companies have developed a collective Forecasting prototype to help them optimize customer support.
Advanced RAG-Systems for Knowledge Retrieval (English)
Nine of the participating SMEs have developed a collective Retrieval-Augmentation Generation (RAG) prototype to help them capture knowledge from internal documents.
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This program was run extremely professionally by data science and AI experts with an educational mission and industrial experience, meaning they understand business needs and emphasise practical solutions. The organisers were also very open to feedback and follow-up support. Highly recommend.
The program delivers its promise: bringing AI knowledge to smaller companies. The digital toolset is there – bringing the necessary know-how inhouse is the main benefit of this program.
Keeping up with AI technology, the market players, and the latest trends can quickly become overwhelming. The SDSC team helped us cut through the noise, understand what is actually relevant for our business, and validate our approach with experienced and independent experts.
I strongly recommend this program. Months of trial-and-error are compressed into a structured, expert-guided sprint - with honest feedback, peer exchange with other SMEs, and a working prototype. The most efficient AI starting point for SMEs in Switzerland.