The Situation

Tethys Robotics, an ETH spin-off and Wyss Zürich fellow, is developing an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for close-range inspection of underwater infrastructures. After identifying offshore energy as its beachhead market, the team sought funding from the Innosuisse Start-up Innovation Project (SIP) grant to optimise the product for this use case and go from a promising prototype to a full commercial product.

Our Approach

Under our Full Grant Application Writing service, Alfred led end-to-end preparation to deliver a high-quality, on-time submission. We focused on three pillars:

1. Demonstrate deep market insight with a quantified value proposition.

2. Clearly differentiate Tethys from incumbent solutions in a mature market and highlight the core technical innovation.

3. Specify how SIP funding is the critical enabler for the final steps before market entry, given existing pilot customer- and investor traction.

The Impact

Innosuisse selected Tethys in a highly competitive cycle. The grant will provide CHF 1.5 million in non-dilutive funding to enter the market in 2028.

After weighing our options we followed a recommendation and partnered with Alfred for our SIP submission. They not only crafted a compelling application, they also sharpened our business plan and priorities. With my tight schedule as CEO it was a relief to know the process was fully under control and moving with certainty. Being based in Switzerland made collaboration simple and efficient. I warmly recommend Alfred to founders preparing grant applications. Jonas Wüst, Cofounder and CEO, Tethys Robotics AG

The Team

Diego Seitz, Founding Partner (Business Consulting)

Geoffrey Besnier, Non Dilutive Funding & Grant Specialist (Business Consulting)