Prototype Fund

More inclusion, sustainability and participation: We enable innovative open source projects that strengthen the public good in Switzerland.

Technology can create added value for all of us. However, in the absence of business models and government support, there is a lack of funding for the development of public interest tech projects in Switzerland.

Alleged solutions are developed in silos (and according to a waterfall model), without involving the affected people and with fear in the back of one’s mind not to make any mistakes. Others believe that the next hype technology or Elon Musk will solve all our problems (often without even really understanding the hype).

This is where the Prototype Fund comes in. We create structured experimental spaces for human-centred, open and non-profit innovation in Switzerland. We support you in solving social challenges with open source projects and thereby strengthen the common good.

As an independent programmer or as a team of technically skilled, committed and creative collaborators, you can receive up to CHF 100,000 from us to develop your public interest tech idea from concept to first demo within six months. You can use the money to build a prototype of your open source software (or hardware). In addition to the financial support, we will coach, mentor and individually network you with the tech and wider communities.

From 2025 onwards, we will be supporting at least two projects per year in the area of “digital sufficiency“. We are looking for project ideas that aim to directly or indirectly reduce the absolute level of resource and energy demand through or with the help of digital technology. Projects that do not primarily focus on the topic of sufficiency can and will of course also be funded in the future.

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