The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) and the Canton of Vaud have selected four projects from 57 submissions as part of their second call for proposals. As part of the partnership, which has a budget of 7.5 million Swiss francs (2024–2028), the projects will receive technical support from the SDSC as well as cantonal funding.
The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) and the Canton of Vaud have selected four projects from 57 submissions as part of their second call for proposals. As part of the partnership, which has a budget of 7.5 million Swiss francs (2024–2028), the projects will receive technical support from the SDSC as well as cantonal funding, distributed at a rate of 1.5 million Swiss francs annually between 2025 and 2028. The goal is to embed data science and AI in the Vaud economy, spanning sectors from life sciences and industry to energy and digital transformation.
Four projects, four industries
The printing press manufacturer Bobst is developing a predictive maintenance system designed to monitor key machine components in real time and detect failures early on, with the goal of reducing breakdowns and repairs by one-third. Perivision is optimizing a VR-based platform for the diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma, drawing on data from the Inselspital in Bern. The Vaud cantonal government is developing “ParlAnalytics,” an AI-powered system designed to ensure greater transparency in the handling of parliamentary motions.
Bewe Lab: From a funded project to an international player
The fourth project is of particular interest to the insurance industry: Bewe Lab, a startup founded in Fribourg in 2024, is developing a gamified app designed to reduce cravings and addictive behavior through neuroscience-based “brain retraining.” This is achieved entirely without willpower, but rather through targeted retraining of the brain’s reward system. The collaboration with the SDSC aims to further refine the app’s data analysis.
Bewe is already significantly further along than its status as one of many funded projects might suggest; thebrokernews has reported on this. The patented method is based on 15 years of research and has been validated in four randomized controlled trials involving over 550 participants, showing a 28 percent reduction in calorie intake and a 50 percent decrease in failed diets. A study by Spierer and colleagues, recently published in the journal *Imaging Neuroscience*, provides the neurophysiological explanation: so-called Go/NoGo training measurably alters the brain’s response to stimulus signals and reduces their subjective appeal. This mechanism is based on inhibitory control and associative devaluation.
The company, led by serial entrepreneur Frederik Plourde (CEO) and neuroscientist Prof. Lucas Spierer (CSO), won the Pfizer Research Prize in 2026 and now has over 13,000 users and more than ten strategic partnerships, including Stanford Medicine in the U.S., CSS in Switzerland, and Johnson & Johnson in the Benelux countries. This collaboration with a health insurer is also the reason why Bewe recently participated in the Swiss InsurTech Hub’s Swiss Roadshow 2026 in Zurich, where startups were brought together with insurers such as Swiss Re, Zurich, Helvetia, and AXA.
“The collaboration with the SDSC offers private and public entities in the canton a unique opportunity to develop AI projects,” said Raphaël Conz of the Cantonal Office for Economic Development and Innovation. At the same time, a training program in partnership with UNIL and HEIG-VD is helping 14 additional companies and institutions develop their first AI prototypes within six months.
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