Building tech in the world’s secret R&D hub
Building tech in the world’s secret R&D hub
在全球隐秘的研发中心构建科技未来
Apple. Anthropic. Disney Research. Google. Meta. Microsoft. NVIDIA. OpenAI. Few places outside Silicon Valley can claim R&D hubs from all of these companies. Fewer still are concentrated in a city of just over 400,000 people—roughly half the size of San Francisco. 苹果、Anthropic、迪士尼研究院、谷歌、Meta、微软、英伟达、OpenAI。在硅谷之外，很少有地方能同时拥有这些公司的研发中心。更难得的是，它们竟然集中在一个仅有 40 多万人口的城市里——其规模大约只有旧金山的一半。
Over the past two decades, however, many of the world’s most influential technology companies have established R&D operations in and around Zurich, Switzerland. What began with Google’s decision to build its largest R&D hub outside the United States has evolved into one of the world’s most concentrated centers for AI research, talent, and commercialization, in certain areas at a higher density than Silicon Valley. The question is why so many technology leaders keep choosing the same place to build and scale. 然而，在过去的二十年里，许多全球最具影响力的科技公司都在瑞士苏黎世及其周边地区建立了研发业务。最初，谷歌决定在此建立其美国境外最大的研发中心，如今这里已演变成全球人工智能研究、人才和商业化最集中的中心之一，在某些领域，其密度甚至超过了硅谷。问题在于，为什么如此多的科技巨头不断选择同一个地方进行建设和扩张。
Located at the center of Europe, Greater Zurich Area, a region spanning the cantons of Glarus, Graubünden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Tessin, Uri, Zug, and Zürich, the region of Winterthur, and the city of Zurich, combines access to major markets with political stability, regulatory predictability, and strong intellectual property protection. And Zurich Airport connects the region directly with key business hubs across Europe, North America, and Asia, making it an efficient base for international operations. 大苏黎世区位于欧洲中心地带，涵盖了格拉鲁斯州、格劳宾登州、沙夫豪森州、施维茨州、索洛图恩州、提契诺州、乌里州、楚格州、苏黎世州、温特图尔地区以及苏黎世市。该地区不仅能便捷地进入各大主要市场，还具备政治稳定、监管可预测性以及强大的知识产权保护优势。此外，苏黎世机场将该地区与欧洲、北美和亚洲的关键商业枢纽直接相连，使其成为开展国际业务的高效基地。
The country’s innovation performance reinforces this position. Switzerland has ranked first in the Global Innovation Index for more than a decade, leads the world in patents per capita, and invests over 3.3% of GDP in research and development. Earlier this year, google.org pledged a $1 million grant to the Swiss National AI Institute, a joint effort to advance AI research for the public good. 瑞士的创新表现进一步巩固了这一地位。瑞士在“全球创新指数”中已连续十多年位居榜首，人均专利数全球领先，且研发投入占 GDP 的比重超过 3.3%。今年早些时候，google.org 承诺向瑞士国家人工智能研究所提供 100 万美元的赠款，旨在共同推动造福公众的人工智能研究。
Switzerland’s venture ecosystem reflects a similar focus. Over 60% of Swiss venture capital is invested in deep tech—the highest share globally by a large margin and nearly twice the share of major economies like Germany, France, and the UK. And, according to the Swiss Deep Tech Report 2026, at $1,470 invested per capita, Switzerland commits more to deep tech per capita than any other country in Europe. 瑞士的风险投资生态系统也反映了同样的重点。超过 60% 的瑞士风险投资投向了深科技领域——这一比例在全球范围内遥遥领先，几乎是德国、法国和英国等主要经济体的两倍。根据《2026 年瑞士深科技报告》，瑞士人均深科技投资额达到 1,470 美元，在欧洲各国中位居第一。
The economics of specialization
专业化的经济学
While Switzerland is one of Europe’s most expensive locations for talent and operations, salaries remain at a fraction of those in Silicon Valley. The talent pool is small by global standards. Scaling a team quickly is harder in Zurich than in London, Paris, or Amsterdam. For early-stage companies that need to hire fast and burn lean, that trade-off is real. For companies building specialized AI capabilities, however, the equation works: The objective is to assemble the right team, not the largest one. 尽管瑞士是欧洲人才和运营成本最高的地区之一，但其薪资水平仍仅为硅谷的一小部分。按全球标准衡量，这里的人才库规模较小。在苏黎世快速扩张团队比在伦敦、巴黎或阿姆斯特丹更难。对于需要快速招聘且精简运营的初创公司来说，这种权衡是现实存在的。然而，对于构建专业化人工智能能力的公司而言，这个逻辑是成立的：目标是组建最合适的团队，而不是最大的团队。
Switzerland’s economy is built around high-value, knowledge-intensive work. Productivity is among the highest in the world, and companies concentrate on functions that depend on specialized expertise rather than large workforces. For companies developing advanced AI capabilities, cost is often weighed against factors that are harder to replicate elsewhere: direct access to leading universities and research institutions, regulatory stability, and a quality of life that helps attract and retain skilled international talent. 瑞士的经济建立在高价值、知识密集型工作的基础上。其生产力位居世界前列，企业专注于依赖专业知识而非庞大劳动力的职能。对于开发先进人工智能能力的公司来说，成本往往会与那些在其他地方难以复制的因素进行权衡：即直接接触顶尖大学和研究机构、监管稳定性，以及有助于吸引和留住国际技术人才的高质量生活。
A high-density AI ecosystem
高密度的人工智能生态系统
Within Switzerland, the Greater Zurich Area concentrates many of the ingredients required to build and deploy AI systems. The defining characteristic of this region is density. Many of the world’s leading AI companies, research institutions, investors, and startups operate in close proximity, creating connections between talent, capital, and ideas. 在瑞士境内，大苏黎世区汇集了构建和部署人工智能系统所需的许多要素。该地区最显著的特征就是“密度”。许多全球领先的人工智能公司、研究机构、投资者和初创企业都在近距离内运作，从而在人才、资本和创意之间建立了紧密的联系。
For example, Google engineers teach at ETH Zurich. ETH graduates join companies such as Anthropic. Researchers launch startups, while former employees of global technology firms go on to found new ventures of their own. Investors, founders, academics, and corporate teams encounter each other repeatedly through shared networks, industry events, and professional circles. In a region of this size, collaboration often happens less through formal introductions than through proximity. While talent flows freely, it rarely leaves the ecosystem. 例如，谷歌的工程师在苏黎世联邦理工学院（ETH Zurich）任教。ETH 的毕业生加入 Anthropic 等公司。研究人员创办初创企业，而全球科技公司的前员工则继续创立自己的新企业。投资者、创始人、学者和企业团队通过共享网络、行业活动和专业圈子不断地相互接触。在这样一个规模的地区，合作往往不是通过正式介绍，而是通过地理上的邻近性自然发生。虽然人才流动自由，但他们很少离开这个生态系统。
One indicator of the region’s maturity is its ability to convene. Events such as the Zurich AI Festival will bring together more than 6,500 guests this September 28 to October 3. With more than 35 confirmed events across AI and the arts, AI literacy, health, technology, and policy, it is designed as a platform for cross-sector exchange. Its flagship events, the AI + X Summit, AI + Environment, and the AI + Policy Summit, will bring together internationally recognized leaders alongside researchers, policymakers, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs, convening international voices and fostering dialogue across sectors. 该地区成熟度的一个指标是其召集能力。例如，9 月 28 日至 10 月 3 日举行的苏黎世人工智能节（Zurich AI Festival）将汇聚超过 6,500 名嘉宾。活动涵盖人工智能与艺术、人工智能素养、健康、技术和政策等领域，共计 35 场已确认活动，旨在打造一个跨行业交流的平台。其旗舰活动——“AI + X 峰会”、“AI + 环境”和“AI + 政策峰会”——将汇集国际公认的领袖、研究人员、政策制定者、风险投资家和企业家，汇聚国际声音，促进跨部门对话。
Research, talent, and company creation
研究、人才与企业创建
At the center of the country’s AI capabilities are institutions such as ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI), and Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW). ETH Zurich ranks among Europe’s leading universities for deep tech commercialization, generating more than 40 spin-offs and startups in 2025 alone, helping create some of the continent’s most valuable technology companies. 瑞士人工智能能力的核心是苏黎世联邦理工学院（ETH Zurich）、苏黎世大学、洛桑联邦理工学院（EPFL）、瑞士意大利语区应用科学大学（SUPSI）和苏黎世应用科学大学（ZHAW）等机构。苏黎世联邦理工学院在欧洲深科技商业化方面名列前茅，仅 2025 年就孵化了 40 多家衍生公司和初创企业，助力打造了欧洲一些最具价值的科技公司。
The Stanford AI Index 2026 reinforces that picture: Switzerland ranks first globally for AI researchers and inventors per capita, with 110.5 per 100,000 inhabitants—ahead of Singapore (109.5), Sweden (80.6), and the United States (64.8). And the IMD World Talent Ranking ranked Switzerland as number 1 for the 10th consecutive year, leading globally in investment, development, and talent appeal. Engineers, researchers, and founders move frequently between universities, startups, and established technology firms, creating strong knowledge flows across organizations. That density is increasingly attracting companies from outside the region too. 《2026 年斯坦福人工智能指数报告》印证了这一图景：瑞士的人均人工智能研究人员和发明家数量位居全球第一，每 10 万居民中有 110.5 人，领先于新加坡（109.5）、瑞典（80.6）和美国（64.8）。此外，瑞士已连续 10 年在 IMD 世界人才排名中位居第一，在投资、发展和人才吸引力方面处于全球领先地位。工程师、研究人员和创始人在大学、初创企业和成熟科技公司之间频繁流动，在各组织间形成了强大的知识流动。这种密度也正日益吸引着该地区以外的公司。