Almer: The Venture Leader Mobile leveraging AR to create a seamless service ecosystem

Meet Sebastian Beetschen, CEO of Almer and Venture Leader Mobile 2023. Almer provides an all-in-one solution—the Almer Cloud platform and a proprietary AR headset—to transfer expert know-how to frontline workers. Beetschen and the other members of the Swiss National Mobile Team will head to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of February.

Name: Sebastian Beetschen
Location: Bern
Nationality: Swiss 
Graduated from: EPFL & Tsinghua University 
Job title: CEO & Co-Founder 
Number of employees: 24 
Money raised: CHF 1 million 
First touchpoint with Venturelab: VentureKick, 2021 

How did you come up with the idea for your startup?
While doing research for AR devices in China and at ETH we produced algorithms that both Apple and Microsoft had an interest in, so we saw what they are doing. It was very frustrating to see the clunky, heavy, and expensive devices that they are working on. We are convinced that the world needs compact, comfortable, and affordable AR headsets. But this requires a new approach, which Almer is successfully pursuing.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and how do you think it help you achieve your vision?
I expect it will lead to high-profile introductions to foreign investors as well as potential partners (suppliers, software partners) and customers.

Whom does your product or solution help, and how?
Currently, we focus on the machinery industry for remote service. We enable inexperienced or low-skilled workers to troubleshoot and resolve machine interruptions with the help of a remote expert.
 

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What are you most excited about at work right now?
Just last week, a surgeon performed a specific surgery with the Almer Arc. This shows that what we built can not only help machine manufacturers but many others. I'm very excited to see how people will start using the Almer Arc and Cloud in many different ways.

How did you go about building your team?
The algorithm for building my team was: 1. find and hire a person that can do what you do better, 2. start working on something else, e.g. instead of working on the prototype, you work on customer validation, and 3. repeat. Also, having studied at top universities helps to have a network of really smart and hardworking people.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
Currently, we are addressing the market for remote service and downtime reduction for machine manufacturers. With our solution, the 10 largest machine manufacturers in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria can save CHF 7.2 billion annually. We are also planning to extend the deployment options of the Almer solution to different fields such as the health sector but for that, we need partners with expertise in the respective verticals.

What are your company's and team's key achievements to date?
First, the prototype that we used to test and evaluate use cases with customers from day 0 was so successful that customers already wanted to buy that. Second, we brought the product from concept to multiple prototypes to first production and deployments at customers within one year. Third, reaching CHF 100k in revenue.

How did you come up with the name of your startup?
We originally wanted to call our startup Eiger after the impressive mountain in the Swiss alps. The name was already taken, but we found out that the first human that managed to ascend the Eiger was Mister Almer. And Almer will be the first company to conquer the three killer use cases for AR solutions.

Is there a key principle or value that guides you as you build your company?
Every company needs to create something that makes people's lives truly easier and better. 

How do you foster creative thinking in your team? 
Foster interdisciplinary exchanges. The sales guy has other insights into the product than the optical engineer, the optical engineer has other insights than the software developer, etc. Thanks to these creative interdisciplinary exchanges, Almer managed to develop such a complex product within such a short time.

Among your friends or your team, what are you known for? 
Persistence, making jokes and laughing, and working hard.

What is one thing everyone should try at least once? 
Founding a startup and having sex. Both are important for humanity, and you become hooked after the first time.


Almer's AR headset


Almer's team

The Venture Leaders program supports startups in their global growth by taking top entrepreneurs on investor roadshows in sector-relevant tech hubs. Venture Leaders Mobile is organized by Venturelab with the support of Huawei, Swisscom, and VISCHER.