Financial Times Names Unit8 as Fastest Growing Swiss Data & AI Firm

Top spot for Unit8 in the annual ranking of the Financial Times: the Lausanne-based data & AI services company achieved the strongest revenue growth of all Swiss participating companies. For the two founders, Marcin Pietrzyk and Michal Rachtan, the strong performance provides both confirmation of the progress and extra incentive to keep developing.

For the sixth year in a row, the Financial Times, in conjunction with the statistics portal Statista, has analysed the revenue growth of European companies. The result of the ‘FT1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2022’ ranking is extremely pleasing for Unit8: the data & AI services company experienced a revenue growth rate of 44 times between 2017 and 2020, which makes it the company with the highest growth rate in Switzerland. Compared to the whole of Europe, Unit8 ranks 17th overall and 6th in the technology sector.

Marcin Pietrzyk

‘I am very proud that Unit8 has been named the fastest-growing Swiss company by the Financial Times. Yet the real success is not the growth rate itself, it’s rather the positive impact Unit8 can make for its customers. As Unit8 continues to grow, it’s important to me that we continue to maintain this momentum to win and further strengthen the trust of some of the most well-known Swiss and European brands: companies that trust us to deliver best-in-class data and AI services,’

says CEO Dr. Marcin Pietrzyk.

‘I am particularly pleased that as the organisation scales, we are able to maintain the exceptional culture that we have built with our people. At this point, I would like to thank our customers, partners, and the team at Unit8. This award from the Financial Times is a shared success for all of us!’

adds Pietrzyk.

Michal Rachtan

‘We feel humbled to receive such [FT1000] recognition. Our vision is to help our customers gain valuable insights from data using modern cloud infrastructure, advanced analytics, and Machine Learning.This award is an honor and testament to the trust of our many customers and the talent we have onboard.’

says CTO and founder Michal Rachtan.

Customer focus, hard work and innovation

What started with two founders and a post-It note in 2017 is now a company with over 85 employees: offices in Zurich, Lausanne, and Kraków, and numerous satisfied customers. ‘We have now been able to show in more than 80 use cases how data can be used sensibly to help companies move forward,’ says Pietrzyk. This success is due to a strong customer focus, hard work, a lot of innovative spirit, and a great team – but the location in Switzerland also plays an important role.

Switzerland as a launchpad for innovative technologies

‘Such strong growth is only possible in an entrepreneur-friendly environment such as the one offered by Switzerland and Lausanne & Zurich in particular. We benefit from networks such as digitalswitzerland.com and innovaud.ch, as well as the proximity to excellent universities. The high ranking of Unit8 is therefore also a success for Switzerland as the technology hub and launchpad for innovation,’ says CTO Michal Rachtan.

According to Pietrzyk, Unit8 will continue to grow in the current year. ‘We have many exciting new projects, and we continue to think big. Above all, however, we are committed to our mission to accelerate their digital transformation and fulfil their obligations toward business and society with data, Advanced Analytics & AI.

Click here to see the ‘FT1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2022’ ranking.