ABOUT
A pioneering entrepreneur with a keen affinity for innovation and philanthropy, established the Lichtsteiner Foundation: Richard Lichtsteiner.
The purpose
of the foundation
The purpose of the Lichtsteiner Foundation is to promote innovations in healthcare in order to improve people’s health worldwide. The Lichtsteiner Foundation is a charitable, tax-exempt, independent foundation under Swiss law with its registered office in Berne and is subject to the supervision of the Federal Department of Internal Affairs.
The Foundation supports six to ten early-stage Swiss start-ups annually, each with a ticket size of CHF 500,000. It does not award grants or fund research projects. It does not seek financial gain or profit.
Erika Lichtsteiner and Richard Lichtsteiner
Our Roots
Richard Lichtsteiner was born on May 4, 1931 in Switzerland. He was one of the co-founders of Interdiscount, a large trading company based in Switzerland, which has now become the largest electronic discounter in the country. He was a pioneering entrepreneur with a keen affinity for innovation, philanthropy and a tech lover. These attributes provide the DNA of the Lichtsteiner Foundation. In 2009 Richard Lichtsteiner established a private foundation: the Lichtsteiner Foundation, headquartered in Berne. He passed away in February 2014. In the same year his wife Erika Lichtsteiner assumed his seat on the foundation board and represented the Lichtsteiner family.
