Switzerland Backs High-Tech Growth in Regional Cities Through Sector-Focused Coworking Hubs

Swiss authorities are increasingly leveraging coworking infrastructure to develop high-tech vertical ecosystems in smaller cities, aiming to decentralize innovation beyond traditional metropolitan hubs.

One of the latest initiatives is the launch of the Coworking Blockchain Neuchâtel (CBN), a new coworking space dedicated to blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies. Backed by public funding, the initiative signals a broader strategy to use regional coworking platforms as engines for economic diversification and technological development.

In Neuchâtel (90.000 inhabitants), a city already home to around 90 blockchain-related businesses, according to a press release, CBN officially opened its doors on July 3, 2025. Located in the city center, the four-floor site hosts a dozen companies and approximately 40 employees. The facility includes private offices, modular open-space areas, a public-access café-workspace hybrid known as a “coffice,” and a conference room in the basement. The coffice model allows users to pay by the hour without purchasing drinks, marking a first in Switzerland and reinforcing the project’s aim to be accessible and outward-facing.

The coworking hub is the third developed under the Coworking Neuchâtel brand, following locations in La Poste and La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is supported by 85,000 euros in public funding shared between the Canton of Neuchâtel and the Swiss Confederation through the Nouvelle Politique Régionale (NPR) program. The initiative also received support from private sector partners such as Nym and Be-bop, as well as early engagement from organizations like AI Swiss, which will offer regular educational workshops on artificial intelligence.

The strategy aligns with Neuchâtel’s ambition to establish itself as a national player in digital technologies. Between 2020 and 2025, one-third of new blockchain and cryptocurrency companies in Switzerland chose Neuchâtel for their operations, says the company. This concentration has been driven by both community cohesion and a deliberate distancing from speculative ventures, according to local officials.

For project founder Sedat Adiyaman, the coworking model is evolving toward sector-specific clustering. “The current trend is toward segmentation by industry or technology, creating synergies within a shared space,” he explained. The goal is to facilitate collaboration between startups, institutions, academic actors, and traditional industry.

CBN also hosted the 2025 edition of the Paradigme Bitcoin conference, which brought together 400 participants, 26 sponsors, and featured six keynote speeches and multiple workshops. The event further reinforced the site’s role as both a workspace and a public platform for sector engagement.

Swiss authorities’ decision to invest in coworking as infrastructure is part of a broader bet: that small cities can serve as launchpads for vertical tech ecosystems. In Neuchâtel, the focus is on crypto and AI. Elsewhere, similar models may follow, shaping a distributed and sectorally specialized innovation economy across Switzerland.