Building the Economy of Trust: Unlimitrust’s Pascal Marmier on the Future of AI, Cybersecurity & Digital Trust
As Lausanne strengthens its position as a leading European hub for AI, cybersecurity, and digital trust, Tech Tour AI & Digital Trust 2025 brought together top startups, investors, and experts for two days of high-value exchange. Among the key contributors was Pascal Marmier, Director of the Unlimitrust Campus and a central figure in Switzerland’s growing Economy of Trust.
In this post-event interview, Pascal explains what makes the region so attractive for innovation, how ecosystems such as Unlimitrust and Trust Valley open real opportunities for entrepreneurs, and where he sees the biggest opportunities and challenges ahead for trust-tech and AI.
TT: Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud are gaining recognition as a hub for digital trust and AI. What makes this region so attractive for innovation and investment?
PM: There are obvious advantages such as the central location in the middle of Europe, the strong local academic centers and a very highly skilled workforce. In addition, Lausanne benefits from being home to many multinationals and within 30 minutes of leading international organizations. These are the most sohpisticated possible users of solutions in digital trust and AI. They contribute to building the high level of solutions expected.
TT: Through Unlimitrust Campus, you lead an ecosystem uniting startups, corporates, and academia. How does this initiative translate into real opportunities for entrepreneurs?
PM: The ecosystem is working closely together so entrepreneurs can easily understand and make good use of the value chain of innovation in the field. From academic centers – the center for digital trust at EPFL with over 40 labs is a rich source of tech ideas – to incubators lilke the Trust Village, entrepreneurs will find the resources and support needed to grow their ventures. Once they scale, they will find business and investments opportunities within a growing community of globally-minded organisations.
TT: Tech Tour AI & Digital Trust 2025 gathered top startups, investors, and experts. What have participants gained this year, and what makes the event stand out?
PM: Participants benefit from the growth of the ecosystem, both locally and internationally. Unlimitrust is now home to 80 companies from early-stage startups to global companies such as SGS or SAP. In parallel, Trust Valley has also grown its partnerships around the world putting the spotlight on key events such as the Tech Tour. All these efforts mean that the quality of both investors and entrepreneurs was very high.
TT: Trust-tech spans AI, cybersecurity, and legal tech. Looking ahead, where do you see the most pressing opportunities and challenges for startups?
PM: There is, first of all, a large opportunity around explainable and trustworthy AI. As AI systems pervade decision-making, demand is rising for transparency, bias mitigation, audit trails, and user recourse mechanisms. Second, identity frameworks built on cryptographic proofs and minimal friction (e.g., verifiable credentials, DID) will be key building blocks of future trust stacks, especially in regulated domains (health, finance, public services). Third, enabling organizations to share data under controlled, privacy-preserving regimes (e.g. encrypted computation, multiparty computation, synthetic data) is a high-leverage frontier.
Challenges are common to deeptech startups with long sales cycles, difficulties to raise funding, scarce talent in advanced tech like cryptography. Overall, the need for trust must be also transformed into decision-making at the leadership level of all organisations.
TT: Beyond funding and networking, how can events like Tech Tour influence the broader conversation on digital trust in society and policy?
PM: Beyond funding and networking, Tech Tour serves as a powerful convener that shapes the broader conversation on digital trust. By bringing together startups, corporates, , and civil society, it bridges technical innovation with societal values and regulation. The investment programme helps align standards, inspire responsible business practices, and promote credible examples of trustworthy AI and cybersecurity. In doing so, it not only drives collaboration, but also strengthens public confidence and positions Switzerland as a global reference for the emerging “economy of trust.”
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Pascal Marmier’s perspective reinforces what became clear throughout Tech Tour AI & Digital Trust 2025: trust is no longer a supporting layer of the digital economy, but is fast becoming its foundation. As trust-tech solutions scale across finance, health, manufacturing, public services, and AI governance, Lausanne’s innovation ecosystem is proving to be an essential catalyst for companies shaping a safer, more transparent digital future.
We extend our warm thanks to Unlimitrust and all hosting partners for helping create an environment where deep-tech entrepreneurs, global corporates, and investors can collaborate meaningfully. The momentum built this year sets the stage for even stronger partnerships, cutting-edge ventures, and new investments. Check out the top presenters onsite here.
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