The recent Tech Tour Digital Frontiers & Trust 2024 event in Lausanne brought together some of Europe's brightest minds in digital technologies, creating a dynamic platform for startups, investors, and industry leaders to showcase innovations that shape the future. Among the standout moments was Authena's bagging the "Best Swiss Startup" award by our partner Lenz & Staehelin, a testament to the company's exciting potential to transform supply chain transparency and product authenticity.
We recently sat down with their founder Matteo Panzavolta for an in-depth look into the company's vision and mission.
TT: Please briefly introduce yourself and tell us more about your current position and company?
MP: I’m Matteo Panzavolta, CEO and founder of Authena, where we drive supply chain transparency and product authenticity using advanced technology. Authena helps brands make their products safe, traceable, and sustainable.
With almost 20 years in global firms like GE, Honeywell, and Alstom, I bring experience managing large-scale projects and international teams in operations, marketing, and innovation. I hold a Master’s in Environmental Engineering from the University of Bologna and an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen.
I was proud to be named one of Switzerland’s TOP100 Digital Shapers in 2021.
Since then, Authena has earned major awards, including the Tech4Trust First Prize, GSMA Glomo Award, and LVMH Innovation Award for Operations Excellence. This year, we were also named Best Presenting Company at Tech Tour Digital Frontiers & Trust 2024 and recognized as the Best Swiss Start-up.
TT: What keeps you up at night? What motivates you in the morning?
MP: The urgent need for transparency in sustainability keeps me up at night. Talking about reducing environmental impact isn’t enough—we need real, trackable data to show where improvements are needed. Sustainability without traceability is directionless.
Every morning, I’m motivated by knowing that Authena is turning sustainability from talk into measurable action, enabling brands to prove their commitment in real time, down to the unit level.
TT: Tell us about your product – what problem does it solve and what makes your solution unique?
MP: Authena’s solutions fill a critical gap: the lack of transparency and trust in supply chains. Our sustainable tracking tags use rechargeable, eco-friendly batteries, co-developed with top Swiss universities, to capture real-time data on location, temperature, and humidity. This data ensures product quality, reduces waste, and maintains optimal conditions across industries.
What sets us apart is the total autonomy of our solution: our miniaturised tags track and monitor the value chain and provide real-time data without the need for any manual input. Authena eliminates blind spots, reduces labour demands, and lowers costs — all while cutting carbon emissions. We make sustainability visible, enabling brands to build consumer trust through data-backed transparency on a global scale.
TT: How did you start your journey and where are you now on the road to achieving your ambition?
MP: My journey started with a drive to bridge technology and transparency, especially in sectors where trust is essential. I founded Authena to address the gaps I saw in supply chains—limited visibility, inefficiencies, and counterfeit issues. When sustainability became a priority, the need for verifiable actions in the supply chain became even clearer.
Today, Authena is a recognized leader in traceability, working with global brands to reduce waste, optimize inventory, and build consumer trust. Our achievements, including the LVMH Innovation Award and GSMA Glomo Award, reflect our commitment to making sustainability data-driven.
Our goal is to make Authena’s solutions accessible to brands of all sizes, proving sustainability with transparent, actionable data.
TT: What was the tipping point that made you a doer and impacted your vision?
MP: For nearly 20 years, I led Operations in large corporations, encountering just about every supply chain issue imaginable: counterfeit goods, grey markets, quality inconsistencies—you name it. Each of these challenges weighed heavily on the P&L I was responsible for, yet existing solutions couldn’t tackle the root of these trillion-dollar problems.
The reason? Real-time traceability and monitoring are typically limited to cargo containers and, occasionally, pallets. But as products flow from manufacturers to suppliers, retailers, and ultimately to customers, pallets get broken down and reassembled, creating blind spots. In these gaps, products are stolen, diverted, wasted, or even counterfeited.
At Authena, we’re transforming this landscape by illuminating these blind spots with our technology. This isn’t just another supply chain tool—it’s the start of a new era in traceability. Our solution empowers brands to achieve verifiable sustainability, making it visible and trusted through reliable data. We’re paving the way for a supply chain that’s not only transparent but also resilient and secure.
TT: Can you share a story of a client using your product/service and what influence it had on them?
MP: A standout example is our collaboration with NEOM’s pioneering entities, Topian and Oxagon, which are integral to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 in building the world’s most sustainable city. Authena’s traceability solutions support real-time monitoring of key conditions like temperature, humidity, and handling, helping these entities establish robust sustainability practices from the outset.
This partnership demonstrates our commitment to providing value in large-scale sustainable city planning and logistics, setting new standards on a global scale.
TT: What is your company’s biggest achievement to date?
MP: Our biggest achievement has been our role in high-profile sustainability projects, like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 with Topian and Oxagon, NEOM entities, and Nestlé.
Winning the LVMH Innovation Award for Operations Excellence (out of over 1600 applicants) was another milestone, validating Authena’s impact on sustainability in luxury supply chains. Our work with LVMH Maisons like Hennessy demonstrates how Authena can help optimise quality, reduce waste, and ensure traceability for high-value products, proving that sustainability is not just a goal but a measurable reality.
TT: How do you see your company making a difference in the future?
MP: Authena is redefining sustainable supply chains by making traceability accessible, data-driven, and transparent. Our solutions are empowering brands to turn sustainability from an abstract goal into a measurable reality, where every product journey is traceable in real time.
As we expand partnerships with projects like NEOM and global leaders like LVMH and Nestlé, Authena will be bridging the gap between ambition and proof, making sustainable practices trusted, visible, and impactful at scale.
TT: How have you benefitted from Tech Tour's events and activities? What do you consider the best asset of Tech Tour’s activities?
MP: Tech Tour has been crucial for raising our visibility among top investors and strategic partners.
Through the Digital Frontiers & Trust 2024 event, we connected with investors aligned with our growth objectives, gaining insights that are key, as we launch our Series A.
The best asset of Tech Tour is its network of investors actively seeking high-potential companies, which is essential for our next phase of growth.
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Tech Tour is proud to support Authena's mission, as the company continues to revolutionize supply chain transparency and sustainability.
To connect with more high-value startups and visionary entrepreneurs like Matteo, follow our upcoming digital series - an exciting lineup is already shaping up for 2025! Stay in the know with the freshest news from our community by signing up for our newsletter below.
