Sensor-packed hyper-deformable wheels, heating systems, cryogenic materials, batteries: Venturi Lab’s technologies will soon be heading to the lunar south pole aboard the FLIP rover.

In Fribourg, Venturi Lab, the Swiss entity of Venturi Space, is working on technologies that will soon be heading to the Moon. At the helm is Antonio Delfino, a staunch proponent of agility, audacity and risk-taking. His enthusiasm, however, does not extend to the ‘startup’ label. An interview with the engineer-turned-entrepreneur who prefers the realities of the lab to the polished visuals of pitch decks.

“I don’t like the word ‘startup.’ I prefer to talk about business.” With this preemptive strike, Antonio Delfino knows that he has just taken a direct swipe at the theme of this year’s issue. The 61-year-old, who spent 25 years at Michelin, is Director of Venturi Space and co-founder of Venturi Lab SA. He is wary of Silicon Valley mantras. His biggest bugbear is the startup business model in which fundraising and successive investment rounds can gradually erode the founders’ control of their company. Delfino would rather talk shop, technology and, most of all, what comes out of the workshops.

Based in Corminboeuf, these facilities are the epicenter of an adventure that is the stuff of dreams. It was here that the team developed a hyper-deformable lunar wheel that can operate in a vacuum and is tough enough to withstand the extreme temperatures on the Moon.

In 2026, Venturi Space’s operations are set to grow at an astronomical rate. In February, the European Space Agency (ESA) commissioned the company to study several critical technologies for future lunar rovers. Three months later, NASA selected Venturi Astrolab, Venturi Space’s strategic US partner, as one of two suppliers tasked with developing a crewed rover for the Artemis program. Once completed, the CLV-1 will transport astronauts over the Moon’s surface. The wheels of the vehicle, which should be operational by 2028, will be designed and built in Fribourg.

Moonshot

Before the team gets down to work on these new projects, they have a closer deadline to meet. By early 2027, the FLIP (Flex Lunar Innovation Platform) rover from Astrolab and Venturi Space is scheduled to depart for the lunar south pole, carrying Venturi Space technologies including hyper-deformable wheels and batteries. For Antonio Delfino, it is too early to bask in the glory. “We have to remain very humble. We haven’t put anything on the Moon yet.” Only once this happens will the engineer declare mission accomplished.

At Venturi Lab, caution does not temper the company’s intrepid spirit. The ability to balance both these qualities makes the company a particularly interesting case study. It never went through the startup phase but has many of the qualities associated with that world. “What really matters is not PowerPoint presentations, but what we do and what we actually produce in the workshops.” The team favors an iterative design approach: build, test, refine, and start over again, with the shortest possible turnaround times. As the company’s co-founder is quick to point out, “Truth is never absolute.”

In contrast, the company’s business model has little in common with the Silicon Valley formula. The space industry requires time and is extremely capital-intensive. Rather than successive fundraising rounds, Venturi Space could count from the outset on the long-term support of its president, Monegasque entrepreneur Gildo Pastor. Yet, for Delfino, money alone does not guarantee success; new ventures must have “a hard core of extremely competent people who are passionate about engineering and science and do not count the hours.”

Scaling up agility

Agility is also not the answer to everything. The company must evolve as the project matures. Concept gives way to development, which in turn gives way to industry demands. Venturi Space Switzerland therefore obtained AS9100 aerospace certification. “You have to love your technology but must never let this love cloud your objective judgment of it.”

Today, the Venturi Space Group can rely on a Fribourg-based multidisciplinary team of 40 experts. For Delfino, who has lived and worked in the canton since 1996, local roots are very important. He appreciates Fribourg’s excellent location midway between EPFL (Lausanne) and ETHZ (Zurich), its access to talent pools in both French- and German-speaking Switzerland, and the quality of life it offers. “If there were such a thing as ‘Fribourgeois at heart’ citizenship, I’d take it in a flash!”

The enterprising engineer believes that initiative, risk-taking, passion, tenacity and perseverance alone do not guarantee success. Timing is equally important. Had Venturi launched a decade earlier, he believes it likely would have failed. Launching today might be too late. Being in the right place at the right time also matters. For Venturi Lab, it appears that Fribourg is that place.