Reinvent Cyanide Monitoring with CyanoGuard

Based in Switzerland, we manufacture and provide the best solution for safe and efficient cyanide monitoring and management.

Mission

We are on a mission to make the world's largest industry– mining to become more sustainable and efficient. Our reliable, user-friendly, real-time cyanide monitoring solution offers mining companies a way to minimize toxic reagent usage, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve precious metal recoveries. Ultimately, we want to empower everyone to make analytical chemistry decisions with our device – from blood testing to food applications and everything in between.

LET
THERE
BE
LIGHT

Our Story

On August 4, 2016, CyanoGuard AG was born. But the road to its birth had started before, although it was not always so linear. From an early age, the Founder Benedikt Kirchgaessler, had a particular interest in chemistry. However, he decided to do something that he believed to be more practical at the time and pursued a degree in Business and Finance. After working in investment banking for a few years, he decided to switch and started studying chemistry at the University of Zurich. That is where he met Prof. Dr. Felix Zelder.

Despite being a first-year student, Felix decided to take a chance on Benedikt and put him in a challenging, hands-on research project involving a novel cyanide sensing compound. Focusing on ending cyanide poisoning caused by the consumption of cassava plants, Benedikt first considered creating a social enterprise and working with an NGO in that field. This way, cassava eaters could test cyanide levels and avoid unintentional poisoning. He got the necessary funding to create new prototypes for his device by joining and winning a few competitions.

On one fateful day, however, he was contacted by a mine in Peru that was disappointed with the currently available technologies to measure cyanide accurately as none of them were able to measure their cyanide levels. They asked CyanoGuard to develop a technology to better monitor and optimize their cyanide consumption and, the rest they say, is history.

Milestones

2015

CyanoGuard wins an award at the ETH Entrepreneur Club Competition.

2015

CyanoGuard wins the first stage of the Venture Kick program.

2016

CyanoGuard is selected for the first MassChallenge cohort.

2016
CyanoGuard wins second prize in the food and water category of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Emerging Technologies Competition.
2016
CyanoGuard wins 100,000 CH interest free loan from the Volkswirtschaftsstiftung.
2016
CyanoGuard AG was founded in Zurich.
2017
CyanoGuard was awarded as a nominee in the final round of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation. competes in the final round of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation.
2017
CyanoGuard wins a CHF 1.8 million Horizon 2020 SME Phase 2 grant. Under the Horizon 2020 program, the European Commission funds high-potential innovation through the dedicated SME instrument.
2018
Exsa and CyanoGuard start a collaboration in a Peruvian Mine.
2020
CyanoGuard rolls out its first-generation analyzer to partner mines in Australia, Mexico, and Peru.
2020
CyanoGuard raises over 3 million CHF and closes seed round led by Wingman Ventures.
2020
Prospect Mining Studio has selected CyanoGuard as 1 of 15 startups for its 2020 cohort.
2021
CyanoGuard secures half a million from Vimson Group and Newlab's Prospect Mining Studio, which supports innovators developing solutions to make mining safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.
2021
CyanoGuard launches its second-generation analyzer with clients in Peru, Colombia, Canada, and Australia.

Board of Directors

Jodok Reinhardt
President of the Board

Jodok (MSc ETH, MBA IMD) was CEO of Metrohm, a leading global manufacturer of scientific instruments for analytical chemistry. With his degree in Environmental Chemistry and his network, Jodok brings technical and business experience to CyanoGuard.

Benedikt Kirchgaessler is the founder and CEO of CyanoGuard AG. He started his studies in biochemistry and biotechnology at the University of Zurich, where he founded CyanoGuard. Before this, he obtained a degree in business & finance from Hochschule München and ESG Paris and worked in investment banking at UniCredit in Munich.

Benjamin Megerle

Chief Technology Officer

Benjamin holds a PhD in energy from EPFL and an engineering degree from the University of Stuttgart. He's worked at corporation and startup environments such as General Electric and Climeworks. He has over 13 years of experience in engineering groundbreaking solutions and driving disruptive technology innovation.

Alex Stöckl

Director

Alex is Founding Partner at Wingman Ventures, a Zurich-based venture capital fund, and has many years of experience working with B2B technology startups and supporting their founder teams as a strategic sparring partner and by serving on their Boards of Directors.

William is Chief Investment Officer at QdN Partners Family Office. He has more than 20 years of experience working in private equity, venture capital, and strategic consulting in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Our Team

Gerardo Yataco

Customer Success Engineer

Kaja Tollan

Production Technician

Luis Neiszer

Business Developer

Borka Hajdin

Digital Marketing Expert

Benedikt Kirchgaessler

CEO & Founder

Benjamin Megerle

CTO

Flavia Krauer

Quality Assurance Engineer

Jan Gattiker

Lab Assistant

Irina Mostovei

Visual Designer

George Pachoumis

Hardware Engineering

Margarita Zvezda

Mining Solutions Sales

Livio König

Development and Production Engineer