ELCA buys majority of Lucerne data-sharing specialist Beyond Civic

ELCA buys majority of Lucerne data-sharing specialist Beyond Civic

26 October 2026: ELCA, the Swiss IT services group based in Pully, has bought a majority stake in Beyond Civic AG, a Lucerne company that builds and governs data ecosystems in which public administrations and businesses share data under agreed rules. ELCA says Beyond Civic's TrustSphere software will let it deliver client projects faster and at lower cost, and pitches the deal as a Swiss-made option for organisations that want control over the data they prepare for AI.

Not yet independently verified. Neither party has stated the size of the stake, the price or a closing date. We will add them if ELCA or Beyond Civic publishes them. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What Beyond Civic brings

Beyond Civic was founded in 2022. It combines governance consulting with TrustSphere, which the joint announcement describes as software for the "sovereign governance of AI-ready data ecosystems", and it also built a software stack called TrustRelay. The company went through Tech4Trust, the Swiss accelerator for digital trust start-ups, where ELCA is a programme partner and sponsor, and the two already hold a joint mandate on the Swiss data ecosystem.

Its market is the national, cantonal and regional data ecosystems now forming in Switzerland, which bring public bodies and companies onto shared infrastructure. Stefan Metzger, managing director and board member of Beyond Civic, said a data ecosystem "has to stay sustainable and resilient over a very long time", an expectation that applies to its provider as well, and that ELCA secures the long-term stability of the firm's know-how.

How the business will run

Beyond Civic stays independent as a company of the ELCA Group, and its founders continue to lead it. ELCA also says the deal brings it closer to customers in Lucerne and Central Switzerland. Retus Müller, a member of ELCA's executive board, said sovereignty in the age of AI "starts with well-governed data that organizations can share without losing control".

The buyer

ELCA was founded in 1968 and calls itself the first independent Swiss IT company. Its own figures give more than 2,150 employees and turnover of CHF 341 million in 2025, up 0.6%. It works in consulting, cybersecurity, cloud, data and AI, software development and systems integration, with onshore teams in Switzerland, nearshore centres in Spain and Italy and offshore delivery in Mauritius and Vietnam. ELCA is listed in our catalogue as ELCA Informatique SA.

What a public-sector client should ask

A canton or agency already working with either firm on a data-sharing mandate now deals with one group. Where TrustSphere is part of a procurement, it is worth confirming how it will be licensed and supported inside ELCA, and whether the software stays available to projects delivered by other integrators, since ELCA's stated aim is to use it in its own client work. Our data governance software category lists eight products.

Sources

• ELCA: Beyond Civic joins the ELCA Group to support Switzerland's AI ambitions, 26 October 2026
• Startupticker: ELCA acquires majority stake in Beyond Civic, 26 October 2026
• ELCA: About us (read 31 October 2026), 31 October 2026