ELCA, an independent Swiss IT services group, has acquired a majority stake in Beyond Civic AG, a Lucerne company that builds and runs systems for sharing data between the public and private sectors. The companies announced the deal in a press release dated October 26, 2026, from Pully and Lucerne.
Financial terms were not disclosed, and the companies did not say what size of stake ELCA bought beyond describing it as a majority, inside-it.ch reported.
Beyond Civic will remain an independent company within the ELCA Group, and its founders will keep running the business day to day, according to the release.
What Beyond Civic built
Beyond Civic was founded in 2022. It works on what are often called data ecosystems: arrangements in which government agencies, companies and other organisations agree rules for exchanging data, and use shared infrastructure to do so in a way each party can trust.
The company describes its goal as making data collaboration between public authorities and private companies simple and trustworthy.
The company combines consulting on data governance with its own software, TrustSphere, which is developed in Switzerland and is designed to operate data ecosystems that are ready to be used by AI systems while keeping control of the data with its owners, the release said.
Beyond Civic's software stack, TrustRelay, went through Tech4Trust, a Swiss accelerator for startups working on digital trust. ELCA is a programme partner and sponsor of Tech4Trust, so the two companies had worked in the same programme before the deal.
Beyond Civic did not disclose its headcount, revenue or outside funding. Stefan Metzger is its managing director and a member of its board.
“A data ecosystem must remain sustainable and resilient over a very long period.”
Why ELCA is buying
ELCA provides IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud services, data and AI work, digital experience design, software development, business applications and systems integration to clients across industries. It has been building up its artificial intelligence business, inside-it.ch reported.
The group said Beyond Civic's governance expertise and TrustSphere software will let it deliver client projects faster and at lower cost, and that the deal strengthens its presence in Lucerne and central Switzerland.
"Beyond Civic complements our AI expertise with the foundations needed for trusted data exchange," said Retus Müller, a member of the ELCA Group's executive management, according to the English version of the release published by Startupticker.ch. In the original German release, Müller said digital sovereignty in the age of artificial intelligence begins with data that is subject to clear governance.
Müller added in the German release that Beyond Civic brings the foundations for trusted data exchange that the public sector in particular needs.
The two companies are already working together. ELCA and Beyond Civic hold a joint mandate to help build the Swiss data ecosystem, the release said.
What changes for Beyond Civic
Metzger presented the deal as a way to secure the company's long-term future. "ELCA guarantees the long-term stability of Beyond Civic's specialized expertise and know-how," he said.
He argued that data-sharing systems need a backer that will be around for decades. "A data ecosystem must remain sustainable and resilient over a very long period," Metzger said.
The release said ELCA will contribute its AI skills, technical capacity and client base. Neither company said whether Beyond Civic's brand or team size would change.
Data sovereignty in Switzerland
Both companies framed the deal around digital sovereignty, the idea that public bodies and companies should keep control over where their data is held and who can use it, particularly as AI systems need more data to work.
ELCA, which is Swiss and independent, said the deal advances Swiss digital sovereignty. For Beyond Civic, the outcome means its Swiss-developed TrustSphere software stays with a Swiss owner, while ELCA gets a product of its own to offer public-sector and corporate clients that want to share data under clear rules.
