THE STORY 
BEHIND SWIWAY

The Swi was born from a simple observation:

The last mile is often the most frustrating part of moving through the city.

It is the short distance between the station and the office, the tram stop and a meeting, or the metro and home. Existing solutions all have their limits: scooters and bikes are useful but bulky, traditional skateboards offer a great riding feeling but are too large to carry easily, and electric alternatives are often heavy and expensive.

Nicolas Delay, CEO of Swiway Sàrl, imagined a different kind of urban mobility solution: Swi - a foldable, ultra-compact mini-skate designed for short everyday journeys.

An industrial designer by training, Nicolas studied at ArtCenter College of Design before joining the Salomon Design Center in Annecy. He has always had a close connection with board sports. At the age of eight, his parents gave him his first Penny-style mini-skate. From that moment on, skating became part of the way he moved, explored and enjoyed everyday trips.

Today, Swiway is bringing Swi to market as more than a playful object. It is a lightweight mobility solution designed for real daily use - whether commuting, crossing a campus, moving between meetings or simply enjoying the ride.

“With Swiway, the idea was not to create just another skateboard. It was to bring the spirit of board sports into everyday urban mobility - making the last mile more practical, more accessible and more enjoyable.”

From prototypes to production:

Swiss design and engineering, made simple.

Creating Swi meant solving several technical challenges: making it compact enough to fit in a bag, improving stability by lowering the centre of gravity, and integrating a reliable folding system with an automatic brake.

The product has been developed through more than twenty prototypes, each tested and refined to improve stability, compactness and everyday usability. Its design combines a suspended axle system, a dynamic braking mechanism and a minimalist folding format built for short-distance urban mobility.

To protect its development, Swiway filed an international patent application in 2024, followed by trademark and design filings.

Today, Swi is entering its pre-production phase, with a European launch planned for Autumn 2026.

We are grateful to everyone following, supporting and believing in the Swiway journey. 

Nicolas Delay, 
CEO Swiway Sàrl