On Holding AG's CloudTec shoes attract worldwide interest

Swiss footwear company On Holding AG was founded in 2010 by triathlete Olivier Bernhard together with David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti after Bernhard fashioned a prototype by attaching garden‑hose strips to a shoe sole. The invention led to the CloudTec system, a cushioning design that uses thousands of hollow rubber pods which compress individually on landing and snap back to push the runner forward, delivering a soft landing and a firm take‑off.

The brand grew quickly, winning the ISPO BrandNew Award within a month, listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 and attracting investment from tennis star Roger Federer. On’s shoes are now sold in more than fifty countries, and while small stones may occasionally lodge in the pods on gravel runs, they are easily cleared without lasting issues.