April 4, 2022
Germany’s startup scene is booming. There was $21.7 billion (19.7 billion euros) invested in German startups in 2021, according to Dealroom data cited by Sifted.
There were 7 new unicorns, or privately held companies worth more than $1 billion, in Germany in 2021. They include Trade Republic, a stock trading app; Sennder, a digital road freight logistics partner; and Gorillas, a grocery delivery company.
There are currently 24 unicorn startups in Germany, according to Failory. German unicorns include Celonis, an execution management software company; N26, an online bank; Personio, an HR software platform; Contentful, a content management system; FlixMobility, a mobility provider; Flink, a grocery delivery company; Tier, a micro-mobility ride-sharing company; Solarisbank, a banking-as-a-service platform; wefox, a digital insurance company; Scalable Capital, a digital investment platform; Forto, an online platform for freight forwarding; Enpal, a solar power startup; GetYourGuide, an online booking platform for tours and attractions; Infarm, a vertical farming company; Razor Group, a consumer holding company that acquires and scales brands; Omio, a price comparison tool for travelers; and SellerX, which buys and builds Amazon businesses.
German startups that have gone public include HelloFresh, a meal kit company; AUTO1, a platform for used cars; Trivago, a platform to search for and compare hotels; the Naga Group, a platform for forex trading; Zalando, an online retailer; Rocket Internet, a startup incubator; Shop Apotheke, an online retailer for pharmaceutical drugs; German Startups Group, a venture capital fund; Scout24, a marketplace company; and Delivery Hero, a food delivery service.
You can view a list of 100 exciting German startups chosen by Sifted here.
The combined value of startups based in Berlin is $36 billion (33 billion euros), according to Collision. But startup activity in Germany is not limited to Berlin; there are multiple startup hubs in Germany, such as Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Dortmund, according to TNW. The German government also has been supporting startups. During the coronavirus lockdown, it introduced a 2 billion euro aid package to help struggling startups.
One area for room for improvement is for Germany to have more local venture capital investors. Most late-stage venture capital investment in Germany comes from the US and Asia, according to TNW.
If you’re building a startup in Germany, let’s talk. At Alariss, we match top US sales and business development talent with global tech companies and act as the Employer of Record (EOR). We can help with your expansion into the US. If you’re ready to talk, book a call with us today.
