With the report series “Next Generation – Startup Neugründungen in Deutschland”, Startup-Verband and startupdetector record the startup dynamics in Germany. One observation is that significantly more startups are founded per capita in Hamburg and Berlin than in the other federal states – in absolute figures, 27 percent of startups were founded there in the first half of the year.
The core results:
(1) More startups:
Compared to the second half of 2022, startup founding activity in Germany increased by 16 percent in the first six months of 2023 to nearly 1,300 startups.
(2) Reversal of trend indicated:
A particularly large number of startups were founded in June 2023, which is the first sign of a return to the positive momentum of earlier years after the startup slump in 2022.
(3) Berlin is growing significantly, Hamburg too:
After the massive slump in start-ups in the start-up hotspot Berlin last year, the capital is back with a strong plus of 40 percent – the Hanseatic city of Hamburg even with 41 percent – Munich is currently stagnating, but remains at the top in terms of start-ups per capita in the past 12 months. In Berlin and Hamburg, significantly more start-ups are founded per capita than in the other federal states – in absolute figures, 27 percent of start-ups were founded here in the first half of the year.
(4) Tourism winners – blockchain/crypto losers:
Overall, an upward trend can be seen in almost all sectors – the clear winner is the tourism sector (+ 111 percent), the clear loser is the blockchain & crypto sector (- 62 percent).
The continuing economic uncertainties led to a slump in start-ups last year. This downward trend has stopped with a plus of 16 percent in the first half of 2023 – the development in the most recent months is particularly positive. At the same time, the number of start-ups in the first half of 2023 is significantly below the values of the record year 2021.
The regional distribution shows that Berlin’s ecosystem has recovered after the significant slump in 2022. Although Munich remains close to the top in terms of population, the positive trend of most other regions is not evident here. It is noteworthy that in the ranking of start-ups per capita, three research-related start-up locations – Karlsruhe, Darmstadt and Heidelberg – are among the top 5. This shows the great potential of the strong research here for start-up activity.
The general upswing in start-ups is evident in almost all sectors. However, a clearly negative development can be seen in the blockchain and crypto sector, which reflects the current crisis in the industry. The clear winner is the tourism industry (+ 111 percent) – alongside this, the mobility (+ 30 percent), food (+ 29 percent) and software (+ 23 percent) sectors show the strongest growth.
The complete report can be downloaded here.
Christian Miele (CEO Startup Association):
“In the first half of 2023, significantly more startups were founded again. After the slump in startups in 2022, this is an important signal for the economic and innovative strength of our country.
This momentum is not a foregone conclusion, we have to keep it alive with all our might. We take the federal government to task for implementing the measures of the start-up strategy, which will soon be in its second year, swiftly and decisively. There is still room for improvement here. If we make Germany the world market leader for start-ups, it can give our limping economy a real boost.
The high start-up dynamics at research-strong locations show the potential Germany has beyond the well-known start-up hotspots. To make better use of our strength in research, we need to make the topic of entrepreneurship more prominent in universities and lower the legal and bureaucratic hurdles to spin-offs. If this succeeds, we will see many more start-ups at German universities.”
Dr Felix Engelmann (co-founder startupdetector):
“Last year we experienced a historic decline in startups. It is to be hoped that the start-up scene will emerge from this crisis similarly strengthened as from the Corona pandemic. As then, certain sectors are proving to be crisis-proof or even crisis winners today. During the pandemic, new ideas flourished in e-commerce, last year green technologies developed against the negative trend, and now potentials are emerging in the tourism and mobility sectors.
Therein lies the strength of start-ups: with agility and courage, they focus their innovative power on the opportunities that can be found in every crisis. That is why startup funding is of great importance for Germany as a location for innovation.”
About the report:
The report “Next Generation – Startup Foundations in Germany” provides continuous, semi-annual monitoring of one of the key success indicators of the German startup ecosystem. The series is based on startupdetector’s data on startups in Germany based on commercial register data, which has been collected since 2019.
About the Startup Association
Since its foundation in 2012, the association has represented the interests of startups vis-à-vis politics, business and the public. In its network, which now has over 1,100 members, the association also aims to create an exchange between startups themselves, but also between startups and the established economy.
