Almost 2500 start-ups founded / Hanover remains a stronghold

In 2023, almost 2,500 start-ups were founded in Germany despite the weakening economy and many uncertainties. However, this is a decline of almost 5% compared to the previous year. With the report series "Next Generation - Startups in Germany", the Startup Association and startupdetector record the dynamics of startups in Germany.

Berlin overtakes Munich, Hamburg gains ground
With 468 start-ups, Berlin is the leader in terms of absolute start-ups. This is now also true again in terms of the number of inhabitants, where Munich took first place last year. On balance, however, there were fewer start-ups in both cities than in previous years, meaning that the start-up engine in both hotspots is stuttering. Berlin is facing a decline of 7 percent, Munich even a decline of 13 percent. Hamburg, on the other hand, bucked the national trend and recorded growth of 10 percent.

Strong research ecosystems on the rise
The dynamism of research-intensive start-up locations such as Darmstadt, Karlsruhe and Heidelberg is striking - this is where Germany's great potential lies dormant. An increasing number of innovative start-ups are emerging around German universities, which quickly translate scientific breakthroughs into business practice. Further strengthening this development is particularly important in view of Germany's role as a deep-tech location.

Regions beyond the hotspots are becoming more important
Even though a third of all German start-ups take place in the major cities of Berlin, Munich and Hamburg, their share has fallen continuously since 2019. Regional states such as Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony and Saxony will see broad-based growth in 2023. This underlines the increasing importance of regions beyond the established startup hotspots.

Software leads the way, weak consumer climate hits food & eCommerce
The decline in new start-ups is evident in almost all sectors, with the food and eCommerce sectors particularly affected by the weak consumer climate. In contrast, the software sector is up 21% compared to 2022 - companies and customers are apparently hoping for digitalization boosts and efficiency gains here. The strong increase in the energy sector is also noteworthy; despite a complex and heavily regulated market, startups are bringing new momentum to the energy transition.

Magdalena Oehl (Deputy Chairwoman of the Startup Association):
"It is impressive that almost 2,500 startups were founded in Germany despite global crises and increasing uncertainty. However, the decline also shows us how difficult the financing environment currently is - especially in the capital-intensive hotspots. Germany needs to develop a stronger start-up and entrepreneurial spirit right now. If we make more capital available and promote company spin-offs from research, our economy will benefit even more from the innovative power of its start-ups."

Arnas Bräutigam (Co-Founder startupdetector):
"Space wins - there are great treasures lying dormant in Germany's regions. This is demonstrated by the high level of activity around research-intensive start-up locations. However, the strength of the area is currently still too strongly driven by individual hotspots such as Munich in Bavaria or Dresden and Leipzig in Saxony. Rural regions, on the other hand, are struggling. So we need to effectively strengthen regional startup ecosystems and networks."

Source: Startup Association