Upward Trend in Berlin

Berlin, 15 July 2024 –In the first half of 2024, the start-up ecosystem in Germany recorded an upward trend: The number of new companies increased by 15%. The start-up dynamics also developed particularly positively in Berlin. With 28% of new companies, the Spree metropolis secures a firm place in the top 5. More specifically: Berlin was in an exciting neck-and-neck race with Munich and was only narrowly beaten by the Bavarian capital in terms of start-ups per capita.

Further figures from the report series “Next generation – New start-ups in Germany” published by the Start-up Association and startupdetector show that start-up founding is not a competition within the country, but rather an important economic factor. This is because the positive trend in start-ups can be seen almost throughout the entire country and therefore not only in the metropolises, but also in regions and cities that, unlike Berlin and Munich, were not previously known as start-up hotspots. Aachen, Darmstadt and Heidelberg are represented in the top 5 ranking of the strongest start-up cities per capita. Cities that are considered research-related start-up locations and make the broad distribution of start-ups in Germany (more) visible. In general, locations with a focus on higher education and research are becoming key drivers of the German start-up ecosystem due to the increasing density of start-ups. The figure mentioned in the report of 1,384 newly founded start-ups in the first half of 2024 shows that there is still great potential, but also the attractiveness of Germany as a business location beyond the borders of Munich and Berlin.

According to the report, Berlin in particular has shown renewed strength after a long period of weakness. Since January of this year, 265 new companies have settled in the capital. An increase that the authors of the report classify as a recovery from the Corona crisis in particular. The number of new businesses founded across the country fell massively in 2022.

In the meantime, both metropolises such as Berlin and other regions and smaller cities can be satisfied with the positive development of the important economic indicator “start-up”. A key sector in this context is the software sector, with a total of 302 new companies founded since January 2024 – a record number. It corresponds to one in five newly founded start-ups in the German ecosystem and once again illustrates the great relevance of and high demand for software solutions that are characterised by a spirit of innovation and zeitgeist in equal measure. The number of start-ups also rose in the media industry and in the area of mobility solutions, while it stagnated in the healthcare sector and hardly changed in the areas of cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications.

In Berlin, the local start-up ecosystem is an indispensable economic factor. The establishment of new companies that implement and drive forward ideas and innovations creates jobs and offers both domestic and foreign specialists the opportunity to combine a dynamic working environment with the vibrant life in the Spree metropolis. The upward trend in new start-ups is therefore a consistently positive development – both for qualified professionals and for Berliners themselves, who benefit from the diversity of their city