11-03-2025
What are Germany's highest valued start-ups?
The number of start-ups with a value over €1 billion has more than doubled in the last five years, according to data from Germany's Start-up Association (Startup-Verband) that was shared with the German Press Agency.
Start-ups - that is new businesses that are not listed on the stock exchange - that reach a valuation of at least one billion euros are called 'unicorns' within the industry.
At the end of 2019 Germany was home to 11 unicorns, and by the end of 2024 it was home to 28.
But that number has come down since 2023, when there was 34.
That the number of billion-euro companies has grown seems to suggest that investors are still ready to shell out serious money for German-based companies, at least within certain industries.
What are Germany's highest valued start-ups?
The most valuable start-ups in Germany currently include long-distance bus operator Flix, the AI translation service DeepL, the neobroker Trade Republic, the arms company Helsing, the software company Celonis and the digital banking service N26.
Among these artificial intelligence (AI) and weapons stand out as the industries that investors are favouring at the moment.
Hendrik Brandis, co-founder of the venture capital firm Earlybird told DPA, "The reason for the increasing number of unicorns is technological innovations, including AI and cloud computing, which are accelerating exponentially."
Business isn't booming for everyone
But while the number of unicorns is growing, Brandis suggests that investors' sentiment was more euphoric five years ago.
"In difficult times, the money is also concentrated on the big players who have already proven themselves," he added.
During the Covid pandemic, start-ups had benefited from a digitisation boom and low interest rates. Since then, interest rates have risen, and many growth companies have run into financial difficulties.
Some start-ups cut jobs, others filed for bankruptcy, such as the electric aircraft manufacturer Lilium.
Industries that benefited from Covid restrictions, like delivery services, have also taken a tremendous hit with previous unicorns like Gorillas and Getir cutting their staff and services in Germany in recent years.
Germany's start-up scene looks firmly established
Overall it's fair to say that Germany has made strides to become a more alluring start-up location in the past five years.
The financing environment has improved with falling key interest rates, according to the KfW development bank, which coordinates an initiative by corporations to raise more venture capital.
According to consulting firm EY, German start-ups raised a good seven billion euros in venture capital in 2024, almost one billion more than in the previous year.
With reporting by DPA.
