🇩🇪 Startup ecosystem in Germany
The Open Ecosystem Atlas lists 117 organisations and people supporting startup founders in Germany: 51 investors, 9 mentors, 29 programs, 10 media, 11 corporates and 7 startups & venues. Most are based in Berlin, Munich and Cologne. 10 of them are free to reach.
Open in the Atlas mapInvestors in Germany · 51
Earlybird Venture Capital
VC · Berlin
One of Europe's long-running VCs (founded 1997), 290+ investments, deploying a €360M Fund VIII.
Offers: investment
Project A
VC · Berlin
Berlin seed and Series A VC with a large in-house operations team, 200+ portfolio companies, €325M Fund V.
Offers: investment
Cherry Ventures
VC · Berlin
Founder-led Berlin seed specialist with a $500M fifth fund, early in Flixbus and Forto.
Offers: investment
Point Nine
VC · Berlin
Seed and Series A SaaS specialist with 280+ investments, early in Algolia, Loom and Revolut.
Offers: investment
HV Capital
VC · Munich
Germany's leading all-stage investor, €2.8B under management, seed rounds of €0.5–5M.
Offers: investment
La Famiglia
VC · Berlin
Early-stage VC backed by a network of industrial families, focused on B2B.
Offers: investment
Picus Capital
VC · Munich
Early-stage investor with 300+ investments across Europe and Asia.
Offers: investment
Visionaries Club
VC · Berlin
Founder-and-executive-led B2B VC.
Offers: investment
468 Capital
VC · Berlin
Early-stage VC investing in AI, fintech and software.
Offers: investment
Atlantic Labs
VC · Berlin
Pre-seed and seed investor backing founders in Europe.
Offers: investment
Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland (BAND)
Angel · Berlin
National association of German business angels and angel networks.
Offers: investment
Companisto
Angel · Berlin
Equity-crowdfunding and angel-club platform for startups.
Offers: investment
Mentors in Germany · 9
Christian Reber
Mentor · Berlin
Founder of Pitch and Wunderlist.
Offers: mentoring
Valentin Stalf
Mentor · Berlin
Co-founder and CEO of N26.
Offers: mentoring
Johannes Reck
Mentor · Berlin
Co-founder and CEO of GetYourGuide.
Offers: mentoring
Alexander Rinke
Mentor · Munich
Co-founder and co-CEO of Celonis.
Offers: mentoring
Hanno Renner
Mentor · Munich
Co-founder and CEO of Personio.
Offers: mentoring
Christian Hecker
Mentor · Berlin
Co-founder of Trade Republic.
Offers: mentoring
Jaroslaw Kutylowski
Mentor · Cologne
Founder and CEO of DeepL.
Offers: mentoring
Niklas Östberg
Mentor · Berlin
Co-founder and CEO of Delivery Hero.
Offers: mentoring
Verena Pausder
Mentor · Berlin
Entrepreneur and author, active in German startup and digital-education policy.
Offers: mentoring, community
Programs in Germany · 29
EXIST
Program · Nationwide
Federal grant programme funding university founders and research spin-offs with stipends and costs.
Offers: funding, mentoring
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
Program · Bonn
Public-private seed fund and one of Europe's most active seed investors in tech startups.
Offers: investment
INVEST (BAFA)
Program · Nationwide
Federal grant that reimburses part of an angel's investment in a young startup, making angel cheques cheaper.
Offers: funding
KfW Capital
Program · Frankfurt
KfW's fund-of-funds investing in German and European VC funds.
Offers: investment
German Accelerator
Program · Munich
Government-funded programme helping German startups expand to the US and Asia.
Offers: mentoring
IBB Ventures
Program · Berlin
Venture arm of Berlin's state investment bank, backing Berlin startups.
Offers: investment
BayStartUP
Program · Munich
Bavarian network for founders and investors, running business-plan competitions and investor matching.
Offers: mentoring, investment
SPRIND
Program · Leipzig
Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, funding ambitious deep-tech projects.
Offers: funding
German Startups Association (Startup-Verband)
Community · Berlin
National association representing startups in policy and publishing the German Startup Monitor.
Offers: info, community
UnternehmerTUM
Accelerator · Munich
Technical University of Munich's entrepreneurship centre, among Europe's largest startup hubs.
Offers: space, mentoring, community
APX
Accelerator · Berlin
Pre-seed investor and programme from Porsche and Axel Springer, backing founders very early.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Antler Germany
Accelerator · Berlin
Antler's Berlin residency, investing at the pre-team stage.
Offers: funding, community
Media in Germany · 10
Gründerszene
Media · Berlin · Free access
German startup news site, part of Business Insider Germany.
Offers: info, community
t3n
Media · Hannover · Free access
German digital business and tech media.
Offers: info, community
deutsche-startups.de
Media · Cologne · Free access
German startup news and deal coverage.
Offers: info, community
OMR
Media · Hamburg · Free access
Online Marketing Rockstars: German digital marketing media, podcast and festival.
Offers: info, community
Die Höhle der Löwen
Media · Cologne · Free access
German edition of Dragons' Den, where founders pitch investors on TV.
Offers: info, community
Handelsblatt
Media · Düsseldorf
German business daily with startup coverage.
Offers: info
Startup Insider
Media · Berlin · Free access
Daily German podcast on startup and venture news.
Offers: info
Doppelgänger Tech Talk
Media · Hamburg · Free access
Popular German podcast on tech and business.
Offers: info
Philipp Westermeyer
Media · Hamburg · Free access
Founder of OMR and host of the OMR podcast.
Offers: info, community
Tijen Onaran
Media · Berlin · Free access
Entrepreneur, author and founder of Global Digital Women.
Offers: info, community
Corporates in Germany · 11
next47 (Siemens)
Corporate · Munich
Siemens' independent venture capital firm investing in deep tech.
Offers: investment
Robert Bosch Venture Capital
Corporate · Stuttgart
Bosch's corporate VC investing in industrial and deep-tech startups.
Offers: investment
BMW i Ventures
Corporate · Munich
BMW's venture fund backing mobility, manufacturing and sustainability startups.
Offers: investment
hub:raum (Deutsche Telekom)
Corporate · Berlin
Deutsche Telekom's startup incubator and pilot programme.
Offers: mentoring
SAP.iO
Corporate · Berlin
SAP's startup programme connecting B2B startups to SAP customers.
Offers: mentoring
Allianz X
Corporate · Munich
Allianz's digital investment arm.
Offers: investment
M Ventures (Merck)
Corporate · Darmstadt
Merck's corporate venture arm.
Offers: investment
BASF Venture Capital
Corporate · Ludwigshafen
BASF's corporate venture arm.
Offers: investment
Lufthansa Innovation Hub
Corporate · Berlin
Lufthansa's innovation unit working with travel and mobility startups.
Offers: mentoring
Porsche Ventures
Corporate · Stuttgart
Porsche's corporate venture arm.
Offers: investment
main incubator (Commerzbank)
Corporate · Frankfurt
Commerzbank's early-stage investor and incubator.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Startups & venues in Germany · 7
N26
Startup · Berlin
Berlin-founded mobile bank.
Offers: mentoring
GetYourGuide
Startup · Berlin
Travel experiences marketplace headquartered in Berlin.
Offers: mentoring
Celonis
Startup · Munich
Process-mining software company founded in Munich.
Offers: mentoring
Personio
Startup · Munich
HR software for small and mid-sized companies.
Offers: perks
Trade Republic
Startup · Berlin
Mobile broker and bank.
Offers: mentoring
DeepL
Startup · Cologne
AI translation company.
Offers: mentoring
Delivery Hero
Startup · Berlin
Global food delivery company headquartered in Berlin.
Offers: mentoring