The year 2018 has started well for German fintechs: According to a recent report, never before has so much venture capital flowed into the industry. Some see this as a maturation process.
Venture capital investments in German fintech startups reached a record high in the first quarter of 2018: €295 million of venture capital flowed into financial startups in the first three months of the year, according to the management consultancy Barkow Consulting.
The VC volume was less than half that in the previous quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2017, the current figures represent an increase of €441,000. The average VC volume in the quarters since 2012 has been €162 million. Barkow Consulting counted a total of 28 VC deals for German fintechs during this period. This figure is close to the longer-term average of 29 investments per quarter.
Are German fintechs growing up?
On his portal Finanz-Szene.de writes the financial journalist that the German fintech industry is moving more towards later stages and maturing. He bases his diagnosis, among other things, on the fact that more foreign and established investors such as Visa, BBVA, Tencent, Allianz, Blackrock, and PayPal are investing in German fintech startups. Furthermore, more and more financial startups are reaching profitability. In contrast, there seems to be less activity in the early-stage fintech sector at the moment.
