Munich ranks fourth among Europe's venture capital hotspots. Only London, Berlin, and Paris saw more venture capital flow last year.
The Consulting firm EY has examined investments in European startups. According to the study, €21.25 billion flowed into European startups last year in 4,199 financing rounds. This represents an 11 percent increase in investment volume and a 15 percent increase in the number of deals compared to 2017.
“The trend continues to point clearly upwards,”
says Hubert Barth, Chairman of the Management Board of EY in Germany.
"More and more European companies are receiving fresh capital. Investment volumes have increased in most major European markets, further strengthening the European startup ecosystem. Investors clearly continue to see great potential in these young companies and their business ideas."
As in the previous year, the largest volume of funding went to the United Kingdom in 2018, with €7.2 billion, followed by Germany with €4.6 billion, France with €3.4 billion, and Switzerland with €1.3 billion. In terms of the number of financing rounds, France, with 643, came in just ahead of Germany with 621. The United Kingdom is well ahead with 1,051 financing rounds.
Peter Lennartz, Partner at EY, sees the good French result as a result of Emmanuel Macron's startup support:
“French policymakers have the clear goal of developing France into the number one startup nation in Europe.”
In his view, sensible support measures include the uncomplicated granting of residence permits, favorable loans from the state, tax relief for founders and investors, and the development of the Paris startup campus “Station F.”
“If Germany doesn’t pay attention and doesn’t do more for startups than it has done so far, our French neighbors will soon overtake us in financing young companies.”
Munich ranks fourth in venture capital ranking
A look at the city rankings is also interesting: Across Europe, Munich received the fourth-largest amount of capital, with €619 million. London was ahead with just over €5 billion, Berlin with €2.6 billion, and Paris with €2.5 billion. This makes Munich the city in Europe without the capital city bonus to which the most venture capital flowed. Munich was followed by Stockholm, Hamburg, and Dublin.
The city ranking for financing rounds looks somewhat different: Here, Paris ranks second behind London, followed by Berlin, Stockholm, and Munich. Here, too, Munich performs best among non-capital cities.
