According to the EY Startup Barometer July 2019, the number and value of financing rounds for startups in Germany have increased compared to the same period last year. The Study by auditing and consulting firm EY (Ernst & Young) on the German startup scene is published every six months.
While German startups received approximately €2.479 million in investments in the first half of 2018, the figure was €2.808 million in the past six months. This represents an increase of 13 percent. At the same time, the deal volume of €2.8 billion also represents a new half-year high. During the period under review from 2015 to 2019, never before has so much money been invested in startups as in this half-year. The increase in the number of financing rounds is even greater, at 19 percent. This rose from 279 in the first half of 2018 to 332 in the first half of 2019.
EY Startup Barometer: Berlin continues to lead the way
Berlin continues to lead in terms of the number of financing rounds. The state accounted for 40 percent of all financing rounds. This represents 131 rounds compared to 126 in the first half of 2018. Bavaria is in second place with 52 financing rounds (compared to 46 in the same period last year). North Rhine-Westphalia is in third place with 42 rounds in the first half of 2019 and 30 rounds last year.
Berlin also overshadowed all other cities in terms of deal volume, with €2,141 million. This corresponds to 76 percent of the total capital invested in startups. Bavarian startups received a total of €204 million (7 percent), while young companies from Baden-Württemberg received €150 million (5 percent).
Most of the money flows into fintech, insurtech and mobility startups
The EY Startup Barometer also breaks down which sectors are receiving the most capital. There's a significant change here compared to the first half of 2018. E-commerce startups are no longer receiving the largest investment sums, but rather fintech and insurtech companies, followed by mobility companies.
However, the number of financing rounds has remained unchanged. Software & analytics startups still lead the way.
