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According to KPMG European startups secured €17 billion ($21 billion) in 1,430 rounds in the first quarter. This compares to €7.3 billion ($8.8 billion) the previous year. German startups received a record €2.6 billion ($3.1 billion) of this amount. In the first quarter of 2020, German investments were still around €1 billion ($1.2 billion). This represents a year-on-year increase of more than two and a half times the amount invested in Germany.
But how much of this money ended up in Munich's startup scene? According to Munich Startup Insights, startups from the state capital raised a total of at least 902.8 million euros last quarter (We have summarized the most important investments for you hereIn the same quarter of the previous year, however, only €634.5 million flowed to Munich-based startups. In both quarters, however, no figures were announced for some financing rounds, which is why the final amounts are even higher.
Lilium dominated in both quarters
In both winter 2020 and 2021, the largest financial injection went to Lilium. Last year, the flying taxi startup raised $240 million with its Series C financing round, while this year it raised $100 million through its private placement as part of the Merger with Quell Acquisition received $450 million in additional capital.
Despite the record revenues, however, the number of financing rounds declined significantly quarter-on-quarter. While 53 startups were able to attract investors in 2020, this year's figure was just 32. This also led to an increase in the average financing amount: While it was around €12 million in 2020, it rose to over €28.2 million this year. Excluding Lilium's private placement, the figure is €15.4 million.
More exits than ever before
In addition, there were numerous exits in the winter of 2021, while there was no movement in this sector in the same quarter of the previous year. In total, there were nine acquisitions of Munich-based startups from January to March (including Innospot, Talentcube and Cluno), more than in any previous quarter. In addition to Lilium, Mytheresa listed on a US stock exchange.
The fund landscape in Munich also developed positively. Munich-based venture capital firms launched five new funds in the last three months, totaling €3.344 billion in investment volume. In contrast, not a single new fund was launched during the same period a year earlier.
