All data on the Munich startup scene in review 2023 come from our Data & Insights DashboardIf you want to learn more, you can also search the database yourself for further insights.
Last year, €1.9 billion was invested in Munich-based startups – around €300 million less than the previous year. The last time local startups received less funding was in the coronavirus year of 2020, when only €1.3 billion was raised. But while the total amount of investment stagnated, the number of financing rounds declined significantly. From 280 investment rounds in 2022, the figure fell to just 190 in 2023. To find a year with fewer successful financings, one has to go back a bit: the last time the figure was below the 2023 level was in 2017, with 148 closings. The low number of investment rounds also led to an increase in the average investment volume. While the average investment volume per financing round in 2022 was around €7.9 million, in 2023 it was around €10 million.
Investors are not becoming stingier, but more cautious
A look back at the year's mega-investments, i.e., financing rounds of over 100 million euros, reveals another trend. While four startups were able to convince their investors of such sums last year, five managed to do so in 2023, despite the more difficult economic situation: The defense tech startup Helsing received 209 million euros in its Series B, Egym secured 207 million euros, Isar Aerospace received an additional 155 million euros with its Series C, the Munich and Dublin-based charging infrastructure startup Jolt Energy raised 150 million euros and Integritynext raised 100 million euros in the cash register.
The situation is different for financings between €100 million and €10 million. In this size range, 31 rounds were completed in the Munich ecosystem last year – compared to 46 in 2022. A closer look at the average financing size, excluding mega-investments above €100 million (2023: €7.6 million; 2022: €5.2 million), reveals that Munich-based startups in the growth phase had a significantly harder time convincing investors in 2023 – but when they succeeded, investors opened their wallets wider than in the previous year.
Looking at financings below €10 million, a clearly negative trend emerges: While 201 startups were able to secure financing in their early stages in 2022, only 129 young companies succeeded in doing so in the last 12 months. The total amount fell from €176 million (€876,000 per investment) to €141 million (€1.1 million). Here, too, the review shows that investors have tended to become more generous, if they invested at all.
American investors are withdrawing
Last year, the invested funds came primarily from Germany and Europe. US investors were significantly less active than in previous years. While their share of the total financing volume was 34 percent (€752 million) in 2022, it shrank to around 22 percent (€414 million) in 2023. The share of German funds rose slightly from 29 percent to 32 percent (2022: €638 million; 2023: €610 million).
However, European investors at least partially compensated for the loss of US investors, as the review shows. Their share rose from 23 percent in 2022 (€496 million) to 41 percent in 2023 (€787 million). Asian investors, on the other hand—generally rather reserved in Munich—almost completely ignored the city's startups last year. While they contributed €132 million (6 percent) in 2022, the figure fell to just €3.9 million (0.2 percent) in the last twelve months.
Review: The development of individual sectors
Looking back, the development of individual sectors demonstrates the importance of individual champions in an ecosystem in which the number of investments is declining. For example, the "security" sector was the one that accounted for the largest share of total invested capital last year, with €31 million. The majority of this, €209 million, went to a single startup: Helsing. Last year, in contrast, the security sector received only €61.9 million, placing it only 11th in 2022. A similar trend can be seen in the "wellness & beauty" sector: in 2022, with €40.8 million in total financing, the sector ranked 13th this year with €209 million. The decisive factor for this development was the €207 million investment in Egym.
Enterprise software, transportation, health, and HR, traditionally strong sectors in Munich, were forced to scale back last year. Only the transportation sector, which ranked third in 2022 with €341 million, managed to improve. An investment volume of €314 million secured it second place. Enterprise software startups, on the other hand, had a lean year. Investors' favorite in 2022 with €638 million above all other sectors (although around €360 million of this went to Celonis), they had to settle for €127 million and seventh place in 2023. The healthtech sector (second place in 2022 with €360 million, 11th place in 2023 with €71.9 million) and HR sector (fourth place in 2022 with €267 million, 19th place in 2023 with €9 million) also suffered losses.
The total value of the Munich startup ecosystem continues to rise
Despite the challenging situation, the Munich ecosystem continued to increase its overall value in 2023. Measured by the total company values, the Munich startup ecosystem was worth €58.7 billion at the end of last year. In 2022, the ecosystem was still worth €52.6 billion. Last year also saw the emergence of a new unicorn, Helsing—a startup valued at over $1 billion.
The number of exits has barely changed; a total of 37 Munich-based startups were acquired by other companies last year. However, none went public. Last year, the founders of 36 startups took such steps. The most sensational of these acquisitions were probably the acquisitions of Franka Emika, Magazine and Chatchamp have been. (We have also summarized the exits of the year for you in this article.)
A review of the fourth quarter of 2023
The last quarter of last year was disappointing. Startups in and around the state capital raised €359 million, the lowest amount of funding in a long time. The last time investments fell was in Q1 2022, the quarter in which the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The same quarter of the previous year saw €452 million. For all periods considered, no figures were disclosed for some financing rounds, which is why the final amounts are even higher.
There were no investment rounds exceeding 100 million euros, just as in the same quarter of the previous year. The highest sums were secured Quantum Systems with 63.3 million euros, Scalable Capital with 60 million euros and Tacto with 50 million euros. (We have summarized the most important financing transactions of the past quarter here.)
The number of completed financing rounds continued to decline in the fourth quarter. Only 40 startups were able to attract investors in the fall, compared to 60 in the same quarter of the previous year. Since then, the number of successful financing rounds for Munich-based startups has been steadily declining. The average investment amount reached around €9 million in the fourth quarter, €13.9 million in Q3, including mega-rounds, and €4.6 million excluding financing rounds above €100 million.
Exits, bankruptcies and new funds
The fourth quarter again had a lot to offer in terms of exits. Among other things, the robotics specialist Franka Emika acquired by the robotics solutions provider Agile Robots, Moleqlar bought the Munich-based biotech Epiqmax, the Munich creative platform Sessions sold to Triviar, the fintech startup Betterfront was acquired by Equation and the femtech startup Femfeel went to Medice Health Family. There were no IPOs this quarter.
Insolvencies hit Noyes Technologies, Cesonia, and Smart4Diagnostics, among others, in the fall. A total of four Munich-based startups had to file for insolvency in Q4, four fewer than in the summer. (We have summarized more about the bankruptcies of the quarter here.)
The Munich startup ecosystem saw seven new investment funds in the fourth quarter of 2023. Among others, Acton Capital the Acton VI fund relaunched, which is endowed with €225 million for proven business models in the early growth phase. Hi Inov, EOS Partners, Nordwind Growth, Liberta Partners, Generations Fund, and Vanagon Ventures also successfully raised funds.
