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After Record year 2021 and its strong fourth quarter, the Munich startup scene has returned to a calmer state over the winter. Startups from the Munich ecosystem raised a total of €462 million in funding in Q1 2022. (We have summarized the most important investments of the quarter in this article). In the same quarter of the previous year, this was only 356 million euros.
However, in recent years, the first three months of a year have always been somewhat stronger than the previous quarter: For example, in Q1 2020 – before the coronavirus pandemic began to have its impact – Munich-based startups raised €649 million, more than in Q4 2019 (€609 million). Q1 2021, at €365 million, was also ahead of Q4 2020 (€329 million). However, the final quarter of last year, with its €1.5 billion in investments, could not be surpassed this time. For all periods considered, no figures are available for some financing rounds, which is why the actual amounts are even higher.
Investment rounds in detail
The largest investment in the now ended quarter was Xempus The insurtech startup, formerly known as Xbav, raised €63.5 million in its Series D round. Second place went to Electrochaea with its 36 million euro financing. The company develops systems that convert electrical energy into methane. Third place goes to Marvel Fusion: 35 million euros flowed into the fusion energy startup.
The largest share of the €461 million invested in Q1 came from investors in Germany. Around €170 million, or approximately 37 percent, came from local investors. A further 24 percent (€112 million) came from investors in other European countries. Funding from the US (14 percent, or €62 million) and Asia (13 percent, or €59 million) played a rather minor role in this quarter.
Number of financing rounds remains stable
Although Munich-based startups were able to raise significantly less funding in the last three months than in the fourth quarter of last year, the number of financing rounds remained stable. While a total of 45 deals were completed from January to March, Q4 2021 saw 46. And there were no changes compared to the same quarter of the previous year, which also saw 45 financing rounds. The average financing amount in the last quarter was around 10.3 million euros.
Exits and new funds in the Munich startup scene
The beginning of this year also saw six exits in the Munich startup ecosystem. For example, the Munich startup for intelligent indoor climate management Tado has initiated its initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange through a merger with a SPAC. And the augmented reality startup Reflect was acquired by the US company PTC. Kumovis was also acquired. The startup has developed a 3D printer with an integrated cleanroom environment specifically for medical technology.
The past quarter also brought news in the fund landscape: Three new funds entered the scene in the winter. Continuation Fund HV COCO Growth HV Capital intends to continue supporting the investor's portfolio companies with €430 million in future investments. Bonventure raised a total of €50 million for its new fund in the final closing. Bonventure IV and thus for impact companies. And Golding Capital Partners was able to fill its Secondaries Fund with a total of 280 million euros.
