Hamburg is strengthening its position as a hub for startups

Startups are a key driver of innovation and economic transformation. They bridge the gap between academia and industry and help to translate research findings and innovative approaches into marketable products and services. In 2025, 203 new startups were founded in Hamburg – 26 per cent more than in the previous year. By bringing together the various startup support schemes, the Senate is now creating a one-stop shop for founders.

Hamburg is emerging as one of Germany’s most dynamic startup hubs, as evidenced by the strong growth in foundings over the past year. With 1,540 active startups, Hamburg boasts a diverse startup ecosystem in Germany’s leading industrial and logistics hub. With the consolidation of financial and non-financial startup support under the umbrella of the IFB Hamburg together with its subsidiary Innovationsstart GmbH, the Senate is now laying the groundwork to strengthen Hamburg’s position as a leading startup hub. In future, founders will thus have consolidated access to funding and support from a single source – from the initial idea right through to scaling up. At the same time, the joint initiative under the 'Startup City Hamburg' brand reinforces the perception of Hamburg as an attractive location for talent, startups and venture capital.

By reorganising startup support, the Senate is implementing the key initiative set out in the coalition agreement: to systematise the innovation support system and to raise the national and international profile of Hamburg as a startup hub. Through Startup City Hamburg, services and support will become more transparent, guidance for founders will be simplified, and Hamburg as a startup hub will become more visible both regionally and beyond as a strong, interconnected ecosystem.

Strong partners such as the Startup Association, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, Startup Port (Hamburg Innovation), Impossible Founders and IFB Innovationsstarter support the shared objectives of Startup City Hamburg and contribute their respective services and perspectives to the further development of the ecosystem. Other stakeholders are invited to join us in future and work together to continuously develop and improve the services and support available to startups.

Between 2021 and 2025, 330 Startups received a total of 79.5 million euros in funding. Of this, 30.9 million euros came from grants and 48.6 million euros from venture capital. Almost half of this funding came from federal and EU sources.