The 13th edition of the German Startup Monitor has just been published. Exactly 1,846 founders contributed to the survey, which once again highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the ecosystem. Promising business areas such as AI and DeepTech continue to gain in importance, but the continuing large gap in venture capital and the reluctance of the established economy to collaborate with startups are slowing down growth opportunities.
Germany is gaining more appeal in international comparison: 40% of founders now consider the location to be more attractive than the USA – an increase of six percentage points compared to the previous year. In a European context, as many as 61% see Germany as the frontrunner. The situation is less positive when it comes to Germany's digital sovereignty: 79% rate it as low. 76% believe that the federal government should focus more on European software solutions. There has been a slight decline in the willingness to start a business: 78% would found a startup again, compared to 84% in 2024. 29% would move abroad if they were to start a new business. The main reasons: less bureaucracy and better access to capital.
Financing gap, AI on the rise
Germany continues to lag behind its international competitors when it comes to access to venture capital. In terms of economic performance, it ranks only 18th among the 40 largest economies – behind the United States and even behind European neighbours such as France. Although 5.4 billion euros flowed into German startups in 2025 and four new unicorns were created, this is not enough to reduce the gap. This is particularly evident in the example of artificial intelligence, which is now at the heart of 45% of startups' products. In 2025, AI startups in Germany received 2.1 billion euros so far, but in the USA the total is many times higher.
DeepTech stands for companies with a direct connection to research, a high degree of innovation and cutting-edge technology. 11% of startups fall into this category, and the trend is rising. Against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions, DefenceTech is also experiencing record growth: although only just under 2% of German startups are active in this area, almost 900 million euros have already been invested in 2025 – twice as much as in the entire previous year. In contrast, cooperation between established companies and startups, which is the most important source of income for many of them, is faltering. The proportion of startups with such partnerships has fallen from 62% to 56% and was even as high as 72% before the pandemic.
Here is an overview of other important results:
Slightly higher proportion of female founders: After falling last year, the proportion of women rose slightly again this year from 19% to 20%.
Declining employment: The average number of employees is falling (15.8 on average) and the shortage of skilled workers is becoming less relevant, especially for scaleups (2024: 56%, 2025: 37%).
International talent is key: 32% of employees in startups come from abroad – in the hotspot of Berlin, the figure is as high as 42%.
Digitalisation remains a work in progress: 81% of founders criticise the digitalisation of administration and 53% that of the economy.
More government contracts: The share of revenue from public contracts is low, but is rising steadily – from 4% in 2019 to 7% this year.
