Berlin: Where Dreams Become Unicorns

A short overview of Berlin’s exceptional startup ecosystem.

For years Berlin has been recognised as a major centre for startups and is widely considered to be the startup hub in Germany by a considerable margin. In many overall rankings of European startup cities, Berlin is surpassed only by London. However, according to the Start-up Heatmap, it now has the highest popularity score in Europe, beating the UK capital for the 2nd year in a row. The city is frequently found in the top 10 globally as well.

Nonetheless, Berlin’s ecosystem is not slowing down. It has just recently been called the fastest-growing tech hub in Europe. In 2021, Berlin reached a new height with startup investments of around 10 billion (more than the rest of Germany combined), putting it among the top 10 locations for financing worldwide. With the Berlin-based delivery service Gorillas reaching unicorn status in less than a year, the number of Berlin-based unicorns has now grown to include the city in the global top 10, making up significantly more than half of all German unicorns.

All in all, according to the 2022 study of PwC, 81% of founders rate the startup ecosystem in Berlin as (very) good, easily representing the highest approval rate in all of Germany.

Further Reading: Startup Report (Berlin Partner), Reason-Why Berlin (Berlin Partner), Deutscher Startup Monitor (PwC), Startup-Barometer (EY), Startup Heatmap (DEEP), Unicorn Cities (Statista), Global Startup Ecosystem Index (StartupBlink)