The boom is already over: German startups received significantly less fresh capital from funding in 2022 than in the previous year. A total of 9.9 billion euros flowed into German startups – 43% less than in the record year 2021 (17.4 billion euros).
Despite all the crises caused by rising interest rates, falling valuations and cautious investors, “2022 is the second most successful year ever for the startup sector in Germany,” stressed EY partner Thomas Prüfer. This is also reflected in the number of deals concluded in 2022: deals dropped from 1160 to 1008. However, the 1000 deal threshold was exceeded for the second consecutive time in one year.
Startups face new challenges
According to EY, the current figures can mainly be explained by the decline in large deals of more than 50 million euros. If in 2021 there were still 72 investments of this size (33 of which exceeded 100 million euros), last year there were only about half of them with 37 (of which 19 exceeded 100 million euros).
“Last year there were still major deals, but not as many as in boom year 2021. But what is even more important for the startup ecosystem is that the number of mid-sized deals has actually increased” , examine. “This shows that it is still entirely possible for young companies to receive large sums of money with which to finance growth.”
However, the framework conditions have changed at a time characterized by geopolitical challenges, high inflationary pressures and rising interest rates. According to Prüver, young companies must now adapt to this and show a clear path to profitability.
Berlin is still the startup capital
The Berlin startups were once again able to make the most of it by far risk capital collect: 4.9 billion euros were invested in young Berlin companies last year. More than double that was invested in 2021 to 10.5 billion. The situation is similar in Bavaria, where invested capital almost halved compared to the previous year: 2.4 billion euros in 2022 compared to 4.4 billion euros in 2021. Baden-Württemberg follows at a considerable distance (646 million euros ) and Hamburg (€547 million). Pleasant: In these two federal states, the investment volume has even increased slightly.
Of the ten largest funding rounds, six went to Berlin, two to Bavaria and one each to Hamburg and Hesse. The largest sum – 399 million euros – flowed twice: first to the Berlin InsurTech company wefox, then to the software start-up Celonis from Bavaria.