The German start-up industry is increasingly becoming a beacon of hope for the German economy. Billion-dollar growth companies such as the AI defense company Helsing, the robotics start-up Neura Robotics and the start-up Proxima Fusion, which specializes in nuclear fusion, provide optimism when it comes to the next generation of German technology leaders after Siemens and SAP. In order for this momentum to continue, a lot still needs to improve for German young companies.
This is shown by still unpublished market data from the “German Start-up Monitor” (DSM), which is available exclusively to Handelsblatt. To this end, the Federal Association of German Start-ups surveys around 1,800 start-ups every year about their economic situation.
Accordingly, the industry is in a solid position – in line with the economic upswing in Germany. However, better financing conditions are needed for all young companies and not just those from the AI and defense sectors, which are currently primarily scoring points. Otherwise, the upswing will lack substance in the long term. This is also due to the fact that cooperation with established corporations and medium-sized companies is declining again.
Ten new unicorns have already been created this year, more than ever before at this point in the year. Unicorns are companies that are valued by investors at more than a billion dollars and from which they hope to generate particularly high growth and value creation in the future.
The new unicorns of 2026 are software companies Osapiens and Camunda, AI company Dash0, car subscription start-up Finn, fintech Moss, defense firm Stark Defense, merger companies Proxima Fusion and Focused Energy, Neura Robotics and battery storage provider Cmblu. Last year, five new unicorns emerged in Germany.
At the same time, at eight billion euros, more was invested in start-ups from January to September than in the entire previous year. The defense companies Helsing, Quantum Systems and the robotics company Neura Robotics raised financing rounds of well over a billion dollars this year.
At the same time, new start-ups rose to a record level, topping the numbers from the Corona period. From the beginning of January to the end of June, 3,053 start-ups were created. That is 52 percent more than in the second half of 2025 and more than in the whole of 2024.
In addition, founders now increasingly feel supported by their universities. Almost 70 percent of those surveyed say that these were important for the development of their start-up. There is now a greater focus on spin-offs at many universities.
This positive dynamic is reflected in the general mood. According to the DSM, the business climate rose to 33.2 points this year, after 31.7 points in the previous year. Above all, the outlook for start-ups brightened, just in time for the important industry meeting “Bits & Pretzels”, which begins on Monday in Munich.
In view of recent events such as the successful rocket launch by Isar Aerospace, start-up association leader Verena Pausder speaks of “unbelievable potential” in Germany. Pausder also combines this statement with an appeal: “What we need is the will to pave the way for start-ups and to put entrepreneurship at the center of the political agenda.”
Pausder cites the WIN initiative as a positive example. WIN stands for “Growth and Innovation Capital for Germany”. The program is intended to improve the tax, legal and financial framework for young companies. The second edition of the WIN initiative is scheduled to start in the next few weeks, doubling the aid to 25 billion euros.
In order for the upward trend to continue, the corporations and medium-sized companies that are already established on the market are now in demand. But it is precisely these collaborations that have been declining for years and have now reached their lowest level since 2020. According to the DMS, only 54.1 percent of start-ups worked with a corporation or medium-sized company this year. Last year it was 56 percent of start-ups.
Eric Weber, head of the Leipzig start-up company Spinlab, says: “When corporations and medium-sized companies implement savings programs and want or need to concentrate on their core business, they often cancel external innovation activities first.”
According to the DSM, the average number of employees continues to decline. Start-ups currently employ an average of 15.3 people. Last year this value was 15.8.
Although start-up investments have reached a new high this year, many companies have also come away empty-handed. Because while Helsing, Neura Robotics and Quantum Systems raised huge financing rounds, the total number of rounds fell to 1,585. There has recently been a lack of venture capitalists (VCs) who were willing to invest, especially in earlier company phases.
The international investor Antler analyzed the numbers even more closely than the Start-up Monitor and found that in Germany only one in four start-ups that received initial financing also raised Series A financing. Antler partner Christoph Klink justifies this development with the declining number of investors in Germany and the concentration of investors on fewer deals.
