The Startup Ecosystem of Munich

If you want to get a feeling for the Munich startup ecosystem, you have to start with the economy of the region Bavaria. Bavaria is one of Europe’s most competitive industrial regions worldwide.

Among the most recognizable and innovative companies which are based in Bavaria are Siemens, Allianz, Audi and BMW. Bavaria is the perfect location for B2B startups, especially in the areas of artificial intelligence, production & manufacturing, insurtech (digitalisation in the insurance sector) and mobility. If your customers are producers or larger corporations, Munich is the place to be in Europe. The city is overflowing with corporate accelerators and investment arms. You can find the BMW Startup Garage and Wayra from Telefonica, just to name a few.

The ecosystem is characterized by a strong public support system. Organizations like BayStartup help with coaching and financing. Gründerland Bayern and the Chamber of Commerce offer advice on incorporating your legal entity. Digital incubation centers like WERK1 offer affordable office space and an all-inclusive big startup family. Strong universities and research institutes, such as the Technical University Munich, Fraunhofer and the DLR, play a major part as well. All of this makes the Munich tech scene a deeply tech-driven ecosystem, where you will not find much chit chat but many people with a strong idea and the will to build it.

Conferences like Bits & Pretzels make it easy to connect to our startup and innovation ecosystem. Your potential customers can be found at industry events such as Productronica, Electronica, DIA Munich and many more. The city also owns some recognizable Unicorns, such as Flixmobility, a mobility provider, offering new alternatives for convenient, affordable, and environmentally-friendly travel via the FlixBus and FlixTrain brands, and Personio, a holistic HR software for companies from 10 - 2000 employees.