Despite some high profile tech setbacks, such as those suffered by Uber and Google, the German technology sector is thriving. Despite slow national growth overall, small and medium companies comprise 99.7% of the economy, with the German IT market set to grow to over €65 billion ($83bn) by 2016. Berlin, the capital, has over 2,500 startups. Its digital economy contributes over 6% of the city’s output. German ventures are upping their game too: between January and June this year €2.79bn ($3.56bn) was put into almost 700 local firms, beating the same period last year by a third.
Rocket Internet has drawn praise for its incubation of over 100 successful companies – and ire for its alleged ‘copycat’ model, which aims to emulate existing ideas. But what cannot be ignored is the number of profitable and growing startups that have emerged from the country in recent years.
“It’s very exciting being part of what’s currently happening in Berlin,” says Niklas Ostberg, CEO of Delivery Hero, a European food delivery network with over $650 million in funding. “The tech scene is exploding and it’s great to be a part of it.”
These are the most active VCs in Germany since 2009, according to data from CB Insights.
Most Active VCs in Germany, since 2009
1. High-Tech Gruenderfonds
Preferred Stage: Early, Mid
Fund Size: €304 million
Founded: 2005
Location: Bonn
Recent Investments: Opentabs, eGym, Medineering
Notable Exits: Bayer AG (IPO in 2009, Acquired by Boston Scientific in 2014)
2. T-Venture (Venture Arm of Deutsche Telekom)
Preferred Stage: Mid
Fund Size: €280 million
Founded: 1997
Location: Bonn
Recent Investments: Lookout, Boxfish, Affirmed Networks
Notable Exits: BelAir Networks (Erricson, 2012), Ubiquisys (Cisco, 2013, $310M)
3.HV Holtzbrinck Ventures
Preferred Stage: Early, Mid
Fund Size: €177 million
Founded: 2000
Location: Munich
Recent Investments: Quandoo, HelloFresh, Delivery Hero, Zalando
Notable Exits: Citydeal.de (Groupon, 2010), brands4friends (eBay, 2010, $200M)
4.German Startups Group
Preferred Stage: Late
Fund Size: n/a
Founded: 2012
Location: Berlin
Recent Investments: SoundCloud, Solar Tower Technologies, Delivery Hero
Notable Exits: n/a
5. IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft
Preferred Stage: Early (€200,000-2.5 million)
Fund Size: n/a
Founded: 1997
Location: Berlin
Recent Investments: Babbel, Zimory, sofatutor
Notable Exits: AUPEO! (Panasonic, 2013), gate5 (Nokia, 2005)
6. Bayern Kapital
Preferred Stage: Early (€250,000-600,000 investments)
Fund Size: n/a
Founded: 1995
Location: Landshut
Recent Investments: eGym, Crealytics, Altruja
Notable Exits: Corimmun (Johnson & Johnson, 2012), Art of Defence (Zeus, 2011)
7. Target Partners
Preferred Stage: Early, Mid
Fund Size: €230 million under management
Founded: 2000
Location: Munich
Recent Investments: Quobyte, Hetras, Finanzchef
Notable Exits: JouleX (Cisco, 2013), P21 (Heliocentris, 2012), Scoreloop (Blackberry, 2011)
8. e.ventures
Preferred Stage: Early
Fund Size: $100 million
Founded: 1998
Location: Hamburg and Berlin (San Francisco HQ)
Recent Investments: Deltamethod, Auctionata
Notable Exits: kaufDA (Axel Springer, 2011), CityDeal.de (Groupon, 2010
9. Wellington Partners
Preferred Stage: Early, Mid
Fund Size: €265 million
Founded: 1998
Location: Munich
Recent Investments: Festicket, Nosto, Opvizor
Notable Exits: Sapiens (Medtronic, $200M, 2014), Readmill (Dropbox, 2014), Seesmic (Hootsuite, 2012)
10. Seventure Partners
Preferred Stage: Early, Mid (€500k-20M)
Fund Size: €550 million under management
Founded: 1997
Location: Paris
Recent Investments: MinuteBuzz, Mint Solutions, Testbirds, Presta Shop
Notable Exits: Vistaprint (IPO, 2005), Mauna Kea Technologies (IPO, 2011)