Start-ups in Germany: Growth and Exit Routes via Venture Capital (KfW)

Summary

• In 2024 more than 2,500 start-ups were founded in Germany again, and the first half of 2025 also showed a positive trend.p.1
• Among all start-ups founded in 2005, only 8% have financed their growth at least once through VC.p.3
• On average there are 1.7 years between formal company founding and the first VC financing.p.3
• VC-financed start-ups grow on average more than four times as fast as the German Mittelstand, which adds only 0.6 employees per year on average.p.3
• A total of 986 transactions were recorded in which VC investors exited their holdings in German start-ups.p.4
• Start-ups that have completed five financing rounds have reached an average size of 235 employees.p.4
• IPOs account for only 4% of exits but 51% of all employees in start-ups with an exit.p.5

Key insights

1. The recovery in start-up founding since 2024 is probably linked to improving financing conditions in the venture capital market.p.1
2. US investor survey data show that for each funded company there are 100 further investment opportunities that the investor does not fund.p.3
3. Each financing round adds about 11 employees per company, and from the fourth successful round employment rises disproportionately.p.4
4. From the first to the second financing round, about a third of start-ups succeed, and each later round is reached by roughly half as many.p.4
5. Of the start-ups that chose an IPO, 54% opted for a listing in Germany.p.5
6. Around a third of IPOs of start-ups founded in Germany took place on the US Nasdaq.p.5
7. Exit routes of German start-ups frequently lead abroad, especially to the USA for acquisitions and IPOs.p.5