Unicorn Report 2025: Insights and Demands for Germany as a Startup and Growth Location (Bitkom)

Summary

• Germany has 27 unicorns as of January 2025, often in fintech, e-commerce and mobility.p.3
• Berlin is the clear unicorn hub with 56 percent of German unicorns.p.3
• Almost 71 percent of surveyed unicorn founders are pessimistic about Germany as a tech location, while 29 percent expect improvement within 12 months.p.4
• Almost 41 percent of surveyed unicorn founders do not feel sufficiently valued.p.5
• Only 47 percent would found again in Germany, while 24 percent would prefer the USA.p.5
• 76 percent name bureaucracy reduction among their top 3 policy measures.p.6
• 41 percent stress the importance of a harmonised EU single market.p.7

Key insights

1. 12 percent of founders would found again in another EU country and 12 percent elsewhere in the world.p.5
2. 41 percent name easier market access through further EU single market harmonisation as a top 3 measure.p.6
3. 35 percent call for simplified recruitment of skilled workers through digitised visa procedures.p.6
4. 35 percent call for more growth capital provided by institutional investors.p.6
5. 24 percent call for faster testing of innovations through real-world labs.p.6
6. 12 percent call for more attractive IPOs by strengthening the German public capital market.p.6
7. The survey covers 17 unicorn founders and was conducted from December 2024 to January 2025.p.2
8. Only one German unicorn was co-founded by a woman.p.3