German State Tech Ecosystem Benchmark 2025

Which German states lead on scale, and which punch above their weight? Commissioned by Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Digitales, this report explores how Germany’s tech economy has scaled fast.

Key findings

• The combined enterprise value of Germany's VC-backed startups grew 5.4x from €71B in 2015 to €384B in 2025.
• Germany has 4,200 startups that raised $100K-15M, 762 breakouts at $15-100M and 194 scaleups above $100M, plus 149 thoroughbreds and unicorns.
• Bavaria ranks first of Germany's 16 states on the combined ranking of VC investment, enterprise value, growth, unicorns, alumni founders and patents, with Berlin second.
• Per resident, Berlin ranks first of the 16 states, ahead of Bavaria and Hamburg, while North Rhine-Westphalia falls from 3rd on absolute scale to 6th.
• Berlin leads on startup and breakout-stage VC 2022-25, enterprise value and unicorns; Bavaria leads on scaleup VC, patents and alumni founders.