Berlin Retakes Startup Funding Crown in Germany

Berlin has taken back the crown as Germany's top state for startup funding, according to a press release from EY Germany. The capital's young companies pulled in close to €1.7 billion in venture capital during the first half of 2026, up ten percent on the year before, and enough to push Bavaria down into third place.

Nationwide, German startups raised roughly €5.3 billion between January and June, a 14 percent rise compared with the same period last year. But the number of deals kept falling, dropping eleven percent to 354, as investors leaned harder into fewer, bigger bets. Deals over €50 million now account for 67 percent of all capital raised, up from 55 percent a year ago.

Baden-Württemberg came in a close second with almost €1.6 billion, largely thanks to a single €1.2 billion round for robotics firm Neura Robotics. Bavaria still landed the most deals of any state after Berlin, 93 in total, even as its overall funding fell 46 percent to just over €1.1 billion.

Berlin's own total was carried by a handful of large rounds. Defense startup STARK secured €500 million, AI voice company Parloa raised €299 million, and Taktile and Flink added roughly €180 million between them. Together those four deals made up 58 percent of everything Berlin startups raised this half.

Hardware and software led the sector rankings, while defense, health and energy startups each pulled in more than €450 million. EY-Parthenon partner Dr. Thomas Prüver called the tech sector the country's central growth driver, while warning that smaller startups are increasingly getting squeezed out by investors chasing safer, bigger bets.