You should know these 36 German hopefuls

Vivatech has selected the " Top 100 Rising European Startups " – and Germany clearly leads the ranking with 36 startups, ahead of France (22) and Great Britain (17). Berlin is particularly well represented: Around half of the German rising stars come from the capital, followed by nine startups from Munich. This is no coincidence, as both cities are among the ten best-funded technology locations in Europe. Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence dominates the German field, closely followed by logistics startups. Among the 36 German hopefuls are four unicorns. We introduce them all to you.

• Location : Hamburg
• Industry : Climate Tech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founder : Philipp Schröder

The goal of former Tesla executive and current 1Komma5° founder Philipp Schröder is clear: to create a virtual power plant in Germany, beyond electricity companies like Eon or Vattenfall. Using an energy manager, the startup networks solar systems, energy storage systems, and heat pumps, which it previously installed at customers' locations. To at least partially offset the shortage of installers and electricians, 1Komma5° is acquiring corresponding businesses in exchange for company shares and cash. The company became a unicorn in June 2023 after a €215 million round of financing .

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Bianca Anghelina, Sara Bisbe and Christoph Schmitt

Aily Labs is a Munich-based AI startup developing a mobile decision intelligence app for companies. Using AI, the app processes corporate data and is designed to provide executives with personalized recommendations for business decisions in real time. In 2023, Aily Labs raised €19 million in a Series A round to expand internationally. The round was led by Insight Partners.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Proptech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Paul Bäumler and Constantin Schröder

Founded in 2021, Arbio is a Berlin-based proptech startup specializing in AI-powered vacation rental management. The company offers vacation property owners a variety of services, including dynamic pricing, automated accounting, 24/7 guest communication, and predictive maintenance. Its proprietary platform, "Nexus," uses artificial intelligence to automate operational processes and increase profitability. Arbio claims to manage 700 apartments in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, and Leipzig.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Defence Tech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Marc Wietfeld, Maximilian Wied and Stefan Roebel

Arx Robotics is one of the leading providers of unmanned ground vehicles in Europe. The defense tech startup's robot platforms are deployed in six European armies, including those in Germany, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Ukraine, in particular, relies heavily on the Munich-based technology – Arx Robotics delivered the largest Western UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) fleet to the war zone to date. At the heart of the business model are AI-supported unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) with payloads of up to 500 kilograms for both military and civilian deployment scenarios. The systems can perform high-risk tasks ranging from mine clearance to the evacuation of wounded soldiers from combat zones.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Health Tech
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Christian Albrecht, Nicolas Jakob and Sebastian Krammer

Avelios Medical is a Munich-based health tech startup that has developed modular hospital software. The platform digitizes all clinical and administrative processes – from patient admission and treatment to billing – and automatically generates structured data points. This database enables the use of AI, big data, and business intelligence for process optimization and research. In February 2025, the founders raised €30 million in a Series A financing round. The round was led by the renowned US VC Sequoia Capital.

• Location : Freiburg
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence
• Year of foundation : 2024
• Founders : Robin Rombach, Andreas Blattmann and Axel Sauer

Black Forest Labs has developed an image generator that can create photorealistic images. Similar to ChatGPT or other AIs, you enter a prompt, and the AI ​​then creates the desired image. The AI ​​startup is headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau. However, Black Forest Labs was founded in the USA, with its official headquarters in Delaware. The founders, Robin Rombach, Andreas Blattmann, and Patrick Esser, studied together at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In an initial financing round, Black Forest Labs secured 29 million euros. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. According to experts, the quality of Black Forest Labs' text-to-image AI surpassed that of its US competitors OpenAI and Midjourney. The startup subsequently entered into a collaboration with Elon Musk's xAI . This collaboration was apparently terminated, asSifted reports.

Citing insiders, the report states that Musk's company has now developed its own image generation models and no longer needs Black Forest Labs. Exactly how and when the partnership ended remains unclear. The German startup had previously developed a tool for Musk's chatbot Grok.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Conversational Commerce
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Artjem Weissbeck and Andreas Tussing

Charles is a conversational commerce platform for brands and companies. "Conversational commerce" means that companies use messaging services and chats to offer their products or services. According to Charles, companies such as VW, About You, Snocks, and Westwing use its customized chat software.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : HR Tech
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founders : Yannis and Matti Niebelschütz

Founded in Berlin in 2019, the startup provides video coaches to employees of companies who pay for the service. Since acquiring its French competitor Moovone in 2021, Coachhub claims to be the European market leader in this segment. Investors include Sofina and Softbank, as well as Draper Esprit, the VC firm of Silicon Valley financier Tim Draper, HV Capital, Partech, Speedinvest, Signals Venture Capital, and RTP Global.

• Location : Düsseldorf
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence
• Year of foundation : 2016
• Founders : Philipp Heltewig and Sascha Poggemann

Cognigy provides an AI platform that enables companies to create, operate, and evaluate the performance of AI agents for their customer service. The Düsseldorf-based company has developed an AI that understands customer inquiries – whether text-based or spoken – and provides appropriate responses. For example, the system helps find the right sales location for products or controls the responses of a robot that advises customers in-store.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : EdTech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Franziska Meyer and Irene Klemm

Edurino builds learning products for preschool children. These include the eponymous learning app Edurino, an ergonomic stylus, and a toy figure that launches the app's content. This figure is what makes Edurino special, as customers have to purchase a new one for each piece of learning content. This business model has already made the children's audiobook manufacturer Toniebox a big success.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Climate Tech
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Justus Menten and Max Schroeren

Enter offers customers advice on renovating residential buildings to increase their energy efficiency. Using a digital survey developed by the startup, customers receive a transparent assessment of their property's energy status in minutes. They can then quickly and easily determine how much can be saved through various renovation steps. Enter then provides an energy consultation, develops a customized energy renovation roadmap, and handles the appropriate funding applications. The government provided financial support for energy efficiency consultations in residential buildings, but this support was discontinued at the end of 2024. This subsequently led to a wave of layoffs , which reportedly primarily affected employees in sales and energy consultants themselves.

• Location : Hamburg
• Industry : Health Tech
• Year of foundation : 2018
• Founder : Lennart van der Smissen

The health tech startup Entyre aims to improve outpatient care through the use of technology. The company develops software solutions to identify and correct inappropriate care. Using machine learning algorithms, it aims to identify risks in patients' medication plans and suggest optimized plans.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Telecommunications
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Dennis Bauer and Herrmann Frank

The mobile startup Gigs, based in Berlin and San Francisco, aims to enable companies to offer their own mobile services quickly and efficiently. Through a single API, companies can integrate SIM and eSIM-based plans without the need for their own infrastructure or contracts with network operators. The platform offers features such as network connectivity, payment processing, tax calculation, subscription management, and AI-powered customer support.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Defence Tech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf, Niklas Köhler

The Munich-based startup Helsing broke the magic billion-dollar mark in September 2023 with its Series B financing – a first in all of Europe. Helsing is the first European unicorn in the military, armaments, and defense sector. Helsing is also a software and AI startup. The startup writes on its website that it is developing "artificial intelligence to protect our democracies." Specifically, the Munich-based company is developing software for various military equipment – ​​including tanks, submarines, and jets. The goal: to make weapons systems more precise and efficient. In July 2024, the Helsing founders announced that they had received €450 million from investors. This now values ​​Helsing at around €5 billion . This makes Helsing the most expensive military startup in Europe and one of the most valuable European startups ever. Mistral was most recently valued at €6 billion.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Logistics
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Franz Purucker, Oskar Ziegler and Leonard von Kleist

Hive is an e-commerce logistics platform founded in Berlin in 2020 by Oskar Ziegler, Franz Purucker, and Leo von Kleist. The company supports direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in efficiently storing their products, processing orders, and accelerating deliveries. By centralizing these processes, customers benefit from improved economies of scale, which further increases the attractiveness and quality of the offering as the company grows. In total, Hive's founders have already raised around €65 million for their e-commerce logistics startup. The most recent €28.2 million was added as part of the Series A extension in June 2024. The company's valuation is said to have increased and is now above the last published €135 million , according to the company.

• Location : Landshut
• Industry : Infrastructure software
• Year of foundation : 2012
• Founders : Christian Götz, Dominik Obermaier and Christoph Schäbel

HiveMQ is an IoT platform founded in Landshut in 2012 by Christian Götz, Dominik Obermaier, and Christoph Schäbel. The company develops infrastructure software that enables reliable and scalable connections between IoT devices and the cloud. As a provider of technical infrastructure, HiveMQ forms the foundation upon which other technologies are built. The Landshut-based startup raised a total of €49.3 million in a seed and a Series A financing round. The €40 million Series A financing round in May 2022 was led by London-based venture capital firm Molten Ventures. Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Finnish investor Illusian also participated. Existing investors Earlybird, Senovo, and New Forge, the investment vehicle of the Instana founder, have expanded their stakes.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Design software
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Nicolas Heymann and Tobias Saul

The Berlin-based design startup offers browser-based graphic design tools for creating logos, labels, and postcards. Founded in 2020 by Nicolas Heymann and Tobias Saul, Kittl aims to bridge the gap between complex professional tools like Adobe and simple applications like Canva. The platform enables users to create high-quality designs such as logos, t-shirts, posters, and social media graphics without in-depth design knowledge. With features such as an extensive template library, AI-powered tools, and real-time collaboration, Kittl targets both individuals and businesses. Clients include Netflix and Warner Bros. In January 2024, Kittl secured €31 million ($36 million) in a Series B funding round led by IVP.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence
• Year of foundation : 2023
• Founders : Lennard Schmidt, Jonas Beisswenger and Tobias Kemkes

Langdock is a Berlin-based AI startup founded in 2023 that offers companies a secure, model-agnostic platform for integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into their work processes. The solution includes features such as chat, specialized assistants, enterprise search, agents, and a unified API that enables teams to collaborate on prompts and efficiently leverage internal data sources. According to the company, more than 40 companies, including Merck and Getyourguide, already rely on the platform to safely and effectively increase AI-supported productivity. The founders' startup is also part of the coveted accelerator program of the US-based Y Combinator.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence / Logistics
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Fabian Heinrich, Moritz Weiermann

Mercanis is a Berlin-based startup specializing in the development of intelligent software solutions for the logistics industry. The platform uses AI to optimize transport and supply chain processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Mercanis helps companies monitor deliveries in real time and respond dynamically to changes in the network. The startup thus supports logistics service providers in operating more flexibly and sustainably.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Workflow automation
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founder : Jan Oberhauser

N8n aims to help companies and their employees automate certain tasks that need to be performed repeatedly. To achieve this, various programs can be connected, such as Slack, Google Sheets, or Telegram. With N8n's open-source automation platform, users can create workflows between different apps and services without any programming effort.

• Location : Osnabrück
• Industry : Food Tech
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founders : Hendrik Sander and Tobias Dürer

In the summer of 2021, Hendrik Sander and Tobias Düser launched their app Neotaste. It was designed to help restaurateurs reach new customers, while also helping people who enjoy going out discover new restaurants in their area. Deals and offers are available for this purpose. New customers can get two burgers for the price of one, for example; users receive information about events, a look at the menu, the option to reserve a table, and so on.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founder : Pedro Gómez

The deeptech company launched as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich in 2019. Its founder is Pedro Gómez, who has developed an AI-based MRI scanning solution. Initially, this will be used in agriculture: Orbem's technology can determine the sex of chicken eggs in just one second, contactlessly and non-invasively, thus preventing the culling of male chicks. The founder's goal is to make the AI-driven imaging process accessible to every industry. In addition to agriculture, these include the construction industry and healthcare. In September 2023, the deeptech startup closed a Series A financing round of €30 million. Venture capital firm 83North participated as lead investor, and VC La Famiglia also participated.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Logistics
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Jonas Boland and Matthias Geiß

Founded in March 2021, Packmatic is focusing on an online marketplace for product packaging. It's designed to help manufacturers find the most reliable supplier and the best price. Packmatic also explains to customers which materials are suitable and where there is potential for greater sustainability. A topic that also concerns many retailers at Zalando due to the high volume of parcels.

In September 2021, the company raised a mid-seven-figure sum. Ritter participated in the round together with HV Capital and several other angel investors, and followed up with a 15 million round at the end of 2023.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Artificial Intelligence
• Year of foundation : 2018
• Founders : Malte Kosub, Stefan Ostwald

Malte Kosub and Stefan Ostwald have developed Parloa, an artificial language intelligence system that can answer telephone inquiries and chats within seconds. The voice AI resembles a human voice and is capable of conducting thousands of customer conversations simultaneously, performing simple tasks. These include authenticating callers, processing orders, handling complaints, and changing customer information. This should not only shorten customer waiting times, but also improve the working conditions of call center employees by relieving them of repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on more complex customer issues . Customers include Ergo and Decathlon.

In their most recent financing round, the Unicorn round in May 2025, the founders convinced Durable Capital Partners, Altimeter Capital, and General Catalyst to join as lead investors. EQT Ventures, RPT Capital, Senovo, and Mosaic Ventures also participated. Football stars Mario Götze and Bastian Schweinsteiger had previously invested in the Berlin startup.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Fintech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Orkhan Abdullayev, Emre Talay and Nicolas Thouzeau

Payrails offers a financial operations modular system for corporate customers, allowing them to build customized payment solutions for their online shops without extensive programming effort. "Our modules can be compared to Lego bricks," explains founder Adbullayev. First and foremost, this saves companies money. But it also helps them retain customers or penetrate new markets more easily. One of the startup's first investors was Silicon Valley VC Andressen Horowitz—and that was just three months after its registration in the commercial register. The VC contacted them on LinkedIn, the founders explained in an interview with Gründerszene at the time.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Career platform
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founders : Konrad Geiger, Julian Lindinger

The Berlin-based startup Powerus launched in 2019 with a job board for electronics technicians and plant mechanics. There's a shortage of thousands of skilled workers with specialized requirements in the industry, so Powerus connects job seekers with companies. WHU graduates Konrad Geiger and Julian Lindinger founded the startup directly after graduating and developed it further a year later in the Y Combinator accelerator program. In addition to VCs such as General Catalyst from the US and HV Capital, they have already received funding from business angels such as Mario Götze.

• Location : Gilching
• Industry : Defence Tech
• Year of foundation : 2015
• Founder : Florian Seibel

The Bavarian startup Quantum-Systems develops vertically take-off drones with camera systems that can be used for civilian purposes such as agriculture, infrastructure monitoring and logistics as well as for military purposes. Founder Florian Seibel himself spent 17 years in the German Armed Forces, including as a helicopter pilot, and studied aerospace engineering in Munich. In April 2025, Quantum Systems raised 160 million euros in a Series C financing round. This brings the total financing volume to 310 million euros and makes the drone startup a unicorn. Lead investors included Balderton, the Bavarian defense supplier Hensoldt, Airbus Defense and Space, the investment firm Bullhound Capital, the Swiss VC LP&E AG and existing investors, including HV Capital , Project A , US billionaire and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, DTCP, Omnes Capital, Airbus Ventures, Porsche and Notion.

• Location : Hamburg
• Industry : Clean Tech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founders : Jan Rabe and Maximilian Both

Rabot Energy offers the purchase of dynamic green electricity tariffs. Electricity prices on the market are subject to fluctuations. The more sun shines, the more electricity solar panels produce. This drives down the price. Sustainable electricity consumption should then involve consumers using heat pumps for heating or charging electric cars . Rabot Energy offers an interface between the electricity market and users. The startup claims to purchase the cheapest electricity at the right times. Customers can view consumption, costs, and the proportion of renewable energy in their electricity in an app and adjust their electricity usage accordingly. The company also offers the option of charging their own electric car at times when the electricity price, and thus consumption, is cheapest.

• Location : Hamburg
• Industry : Climate Tech
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founder : Lennart Börner

The Hamburg-based proptech startup Reneo specializes in the decarbonization and digital transformation of residential real estate. With its platform, the company uses AI to analyze building data to develop customized renovation strategies that can reduce energy consumption and emissions. Reneo offers an end-to-end solution that ranges from assessment and planning to implementation and operation, unlocking both the ecological and economic potential of existing properties. In February 2025, Reneo established a capital platform of €600 million, consisting of €45 million in equity from investors such as Eurazeo and Lakestar, as well as real estate-backed debt financing from Goldman Sachs. In addition, Reneo is investing around €500 million in the energy-efficient renovation of older residential buildings together with Peakside Capital.

• Location: Düsseldorf
• Industry: Sustainability, Supply Chain Transparency
• Year of foundation: 2019
• Founders: Lukas Pünder, Philipp Mayer and Peter Merkert

Retraced offers software for fashion companies to track their supply chains. The startup helps companies efficiently capture and disclose sustainability data to meet regulatory requirements such as the Supply Chain Act and the CSRD.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Robotics
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Roman Hölzl, Paul Maroldt and Constantin Dresel

Robco develops automation solutions for medium-sized industrial companies. Hölzl says these solutions enable machines to be quickly and flexibly reprogrammed and deployed for various tasks, such as palletizing or loading and unloading machines. To capture use cases, the startup relies, among other things, on laser sensors, which Apple also uses in its iPhones. The automation solutions are intended to eliminate the need for complex programming and trained specialists. Behind Robco are Roman Hölzl, Constantin Dresel, and Paul Maroldt. The three engineers studied at the Technical University of Munich. According to their own statements, the basis for their founding in 2020 was research results from more than seven years at the Chair of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. While pursuing his master's degree, Roman Hölzl was part of the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM).

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Social Gaming
• Year of foundation : 2022
• Founders : Fabian Kamberi, Stefan Quernhorst and Jannis Ringwald

Fabian Kamberi, Stefan Quernhorst, and Jannis Ringwald want to build the "future of social gaming" with Slay. This refers to applications that combine playful elements with real-life chats and dating. Their successful apps include Flame, a dating platform. Well-known investors include Adobe CPO Scott Belsky, Alexander Pall of The Chainsmokers, Accel, and Kima Ventures.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : AI
• Year of foundation : 2019
• Founders : Philipp Noll and Robert Göbel

Spread's software is primarily aimed at engineers. They can use Spread's AI solution to develop mechatronic systems more efficiently. The startup's customers include companies in the automotive industry, including Porsche, Audi, and BMW. Bosch and Miele also rely on the software. Its first customer was Mercedes-Benz. The startup's software supports employees in locating electrical faults in cars. According to Spread, this was achieved 75 percent faster than without the software. Two years ago, the startup closed its Series A round. The round was led by HV Capital.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Supply Chain
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : André Petry, Johannes Groll and Nico Bentenrieder

Tacto is building software that helps medium-sized industrial companies better manage their supply chains. The software can enable "strategic supplier management, straightforward compliance with ESG regulations, and efficient and sustainable material purchasing at optimized conditions," according to the company.

• Location : Berlin
• Industry : Fintech
• Year of foundation : 2020
• Founders : Maximilian Eber and Maik Taro Wehmeyer

The company founded by Maik Taro Wehmeyer and Maximilian Eber has developed a tool that supports insurance companies and banks in their decision-making processes. Its unique feature is that it enables employees without programming skills to make data-driven decisions. Keyword: no-code. This allows financial service providers to conduct AI-based risk assessments.

• Location : Munich
• Industry : Spacetech
• Year of foundation : 2021
• Founder : Hélène Huby

The startup develops modular spacecraft. Nyx is the name of its first model, which can be refueled in orbit. It is designed to be launched on any launch vehicle and fly to any space station—and back again. This makes The Exploration Company's spacecraft reusable. The startup will also build the first European spacecraft for ESA.