Start-up News | November 2025

Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Reiche’s Plans to Double Start-up Funding

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche recently announced plans to double start-up funding volume generated through the WIN (“Growth and Innovation Capital for Germany”) program to EUR 25 billion. Launched just over a year ago by the previous administration, the WIN public-private program was established to boost the country’s competitiveness by improving start-up access to venture capital by mobilizing EUR 12 billion in capital by 2030. Government security guarantees are expected to help attract significantly more private sector capital than would otherwise be the case. Technology sectors are clear priority areas, with AI, biotech, climate-friendly technologies and the defense sector being foregrounded in particular. 

Minister Outlines “Start-up Agenda” at German Startup Awards 

Speaking in front of 500 invited guests at this year’s German Startup Awards in Berlin, Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche outlined her start-up vision to improve the conditions for business start-ups in Germany. Central pillars of the minister’s policy are the need for a “one-stop shop” solution for business formation, a “work and stay agency” to facilitate the immigration of much-needed skilled workers and the necessity of English as an official language in the responsible agencies to support international start-ups. 

German Startup Awards 2025

The great and the good came together for the sixth time to pay tribute to excellence and innovation in Germany’s start-up scene at this year’s German Startup Awards. Awarded by the German Startup Association, the German Startup Awards honors outstanding individuals and companies in the country’s highly diversified start-up landscape. The “Newcomer of the Year” Awards were made to Ghazaleh Madani of Canchip, a Potsdam-based start-up that analyzes patient-specific tumor cells on microchips, and Francesco Sciortino of Proxima Fusion for advances in nuclear fusion. Other winners included “Founder of the Year” category winners Irene Klemm for Edurino, a platform that provides digital support to preschool aged children, and Daniel Khacab for Choco, a platform created to streamline food supply chains. 

Federal Government Supports Defense Start-ups

The Federal Ministry of Defense is planning a new funding program for DefenseTech start-ups aimed at reducing regulatory hurdles. Young companies in the defense sector will gain easier access to public contracts and benefit from accelerated approval processes. The program also includes the establishment of dedicated advisory units for start-ups developing technologies for military applications. In July, Germany’s federal government approved a draft law seeking to accelerate planning and public procurement for the Bundeswehr. The Bundeswehr Procurement Acceleration Act was jointly prepared by the Federal Ministry of Defense and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Six German AI Start-ups Among Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies

Six German AI start-ups number among Europe’s fastest growing companies according to the latest Sifted 250 list. Germany’s top performers include Tl;dv (AI meeting assistant), Frontnow (generative AI retail solution), N8n (AI workflow automation), Neura Robotics (cognitive robotics), Deepset (custom AI solutions, agents, and LLM applications), and Fratch (AI recruitment tool). 

Hamburg Seeks to Become Germany’s Second DeepTech Hotspot 

The northern port city of Hamburg is hoping to become Germany’s second DeepTech hotspot after Munich with the construction of a new start-up factory. The “Impossible Founders” start-up factory was the recent recipient of EUR 50 million in funding as one of 10 EXIST Startup Factory Program winners. The Hamburg project will receive EUR 10 million directly from the federal government with an additional EUR 40 million being provided by Hamburg-based foundations and companies participating in the joint application alongside universities and research institutions from the city and metropolitan region. The new start-up factory, which began its official operations on October 1, will specifically support innovative academic spin-offs in the deeptech sector and be located in the city’s historical Speicherstadt district.