Germany Loses Attractiveness as Start-up Location, Survey Finds
A survey published on Thursday by the IT industry association Bitkom reveals that Germany is losing its appeal as a start-up location, particularly among the most successful founders of unicorns. According to the survey, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of unicorns would choose the USA as the location for a new startup, with 12 percent opting for another EU country and 12 percent for a location elsewhere in the world.
At the same time, only a third (29 percent) of the founders expect Germany to become a more attractive location for tech companies in the next 12 months, with 59 percent expecting it to remain the same and 12 percent expecting a decline in attractiveness.
The most important demand of the founders to the government is a comprehensive bureaucracy reduction (76 percent), so that more time and resources can be allocated to the further development of the company and its products, for instance, for internationalization, as the survey shows. 41 percent want a further harmonization of the EU single market, to facilitate the entry into new markets. 35 percent wish for completely digitalized visa procedures, to make it easier to attract foreign skilled workers from outside the EU. Moreover, 35 percent see a need for better access to institutional growth capital in Germany.
The survey was conducted from the 52nd week of 2024 to the first week of 2025 and included a total of 17 founders of German unicorns who are still actively involved in the management. Currently, there are 27 German unicorns, referring to non-listed startups with a valuation of one billion euros or more.