Rhineland Region Transforming Into Manufacturing and B2B Startup Hub
Germany
Rhineland
MEMBERS:
North-Rhine Westphalia State Government
Rhineland’s startup community has significantly evolved in the last 4 or 5 years. It feels like a true ecosystem with more people, better knowledge, stronger connections, and a focus on modernizing traditional German industries.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
EARLY-STAGE FUNDING
$255 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$687 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$2.9 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$28.6 bn
Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics
Industrial IoT developer Cumulocity was acquired by Software AG in 2017. Silexica, an industry software company, raised $18 million in a Series B round in 2018. An electric car factory was opened by e.go, one of the numerous spin offs from the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University, which focuses on research and innovation in production engineering.
B2B, Enterprise Solutions
Most startups in Rhineland are targeting B2B Customers. Rhineland is home to many multinational corporations, such as Deutsche Telekom, Henkel, Metro, Bayer, Deutsche Post DHL Group. Success stories include LeanIX, offering a SaaS for enterprise architecture, which raised $30 million in a Series C round in 2018. Instana, founded in Rhineland, raised a $30 million Series C round in 2018.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Rhineland
B2B Customer Density
20% of the DAX-listed companies are based in Rhineland.
COVID-19 Policy
Germany’s “Kurzarbeit” wage subsidy scheme allows businesses to prevent layoffs in times of economic downturn. Under this scheme, the government covers 60% the difference of the employee’s salary, thereby allowing staff to remain on the job at reduced hours and salary.
Capital
High-Tech-Gründerfonds, the largest seed fund in Germany, has invested around $1.1 billion since 2005.
Research institutions
The regional universities have 10 of the 57 German clusters of excellence. There are many initiatives for founders to tap into incubation, acceleration and corporate collaboration opportunities.
Selected Startup Organizations
Startup Genome Members
MEMBER
North-Rhine Westphalia State Government
1stMOVER
Agile Accelerator
Axa Startup Center
BLSW
Capnamic Ventures
Coparion
Digital Innovation Hub Düsseldorf/Rheinland GmbH
Founders Institute
Future Champions Accelerator
Gateway Gründungsservice der Universität zu Köln
Getstarted, Bitkom
Gründerzentrum RWTH Aachen
HEADQUARTER[S] Cologne
High-Tech Gründerfonds
Hub Aachen
Intelligent Venture Capital Management
MWIDE
NRW Bank Business Angel Initiative WIN
NRWalley
NUK – Neues Unternehmertum Rheinland
Pirate Summit / Jolly Rogers UG
S-UBG Group
STARTPLATZ
Startup Unit Düsseldorf
StartupDorf
Tengelmann Ventures
Vodafone Uplift
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