Press Release from 2025-01-13 / Group, KfW Research
KfW Research: German start-ups raised around EUR 7.4 billion in 2024
- Transaction volume in venture capital market rose by 4%
- Deals were up sharply on previous year
- Number of exits increased as well
The past year gives cause for cautious optimism about the German venture capital market. German start-ups raised around EUR 7.4 billion in 2024 – 4% more than the year before. The number of financing rounds also rose significantly. After 1,136 in the year 2023, that figure increased to 1,407.
These are the findings of the KfW Venture Capital Dashboard, in which KfW Research publishes quarterly figures on the German venture capital market.
Businesses raised EUR 1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, significantly less than the EUR 2.4 billion of the preceding quarter. At the same time, however, the number of deals grew strongly to 484 after 327 in the third quarter. Only in the years 2021 and 2022 was the total number of financing deals for German start-ups higher than in the past year.
“The slump in sentiment in the venture capital market appears to be largely over. It is safe to say that this was mostly driven by the interest rate cuts initiated by the ECB and Fed. Further moderate interest rate reductions can be expected for 2025 as well. This could make the market environment even more favourable. We expect venture capital investment at least on the level of 2024,”
said Dr Steffen Viete, venture capital expert at KfW Research.
The highest volume, EUR 1.2 billion, was raised by start-ups in the energy sector last year. This illustrates the unwavering interest in solutions for sustainable energy generation and storage to make the economy more climate-friendly. Investments in health care followed closely behind with EUR 1 billion. The segment of security – IT security, defence and dual-use technologies – also developed strongly in 2024 against the backdrop of geopolitical conflicts, with a volume of over EUR 500 million.
Artificial intelligence (AI) as a technology of the future was attractive for investors in 2024 as well. There were 244 transactions with a volume of well over EUR 1.8 billion in total – making it the second strongest year for the funding of AI start-ups in Germany after 2021. AI is a cross-cutting technology developed and used by start-ups in a range of sectors of the economy.
US investors, who accounted for 30% of the investment volume in the past year, continue to be particularly interested in the German venture capital market. German investors provided 28% of the funds and UK investors 8%.
There were also 144 exits from VC-funded start-ups in Germany, making 2024 the second straight year with an increase.
“There was a particular rise in exits via takeovers. But it is likely that many exit proceeds still fell short of the hoped-for levels. This year, opportunities for exits that yield returns will become increasingly important for the funding cycle in the VC market”,
said Dr Steffen Viete.
The current KfW Venture Capital Dashboard by KfW Research can be found at Venture capital market in Germany | KfW
Share page
To share the content of this page with your network, click on one of the icons below.
Note on data protection: When you share content, your personal data is transferred to the selected network.
Data protection
Alternatively, you can also copy the short link: https://www.kfw.de/s/enkBbm2w.DLoA
Copy link Link copied