Ideas For Tomorrow – Future Capital Berlin

For the second year in a row, Berlin has been voted as the startup capital. Traditional company Mercedes Benz opened its Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus in 2022, and with the AMBER brand, regional competencies and the transparency of the synergy potential between 3D printing actors and industry will be bundled.

January 2023

With the great news, Berlin continues to establish itself as a top location for startups and established companies in 2022, gaining significance as an industrial location. As a future capital, Berlin is developing into one of the most important economic and technological locations in Europe and aims to be a model for sustainable economic growth. The numerous financing programs, funding calls and investments in 2022 once again highlight the advantages of the capital for companies, investors, startups and talents. They demonstrate that Berlin as an economic location is here to stay.

Startup Capital

In recent years, thousands of new jobs have been created by Berlin startups, over 600 new startups are founded annually, and more than half of the venture capital funds invested in German startups has been flowing to Berlin for years. Startups also contribute to the local competitiveness in many economic sectors through their innovative solutions in cooperation with established companies. The recently published figures of the EY Startup Barometer for 2022 show that Berlin is the top location for founders. Berlin is the undisputed leader in deal volume. Overall, startups received almost 4.9 billion euros – meaning that every second invested euro went to the capital. Berlin also leads in the number of deals. In 2022, 367 Berlin startups received funding and were able to combine 39 percent of the financing rounds counted nationwide. The capital is the hotspot of the German startup scene. In 2022, Berlin startups in the software & analytics sector received the strongest inflow of investment capital with 1.6 billion euros and the most closures with 133 financing rounds. Berlin also leads in the mobility sector – Startups received the highest investment sum of 492 million euros. In addition, young companies in Berlin were able to stand out in the areas of fintech/insurtech (1.3 billion euros – 94% of the capital invested nationwide) and e-commerce (396 million euros with 45 closures) in 2022.

Furthermore, Berlin has been voted ahead of London and Barcelona as the best location for startups and young companies in Europe for the second year in a row in 2022. This is the result of the Startup Heat Map 2022, based on a survey of more than 24000 entrepreneurs. In Berlin, the ecosystem, the price-performance ratio, and access to financing are particularly positively evaluated. The Startup Agenda 2022-2026, published in November, picks up on the positive developments of the Berlin startup scene and creates the necessary conditions for a sustainable further development of the startup ecosystem. Berlin is determined to act as a catalyst positions itself as a vocal supporter and facilitator for the Berlin startup community, particularly in cooperation with Europe and the federal level. The state of Berlin is dedicated to advocating for the interests of the startup scene, for instance, in areas like immigration and growth financing.

Berlin © Drazen – istockphoto.com

Mercedes-Benz + Siemens

In fields such as electromobility, digitalization, and sustainability traditional companies in Berlin are not lagging behind. One trailblazing flagship project has emerged in the capital. Mercedes-Benz, in partnership with Siemens, is transforming its oldest traditional location in Berlin-Marienfelde into an innovation hub for software and a production site for electric motors. This partnership emphasizes the significance of Berlin as an industrial location.

In 2022, Mercedes-Benz opened its Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus and invested a three-digit million amount in the transformation of its Berlin-Marienfelde plant into a campus for the development, testing and implementation of pioneering software applications for its global production network. In the future, components of electromobility will also be assembled in Berlin. For example, the powerful electric motors for the Mercedes-performance brand AMG are now already produced in Marienfelde. The Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus will be the location where the central digital tools of the worldwide production network will be further developed, tested and rolled out in the future. Mercedes-Benz and Siemens are collaborating to digitalize technology, implement sustainable production and shape the future of work. The two companies have been working together on the sustainable digitalization and automation of the automotive industry since 2021. As a leading provider in the field of automation, industrial software and intelligent infrastructure, Siemens is bringing its expertise and technologies to the partnership. The state of Berlin supports the transformation of the Mercedes-Benz location in Berlin-Marienfelde as well as the partnerships with Siemens and other companies and institutions that are part of the excellent scientific and startup landscape in Berlin.

AM Capital of Europe

Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is also a solid component of the industry in Berlin. The newly launched Masterplan Industriestadt 2022-26 continues to feature additive manufacturing as a key technology focus. In 2022, the relevance of the Masterplan for the region was reinforced by a 14 million-strong funding call from Berlin for research and development projects in the fields of medical technology, bio-based materials, construction and lightweight construction, and additive manufacturing in or for space. Actors from universities, research institutes and companies from the capital region have submitted project proposals on these focus areas and will begin processing them in early 2023.

Under the new brand AMBER (Additive Manufacturing Berlin Brandenburg), the bundling of regional competencies and the transparency of the synergy potential between 3D printing actors and the industry will be promoted. The goal is to transfer the results of research into sustainable and internationally competitive innovations.

AMBER aims to be established as a regional brand and to create a platform to tap into available competencies and synergies. The overarching goal is to further develop Berlin into an international platform for novel production technologies using new test fields, leading conferences, training opportunities and cutting-edge research, and establish itself as the AM capital of Europe.