DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) 2022

1. 1. Germany loves SaaS, fintech, digital health

   → With Germany’s early startup successes coming from ecommerce and mobility, its present unicorn crop — plus many of those striving to hit the $1bn mark — has set its sights on sectors like B2B SaaS and fintech, while digital health has provided a number of contenders at the earlier stages.

   → Startups based in Berlin raked in 60% of total funding in 2021, followed by those based in Bavaria (leading for SaaS and mobility funding), Baden- Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

2. 2. Austria, the shy unicorn-whisperer

   → With the belated arrival of its first unicorns (Bitpanda and GoStudent) last year, Austria is now vying to catch up with its neighbours. Some of its biggest startups are online marketplaces, and more bright sparks are emerging in the fields of proptech and healthtech.

   → Vienna is home to nearly half of the country’s startups, followed by Upper Austria, Styria and Lower Austria.

3. 3. Switzerland’s a biotech boss — and fancies a little crypto on the side

   → With Switzerland at the top of the Global Innovation Index, its startups have historically bossed biotech and medtech, with the country’s spinouts among the best capitalised in Europe (second only to the UK). Other sectors that are growing in profile include fintech, crypto and B2B SaaS.

   → While startups based in Zurich and Vaud — close to universities like ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne — accounted for 61% of total funding in 2021, other notable locations include Basel and Zug (Switzerland’s “Crypto Valley”).

DACH's leading pre-Series A startups (all published data verified) We identify companies as ‘rising stars’ using a number of criteria including founder backgrounds, investor track record, funding and valuation, and growth signals

Who early stage startups are up against