Europe’s economic and industrial powerhouse, Germany, has been on the startup spotlight from the very beginning. It’s globally recognised to be one of the most innovative and competitive countries in the world, and part of the reason why is because it is home to companies like BMW, Volkswagen, and Allianz. It’s corporations like these that now place Germany in the radar for many worldwide companies, entrepreneurs, talent and, of course, startups, especially those centred in AI, app development and automation.
The worldwide pandemic reached Germany, of course, but while Spain, Italy and France were reporting more than 500 deaths daily at the beginning of the second semester, Germany managed to keep a low mortality rate which actually intrigued medical experts around the continent. While other countries delayed massive testing, Germany actually started doing professional contact tracing when the first cases were reported, which bought some time to get the clinics and hospitals ready for a potential health crisis. Nowhere near South Korea’s massive testing, but Germany managed to have a quite smooth second semester compared to other countries. With the winter approaching again, and Christmas holidays around the corner, the number of deaths and infections from Covid-19 reached record levels. Angela Merkel’s government decided to implement a new lockdown that started on December 16th and will run until January 10th, meaning that Christmas is affected by mobility and capacity restrictions across the nation.
There’s no denying that many german companies and startups have been affected by the impact of Covid-19 and its crisis, but the overall good response to the pandemic and Germany’s financial stability start to draw predictions of a faster recovery in comparison to nearby countries.
In fact, according to Finsmes, the German Bundestag approved a state capital investment of €10 billion between 2020 and 2030 to promote startups. Parallel to this, an additional €20 billion is hoped to be created in private venture capital investments. Not a bad plan if you ask me.
A tech career in Germany
Home of many of the world’s biggest automation and development companies, it is no surprise to see that a lot of tech-centred startups are born or choose to relocate to the European powerhouse. Being close to companies like Siemens or Bosch serves as an inspiration to many professionals as well as give them the chance to directly or indirectly work for them.
Salaries are higher than in other European countries which attracts junior and senior professionals looking to start a new professional journey abroad or to give their career a boost.
It might feel like we’re name dropping, but Germany really is the nest of startups like banking app N26, online tour booking operator Get Your Guide and electric scooter ride-sharing app Tier. On the international level, Airbnb’s first office outside of the US actually opened in Hamburg and started a trend that Hootsuite and Dropbox quickly followed.
When we think about other European countries we normally come up with one or two big startup hubs, but Germany actually has a few. Berlin and Munich are probably the most well known, but Hamburg is growing fast along with Frankfurt and Stuttgart. In this article, we’re going to focus on the country’s capital and Bavarian’s main city.
The epicentre of culture and entrepreneurship: Munich
Worldwide known to be Bayern München’s home, the Bavarian capital is Germany’s third-largest city in the country and recognised for its architecture, beer and engineering, as well as for being the cultural epicentre of the country.
A bit more expensive than Berlin and with a population of 1.5 million, Munich is the ideal destination for professionals seeking jobs in app development, AI or automation. One of the many reasons is because Munich is home to the headquarters of Siemens, MAN and Schwarz Group, just to name a few. When it comes to startups, it is the nest of booming startups like Wirecard, carpooling and Westwing.
It’s one of the top tech hubs in Europe and an important piece in Germany’s economic map as Munich hosts the presence of many international companies, has a quite big and stable VC support and world-class universities. LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich have recently been named the 8th and 11th best European Universities, respectively, and 32nd and 41st worldwide by the World Universities Ranking for their 2021 list.
If you’re thinking of giving your tech, AI or engineering career a boost, you cannot do wrong with Munich. In fact, at Landing.Jobs we have some job openings in Munich that we invite you to check out.
Capital and main national and international hub: Berlin
The German capital was named the second European startup hub of 2020 by EU Startups and it’s known to be the place where startup things happen in Europe. Berlin attracts talent from all over the world which makes it not only the nation’s startup capital but also one of the main hubs worldwide.
A surprise to many, Berlin is not the most expensive city in terms of costs of living, which make up for a quite nice work-life balance, desired by many. The capital is the economic, touristic and governmental centre of the country, which is why it’s no surprise to find startups that take advantage of these factors. N26 was born in Berlin and is one of the leading mobile banking solutions in Europe and, on another note, GetYourGuide has revolutionised the tour booking experience worldwide. It is also home of eCommerce giant, Zalando, and the market-leading app for language learning, Babbel.
On the radar of professionals of all ages, Berlin is the place to be if you’re looking for a big capital city with an amazing international atmosphere and high salaries compared to most southern European countries. The startup scene is rich and thriving with disruptive ideas that attract funding opportunities for the entrepreneurs but also open many doors for professionals looking for new challenges.
If Berlin is in your radar and you’re really thinking about moving there in the near future, we invite you to check out the openings on our platform.
Germany might be one of the best places to be after the pandemic dies down and things start to fall back to normal. There is no wrong choice when it comes to choosing one German city or the other. Really good opportunities exist across-nation, it all comes down to which life you want to live.
Happy searching and good luck! 2021 is gonna be great!
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