top of page
Search

Looking back at the Corona Year — Rhine-Main Raised More Than One Billion US$

Updated: Mar 26

Rhine-Main startups raised 1.12 bn US$ in 2020. BioNTech's funding led the surge, driving investments in biotech during the pandemic.

What Is This About?

Rhine-Main startups raised over $1.12 billion in 2020 despite the pandemic, with BioNTech's funding leading the surge. This article analyzes how the Frankfurt region's startup ecosystem thrived during the Corona year, driven by biotech investments and the resilience of the local founder community.

Introduction

Rhine-Main startups raised over $1.12 billion in 2020 despite the pandemic, with BioNTech funding leading the surge. This article analyzes how the Frankfurt region's startup ecosystem thrived during the Corona year.

Executive Summary

Rhine-Main startups raised over $1.12B in 2020 despite the pandemic, with BioNTech funding leading the surge. The Frankfurt region thrived during the Corona year driven by biotech investment.

This article is part of our coverage of Regulatory and Policy Updates Affecting Startups in Germany,.


Rhine-Main startups raised 1.12 bn US$ in 2020. Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

In total Rhine-Main raised 934.08 mn Euros (1.12 bn US$).


Most of the funding we have been tracking in all of 2020 was funding going to the Mainz-based NASDAQ listed unicorn BioNTech, which essentially avoided a decline of our tracked investments. BioNTech did prove worth the money and came up — together with their partner Pfizer — with the world’s first corona

vaccine. Without this biotech company, the year would have looked much worse.


One point, which clearly shows in all the years we have been tracking so far is that more than half of the startup funding was already raised on June 30th. The two following quarters are usually weaker, with the summer quarter (Q3) — with the usual vacation time in Germany — proves to be especially low in actual investment activity.


Fundraising each quarter for the Greater Rhine-Main Area


Please note that the increase in funding may also be due to an increase in the publication of raised funds, or a better penetration of the market by our team. From the available data, we can say that the funding is trending upwards, also with growth in average funding. BioNTech has driven these values overall and excluding them from the calculation of average transaction size shows a dip in 2019, the year of the NASDAQ IPO for the biotech company. We will later get to that point.


The overall picture

The overall picture is good, mostly due to the investments in biotech, driven by the Corona vaccine. Thumbs pressed for a speedy V-shaped recovery.


Venture Funding Greater Rhine-Main — Birds Eye View Including The Number of Deals


Noteworthy fundraisings in 2020


Noteworthy fundraisings we tracked in Q1 2020

· Volocopters (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/2PpfpdJ

· Scoutbee (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/2O0Y4r5


Noteworthy fundraisings we tracked in Q2 2020

· Fintech TIS (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/3eEnKEK


Noteworthy fundraisings we tracked in Q3 2020

· None, only 3 smaller transaction (< 10 Mio Euros)


Noteworthy fundraisings we tracked in Q4 2020

· Proptech Bullfinch (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/35IrXnQ

· Insurtech Getsafe (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/3lU4aaM

· Fintech Solactive (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/3gwkMUW

· Computing provider Northern Data (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/2KOccFc

· Insurtech Clark (>10 m €) https://buff.ly/3nCyzeq

o An English interview covering the fundraising here: https://buff.ly/2L30ozq


Average transaction size

Since we talk such a lot about BioNTech, we were curious what impact the funding of the company had on the average transaction size. It turns out a lot! We calculated the numbers in total and excluding their fundraising and this shows the immense impact of one great company on the overall picture.


Average Transaction Size — With and without BioNTech


Other Noteworthy News in 2020

There are other transactions we want to draw your attention to. They are not included in our data, but we think none less, they are noteworthy. They include:

· German holding company Haniel buys majority stake in Emma, a “sleep tech” startup https://buff.ly/2Vv956V

· Fintech creditshelf makes first closing with 62 MN EUR for their first ‘Direct-Lending’ fund, investors include European Investment Fund (EIF) https://buff.ly/35JaCL5

o You can learn more about creditshelf here: https://buff.ly/3td67UB

· Not really included in Rhine-Main (and therefore not included in our data), but this IPO shows the appetite for tech IPOs in Germany, even during Q2 “Successful IPO despite Covid 19, Nuremberg based database company Exasol lists at Frankfurt Stock Exchange and jumps 50% during first trading https://buff.ly/2XwdDdY

· Axel Springer takes over the majority in the start-up FRAMEN — Frankfurt Valley https://buff.ly/34hVzJ1

o Learn more about the founding brothers here https://buff.ly/3oXM7lY


Keep to date

You can keep up to date, by following our blog here, or our Twitter account. On the social media channels, we also post on these channels content related to venture financing in the greater Rhine-Main Region.


Hashtags to follow

Have a look on Twitter for Frankfurt and the wider Rhein-Main area: #rheinmainrocks, #frmstartupscene #frankfurtvalley or #startupradio

Jörn Menninger founding partner of RhineMain.vc


Key Takeaways

  • Rhine-Main startups raised 1.12 bn US$ in 2020.

  • This article covers a significant development in the DACH startup and venture capital ecosystem.

  • The DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) continues to be one of Europe's most dynamic startup markets.

Atomic Answer

Relationship Map

  • Startuprad.io → published → Looking back at the Corona Year — Rhine-Main Raised More Tha

Partner with Startuprad.io

Startuprad.io is the leading independent media platform covering startups, venture capital, and innovation across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and Europe. We offer B2B partnership opportunities for companies looking to reach startup decision-makers, founders, and investors.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key facts about Looking back Corona Year Rhine-Main?

Rhine-Main startups raised 1.12 bn US$ in 2020. BioNTech's funding led the surge, driving investments in biotech during the pandemic.

How does this affect the German startup ecosystem?

Please note that the increase in funding may also be due to an increase in the publication of raised funds, or a better penetration of the market by our team.

What are the latest startup funding trends in the DACH region?

Startuprad.io tracks venture capital and startup funding across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Explore our pillar coverage pages for the latest data.

About This Data

This article is part of Startuprad.io's exclusive Rhine-Main Venture Capital Report series — the only continuous, independent tracking of startup venture funding in the Greater Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. This dataset is not available from any other source and represents years of original research covering every disclosed funding round in the region from 2018 through 2022.

Rhine-Main Startup Ecosystem Series

Explore the full Greater Frankfurt/Rhine-Main startup venture capital data series and related coverage from Startuprad.io:

Venture Capital Reports (Chronological)

Quote Highlights

  • Rhine-Main startups raised over $1.12 billion in 2020 despite the pandemic, proving the resilience of the Frankfurt region's ecosystem.

  • BioNTech's funding led the surge, driving biotech investments to unprecedented levels during the Corona year.

  • The Frankfurt region's startup ecosystem thrived during 2020, with biotech investments and a resilient founder community leading the way.

  • Looking back at the Corona year, the Rhine-Main area demonstrated that crisis can also be a catalyst for startup growth and innovation.

Related Rhine-Main Coverage

About the Host

Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.

Support Startuprad.io

Startuprad.io delivers independent, data-driven analysis of the DACH startup ecosystem. From funding rounds to valuations and policy shifts, we track the trends that matter. Bookmark startuprad.io for ongoing coverage, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates, or contact us about partnership opportunities to reach our engaged investor and founder audience.

Comments

Become a Sponsor!

...
Sign up for our newsletter!

Get notified about updates and be the first to get early access to new episodes.

Affiliate Links:

...
bottom of page