Startups in Greater Rhine-Main/Frankfurt raised almost half a billion US$ in Funding
- Jörn Menninger
- Jun 30, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 26
Rhine-Main startups raised €427.17 mn in 2021 Q1 & Q2. Despite COVID-19, key deals include Volocopter, Clark, and Wingcopter.
What Is This About?
Startups in Greater Rhine-Main and Frankfurt raised nearly half a billion dollars in funding during early 2021. Despite COVID-19, key deals include Volocopter, Clark, and Wingcopter, demonstrating the region's growing strength as a startup hub beyond its traditional finance sector roots.
Introduction
Greater Rhine-Main and Frankfurt startups raised nearly half a billion dollars in early 2021, with key deals from Volocopter, Clark, and Wingcopter demonstrating the region's growing strength as a startup hub beyond its traditional finance sector identity.
Executive Summary
Greater Rhine-Main startups raised nearly half a billion dollars in early 2021 with Volocopter, Clark, and Wingcopter deals demonstrating the region's growing hub strength beyond traditional finance.
This article is part of our coverage of 🦄 DACH Unicorn Index: The Ultimate Guide to Billion-Dollar Startups in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Rhine-Main startups raised €427.17 mn in 2021 Q1 & Q2. Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Corona appears to change everything. It did so with our time for publications as well. We are sorry about that and give you now an update of 2021 Q1 and Q2 in one post. We may have taken a break writing here, but we did not stop chasing data and tweeting about funding events on our Twitter account.
In the time we cover here, Germany went through the 2nd and 3rd wave of corona infections, with partial lockdowns. This has been definitely a very challenging time for all of us, but startups told us that for some — not all — this made it much harder to raise funds.
We also heard about large swings in valuation, but in both directions.
Most deals disclosed in Q1 have been in preparations way ahead of time. Normally an entrepreneur in Germany estimates 6–18 months for fundraising, depending on their industry and development stage. So we may see more of an corona impact down the road.
But again, our deepest respect for all the entrepreneurs who achieved their funding goals, despite those very challenging times.
Let us get started with the headline: Startups in Greater Rhine-Main/Frankfurt raised 427,17 mn €, which is 499,14 mn US$, let’s say half a billion US Dollar. This time the startups in the area raised mostly classical venture capital, admittedly we also see the trend of venture debt funding here, especially with the Capitq 30 mn bond deal, plus a deal by Cansativa in revenue-based funding.
2021 Q1
We found in Q1 twelve venture capital or venture debt deals. Of these several are not public knowledge. In total the deals we tracked raised 401,9 mn Euros (471 mn US$). Notable deals include Volocopter (200 mn €), Clark.de (69 mn €) and Bryter (60 mn €), as well as Captiq’s 30 mn € bond deal, Wingcopter (18 mn €) and the medtech Creative Balloons (15 mn €).
You can learn more about some startups, who raised funds in their respective interviews here:
Totals of money raised in deals and deal count tracked by RhineMain.vc
2021 Q2
In the 2nd quarter, we found thirteen venture capital and venture debt deals. They raised in total 35 m €. Notable deals are Palturai (4 mn €) and Africa Green Tech (4 mn €).
Admittedly the total funds raised are a lower bound estimate, some startups disclosed only “seven digits funding”, where we assumed it to be 1 mn €. The same funding could turn out to be 9 mn €, but we are sticking to the lowest sum we get from public sources.
We could only track 17.27 mn € in venture funding, compared to 343 MN € in Q2 2019 and 368 MN € in Q2 2020. Admittedly BioNTech has been playing a large role in these quarters with their ramp of their products and preparation of their NASDAQ IPO. If we are controlling for their impact, the Q2 2021 is still the lowest total in funds raises, we have tracked so far. This may be due to corona. We hope there is a catch-up later.
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Key Takeaways
Rhine-Main startups raised €427.17 mn in 2021 Q1 & Q2.
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
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the key facts about Startups Greater Rhine-Main/Frankfurt raised almost?
Rhine-Main startups raised €427.17 mn in 2021 Q1 & Q2. Despite COVID-19, key deals include Volocopter, Clark, and Wingcopter.
How does this affect the German startup ecosystem?
Most deals disclosed in Q1 have been in preparations way ahead of time. Normally an entrepreneur in Germany estimates 6–18 months for fundraising, depending on their industry and development stage.
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 €427.17 million in Q1 and Q2 of 2021, demonstrating the region's resilience despite COVID-19.
Key deals include Volocopter, Clark, and Wingcopter, showcasing the Greater Frankfurt area's growing strength as a startup hub.
The region is expanding beyond its traditional identity as a finance center into a diverse technology ecosystem.
Greater Rhine-Main is proving itself as one of Germany's key startup regions with nearly half a billion dollars in early 2021 funding.
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.
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