Start-ups in the German Railway Market

Start-ups are the engine for economic growth and competitiveness of a country and thus of central importance for the German economy. They break up and change established processes and industries and develop new business models. Innovative products, services and processes of start-ups create new jobs as well as economic and social progress. Innovations are not always of a technical nature, but they are of particular interest to the rail industry, as they promise to increase efficiency, production and quality as well as comfort for rail customers. In addition, technologies invented by start-ups make it possible to reduce maintenance and production costs. 

A lot has happened in the sector in recent years: billions in funding for infrastructure expansion, rising passenger numbers, efforts to achieve European rail standards and major transnational projects. At the same time, topics such as urbanisation, sustainability, digitalisation, climate change and, currently, the effects of the coronal pandemic, continue to pose new challenges that need to be met with innovations. Above all, the growing demand for fast, reliable and green mobility is driving the rail market. Digital business models are shedding new light on intermodal travel, taking rail-bound transport to a new level with new high-speed trains or inner-city reinterpretations of rail transport.

With this dossier, we want to provide a brief and general insight into the startup landscape in Germany, as well as shed light on the rail industry and its efforts to attract startups in particular. We provide figures on financing rounds and sums, show in which federal states the most startups are founded and provide an overview of funding opportunities for startups and, at the end, introduce 33 and their founders that we find interesting.