Empact plan, finance, build, and operate decentralized energy supply systems, consistently relying on the use of renewable energies.
Invested VC volume decreased by 66% in Germany compared to Q4 2024
Number and volume of announced funding rounds over the last year*
- Number of funding rounds
- Invested volume in $bn
* All data from CrunchBase, as of January 6, 2026
AI startups saw the most investments in Q4
In Q4, AI startups lead with 35 investments, followed by Health Care (23) and Energy and FinTech startups (16 each).
Top 10 industries of financed startups according to the number of conducted investments
- AI
- Health Care
- Energy
- FinTech
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
- CleanTech
- BioTech
- HR
- PropTech
Number and total volume of financing rounds per stage
- Number of funding rounds
- Invested volume in $mn
The largest funding round of Q4
Munich-based Tubulis secured a €343 million Series C Round, the largest funding round in Germany of the quarter.
Most investment rounds were Seed Rounds (37%). Despite that, the largest volume of $915 million was invested in 5 Series C Rounds.
HTGF was the most active VC investor in Germany
Regarding the investors behind those funding rounds, the HTFG emerged as the most active VC investor, completing 6 deals. With this, they lead ahead of Bayern Kapital (5 deals), Extantia Capital (3 deals), TGFS (3 deals) and Y Combinator (3 deals) among the top 5.
Investors with the highest number of investments in Q4 2025 Germany VC + PE Landscape – Q4 2025
- HTGF
- Bayern Kapital
- Extantia Capital
- TGFS
- Y Combinator
Berlin and Munich remain Germany’s VC hotspots, while Cologne takes the 3rd spot
The most investments in Q4 were conducted in Berlin (33), followed by Munich (19) and Cologne (6).
When ranking by investment volume instead of the number of conducted investments, Freiburg ($300mn) and Gilching ($209mn) replaces Hamburg and Dresden in the Top 5.
In the spotlight: North Rhine-Westphalia
NRW at a glance
~1858 active startups
Strong founding momentum: Among Germany’s fastest-growing states for new startup formations
Strong support network: A dense hub-and-university ecosystem supports founders across NRW
Empact raised €99 million
Industry
Energy, GreenTech, Renewable Energy
Founded in
2021, Cologne
Money raised
€99 million
Type of financing round
Venture Round
About
Lead Investor
Private Equity acquisitions decreased by 45% compared to the previous year
- Number of PE acquisitions
- Share of all investment rounds (in %)
Number and share of PE acquisitions increased in Germany
In Q4 2025, 12 PE acquisitions were conducted in Germany, representing a share of 10% of all investment rounds (VC + PE) (121).
Most companies were acquired in North Rhine-Westphalia with 3 acquisitions.
Each active acquirer made only one acquisition in Q4.
PE acquisition highlight in Q4
Aquirer
(PE firm)
Acquiree
(Fuel Retailer)
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