This is the finding of the latest Start-up Barometer from consulting firm EY. While the number of financing rounds in 2019 rose by 13% on 2018 to 704, the total value of investments increased by as much 36% to €6.2 billion. Financially strong, international investors from the US, Great Britain, and Asia are in particular interested in large transactions. First and smaller rounds of financing, on the other hand, are predominately provided by German venture capitalists. The consultants argue that the German government should provide the digital economy with financial, fiscal, and education policy support: Especially in times of looming crises in key areas of the manufacturing industry in Germany, the digital economy is becoming an increasingly important driver for the creation of jobs.

Just a few days earlier, the founders of Sono Motors had complained in an interview with German weekly business news magazine ‘Wirtschaftswoche’ that funding pools were supporting “old industry”. Sono Motors wants to build an electric car that charges itself using solar cells. The general conditions in Germany are, however, “anything but good”. Many technologies have moved elsewhere because international investors often focus on the patents rather than the company.