EUR 169 billion. That is the current value of Berlin's startup landscape, making it the largest in Germany and among the top three in Europe. The city accounts for 43% of the total value of German startups and is home to more than 1,400 venture-backed companies.

Berlin is no longer just a software city. The community that built SoundCloud, Delivery Hero, and N26 is now producing companies that manufacture semiconductors, build self-driving chemistry labs, and engineer materials for hypersonic flight. Deep tech funding in deep tech Berlin reached EUR 1.2 billion in 2025, according to Dealroom's European Deep Tech Report. The city is adding a science layer on top of its startup DNA.

Berlin's Shift: From Software Capital to Deep Tech Berlin

This pivot is not accidental. Berlin sits within reach of some of Europe's strongest research institutions. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Germany's applied research network with an annual budget exceeding EUR 3 billion, operates multiple institutes in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. The Helmholtz Association, Europe's largest scientific organisation, runs the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) focused on energy materials and photon science.

Max Planck Institutes conduct fundamental research across physics, chemistry, and biology in and around the city. TU Berlin and HU Berlin together produce thousands of STEM graduates annually and operate active technology transfer offices.

Government is backing the shift. The Berlin Senate's Deep Tech Berlin campaign (berlin.de/deeptech) actively promotes the city as a destination for founders building on science. The State of Berlin will host the Berlin Deep Tech Awards as part of DTM26 in May 2026, with Senator Franziska Giffey presiding. Federal programmes, including KfW Capital and HTGF, channel additional capital into Berlin-based hardware and science startups.

The Berlin Deep Tech Map: Who Is Here

Berlin's deep tech companies span all six market verticals that define the sector. Here is who is building what.

Advanced Materials and Chemistry

• Dunia (EUR 10.5 million Series A, Elaia, redalpine): third-generation self-driving lab for AI-driven materials discovery, targeting clean energy catalysts

• Level Nine ($4.6 million): ML-driven catalyst discovery platform for sustainable chemical production

Compute and Semiconductors

• FaradaIC (EUR 8 million): the world's smallest electrochemical gas sensors, mass-produced using semiconductor processes

• NanoMatter (pre-seed): ultra-thin, energy-efficient semiconductor materials to move beyond the limits of silicon

Robotics and Manufacturing

• Micropsi Industries ($36.1 million): AI neural networks enabling industrial robots to handle variable tasks

• Aitme ($12.3 million): robotic kitchen systems for individually prepared food service

Climate and Energy

• Klima ($40.2 million): climate action platform enabling corporate carbon offsetting

• Carbon Atlantis: ocean-based carbon dioxide removal technology

Life Sciences and BioTech

• inne ($47.4 million): hormone-based biosensor platform for women's health

• Labforward ($6.1 million): lab digitisation platform for research teams

Infrastructure and Community

• MotionLab.Berlin: runs the Deep Tech in Motion programme, selecting 7 to 10 Berlin-based deep tech startups per cohort for scaling support

Research Parks: Where Science Meets Industry

Adlershof Science City is Berlin's crown jewel and Germany's largest science and technology park. The numbers: 4.6 square kilometres, 1,300 companies, 29,600 employees, 18 co-located research institutes, and combined revenues of EUR 3.6 billion. The core technology park alone houses 600 companies generating EUR 1.26 billion. Adlershof is not an incubator; it is an industrial district where photonics labs sit next to satellite manufacturers.

Berlin-Buch is the city's biotech and health sciences campus, home to the Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine and a growing cluster of life science startups.

Charlottenburg, anchored by TU Berlin's campus, serves as the innovation corridor for engineering and compute-focused ventures.

Berlin vs. Munich vs. Paris: How Europe's Deep Tech Hubs Compare

Berlin does not operate in a vacuum. Munich and Paris are formidable peers, each with distinct strengths.

Berlin's edge is breadth. The city covers all six deep tech verticals, where Munich concentrates on defence and space and Paris leads in AI scale. It is also Europe's most cost-competitive major tech hub, with living costs roughly 30% below London and meaningfully below Munich. Over 9,000 AI specialists and a deeply English-speaking environment make it the easiest European hub for non-German founders to enter.

Munich's advantage is industrial gravity. Helsing's EUR 450 million raise and Quantum Systems achieving unicorn status in 2025 with EUR 95 million in funding demonstrate the pull of proximity to defence and automotive primes. Paris benefits from France 2030, the EUR 54 billion government investment plan, and the AI cluster around Mistral and the broader Station F network.

Berlin leads in breadth and startup accessibility. Munich leads in defence and space scale. Paris leads in government-backed AI capital. The three cities are complements, not substitutes.

Why Deep Tech Events Cluster in Berlin

Events follow density. In May 2026, Berlin will host the most concentrated week of deep tech activity anywhere in Europe.

Deep Tech Week Berlin (18 to 22 May) is a decentralised conference series spanning 70+ events across the city, drawing 30,000+ tech professionals and 400+ speakers. Open, distributed, and community-driven, the format reflects Berlin's character.

At the centre of the week, DTM26 on 20 to 21 May brings 3,000+ attendees, including 300 Guardian corporate leaders and investors, for structured matchmaking across six verticals. Sub-events include SPARTA, the defence innovation summit, and DTM.Materials for the advanced materials marketplace. The Berlin Deep Tech Award, hosted by the State of Berlin, will be presented at DTM26, further signalling government commitment.

This clustering is not coincidence. Berlin's combination of startup density, research infrastructure, international accessibility, and affordable venues creates a natural convergence point. For deep tech events and conferences in Europe, Berlin in May is becoming what Davos is to finance in January: the place where the community assembles.

What Is Next for Berlin's Deep Tech Scene

Berlin's deep tech community has one significant gap to close. The city excels at seed and early-stage funding, with Europe's strongest seed-to-Series-A conversion rate at 37%. But the Series B and growth pipeline still trails London and Paris.

Closing that gap requires more dedicated growth funds and more corporate customers willing to sign first contracts with Berlin-based startups. The tailwinds are real. European sovereignty spending is accelerating across defence, energy, materials, and compute.

Berlin's breadth across all six verticals positions it as the natural coordination hub for that investment. A new generation of founders is choosing the city not because it is cheap but because it is where the science is.

-> Join 3,000+ at DTM26 in Berlin, 20 to 21 May