According to folkore, a new tech start-up is launched every 20 minutes in Berlin.
Low office costs, ready access to funding and a pioneer spirit all help.
But start-ups are, by their nature, small – and many don’t survive. That is why Berlin’s tech sector is busy, but not big, when compared to London, UK, or Paris, France.
Startup Genome’s 2017 survey ranked the city number seven in the world (up two places from 2016), firmly behind Beijing, China, and Tel Aviv, Israel.
The European Union’s digital cities index placed it in sixth position, behind Helsinki in Finland.
But Berlin’s biggest threat comes from Hamburg, which has a comparable rate of business formation.
According to figures from development bank KfW, 2.53% of working people in Hamburg start a new business each year, compared with 2.38% in Berlin.
THE OCCUPIERS
Google is rumoured to be moving from 9 Mitte district’s Unter den Linden to a new 9,000 sq m suite opposite Museum Island at Tucholskystrasse.
Pencilled in for 2018, the unconfirmed but heavily rumoured move says a lot about Berlin’s tech scene.
Firstly, that despite a strong start-up culture, it is modest compared to London – the Google office will probably double to 200 staff. Twitter closed its small 20-strong Berlin office in March 2017 and Snapchat – which signed in February for 20,000 sq ft in London – is only just moving in to the German capital, with some sources even saying it could be heading for Hamburg instead.
Secondly, that Berlin’s tech geography is changeable and highly mobile – Google also runs a campus in the hyper-funky Kreuzberg district.
WHO TO KNOW
Alex Ljung
Chief executive, SoundCloud
Stefan Franzke
Managing director, Berlin Partner
Michael Müller
Mayor of Berlin
Travis Todd
Mounder of local tech sector guide Silicon Allee
THE ONE TO WATCH
SoundCloud, the streaming audio service, could be a bellwether for city’s tech scene.
This summer the Berlin-based firm announced plans to slash its 400-plus HQ workforce at its 16,000 sq m converted factory in Rheinsberger Strasse, Mitte, by 40%.
It also closed offices in London, UK, and San Francisco, US.
