Description
Our Startup List Germany: The 200 fastest-growing young companies
German startups are playing an increasingly defining role in the German corporate landscape. International investors are interested in German startups, triple-digit million financing rounds are announced almost weekly, and formerly small teams are turning into listed global corporations (Zalando and Delivery Hero send their regards). Startups also play a major role economically: in some cases, they create thousands of jobs in Germany’s cities, employ masses of freelancers, and are open to new products and the major customers of tomorrow.
Our German Startup List gives a unique insight into the German startup landscape. After months of research, our team created a selection of the 200 fastest-growing and best-funded startups. Venture capital-financed startups, as well as equity-financed ones, were taken into account. The list is also a part of our list of Germany’s 3,000 largest companies and thus contains the same information (contact details, revenue figures between 2015-2019 if available), CEO names, industry classification, activity description. In addition, we also provide data on funding or why we included the company in the list.

How did we compile our list of the fastest-growing German startups?
Various starting points have been incorporated into our research. One important starting point is the financing rounds of the startups. The more money available, the more employees are hired, the more is invested in growth. For this, we searched public sources and always indicated them. In addition, we have also taken into account other points of information in our research, such as rankings, awards or news reports. The result is a valuable list of the most important, largest and fastest growing startups in Germany.
Note: the list is an elaborately researched, editorial compilation. Nevertheless, it is always possible that there are some startups that we have wrongly left out of our overview. We look forward to receiving your input and suggestions at contact [at] researchgermany.com
These industries are highly represented
Traditionally, the German economy is dominated by industry. While this is also reflected in the startup list, most startups are nevertheless in the software sector. However, many exciting startups are still focused on industry. Laserhub, for example, a startup from Stuttgart, digitizes metal parts procurement. Through the portal, for example, laser cutting, bending and folding, as well as CNC turning tasks can be ordered digitally.
Map of the fastest growing young firms in Germany

The map on the left represents all 200 startups from our list. It is immediately apparent that there are several regional startup hotspots in Germany. For one, there is Berlin, the capital city that is also known beyond the country’s borders and is considered a startup metropolis. The three best-funded startups (Auto1, N26, GetYourGuide) have their headquarters in Berlin. In addition, Munich stands out as the home of numerous startups. The universities and numerous large companies there are a magnet for startups such as Personio or Celonis. But other regions in Germany are also home to growing and well-financed startups, such as the Stuttgart metropolitan region, the Cologne-Düsseldorf-Aachen region and Hamburg.
Frequently asked questions about our list of the fastest growing startups in Germany
The most important questions about our list of the largest companies Germany
We present all data points contained in the Excel list based on Mister Spex GmbH:
- Company | Mister Spex GmbH
- Legal form | GmbH
- Industry | Retail
- Subdivision | Retail, Opticians, E-Commerce
- Field of activity | Online eyewear retail
- Sales 2020 (in € million) |164 | based on Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) data; if parent company available, taken over by the latter
- Sales 2019 (in € million) |139 | based on Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) data; if parent company available, taken over by the latter
- Sales 2018 (in € million) |123 | based on Bundesanzeiger data; if parent company exists, taken over by it
- Sales 2017 (in € million) | 104 | based on Bundesanzeiger data; if parent company exists, taken over by it
- Sales 2016 (in € million) | 92 | based on Bundesanzeiger data; if parent company exists, taken over by it
- Sales 2015 (in € million) | 80 | based on Bundesanzeiger data; if parent company exists, taken over by it
- Employees | 775 | based on Bundesanzeiger data; if parent company exists, taken over by this company
- Parent company | … | filled in if parent company exists, otherwise blank
- State | Berlin
- County | Berlin
- City | Berlin
- Postal Code | 10409
- Address | Alter Stadthafen 10
- E-mail | service@misterspex.de
- Phone | +49 30 32500050
- Management | Dirk Graber, Dr. Mirko Caspar
- URL | https://www.misterspex.de
- Funding Total amount in € million | 135
- Investors (selection) | Co-Investor Group, Goldman Sachs, Scottish Equity Partners, DN Capital, XAnge
- Last funding round in million € | 15
- Date Last Funding | February 2020
- Source Funding (1) | https://corporate.misterspex.com/de/pressemitteilungen/erweiterung_finanzierung/
- Source Funding (2) | https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article136116327/Goldman-Sachs-steigt-bei-Mister-Spex-ein.html
For data protection reasons, our lists only contain publicly available data. In case of poor data availability, some data points may therefore be marked with an “n.a.”. Turnover in particular is only available in very incomplete form for most startups, as this only has to be documented in the German “Bundesanzeiger” once turnover reaches a certain level.
Of course! You can either download the list of the 50 largest German companies for 4,99€ incl. VAT, or you can write us via e-mail to contact[at]researchgermany.com or Live-Chat to get a free preview with 5 exemplary entries. Our support is looking forward to helping you.
Gladly, we look forward to your request to contact[at]researchgermany.com or via our live chat. After you have told us which section (region, industry, revenue size, etc.) is relevant for you, we will make you a suitable offer.
The companies included in the list can be found through various sources: Internet research, public registers, analysis of relevant news, investigation of relevant transactions, our extensive personal network. Hundreds of hours of detailed, high-quality research flow into each of our lists. All data points that we can enter via publicly available sources are included in our lists.
Every data point for which there is publicly available information is filled out in our lists. However, if we do not have an e-mail address or we do not know whether a company is investing in a particular area, we fill this field with an “n.a.”. In most cases we achieve a data coverage of over 90%. If you want to know the exact coverage of the list – e.g. how many e-mail addresses are available – our team will be happy to help you.
Our lists are always delivered as handy Excel files. On request we can also send you the list as a CSV file.
After purchasing the list, you can immediately download the list as an Excel file when paying by credit card or PayPal. You will also receive a download link by e-mail. Future free updates will also be sent to you by e-mail. If you pay in advance, you will receive the list after the amount has been credited to our account or you have sent us a bank transfer receipt.
We have noted the last update date in the product description at the top of the page. We update our lists regularly. Our customers receive free updates and additions to the list for at least 12 months.
Our lists contain – if publicly available – address, telephone number, e-mail addresses and management names of the listed companies. For privacy reasons, we may only include information that is publicly available or provided by the companies. If no data points are available, there is an “n.a.” in the corresponding field.
Due to the DSGVO our lists do not contain personal e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. Our lists contain publicly available contact data or contact data provided by the companies (e-mail address, telephone number, postal address, names of directors).
Our lists do not contain any personal contact data that is specifically protected by the European Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO). Our lists always contain publicly accessible data points (official registers such as the Commercial Register or the Federal Gazette, Internet, company websites) or data provided voluntarily by companies and are therefore harmless.
In Germany, contact is regulated by §7 UWG. Thus, postal advertising in the B2B sector is generally permitted. Contacting by telephone is permitted if the business contact is presumably interested. This can also be accepted for e-mail contact, as long as the contact is made once and the contact is not included in newsletters without being asked.
Important note: We are not lawyers and cannot make legally binding statements. If you have any open questions, please feel free to contact us.
The companies included in the lists can be contacted in various ways – by telephone, postal letter, e-mail, networks such as LinkedIn, jointly attended trade fairs. In order to establish successful contacts, it is particularly important to work on individualized addresses tailored to the respective companies. Mass letters are rarely successful. Instead, our customers are most successful when they adapt to the companies included in our lists, obtain information and then address them in a customized manner. Another successful approach is to contact them via LinkedIn, for example, by selecting the right contact person from our list and then addressing them via a consistent starting point. Intros” that are mediated via shared contacts are also a good step towards establishing contact. Also possible: at trade fairs visited together, you can use the trade fair lists to search specifically for companies included in the lists and make appointments for meetings.
In general: the more effort is put into the individual approach, the more successful it is. Think about what suitable starting points are, how you can deliver added value and show the addressed companies that you put a lot of effort into the contact. Many of our customers have already built up valuable and successful business relationships.
Henry S. (verified owner) –
a great list with all relevant startups in Germany! I am particularly convinced by the cross-sector selection of entries