#Background
After the record year of 2025, Cologne remains on the startup path. The number of new businesses increased significantly again in the first half of the year. When it comes to financing, however, the picture is different: the number and volume of financing rounds are clearly below the previous year’s level.
With 76 new companies founded in the first half of the year Cologne to the record year 2025. After just six months, the startup location had achieved around two thirds of the previous year’s value. The situation is different when it comes to financing: both the number of deals and the investment volume are declining significantly.
In the same period last year, 47 startups were founded in Cologne, and 112 in the year as a whole – more than ever before. There are currently 894 startups active at the location. According to KölnBusiness, the comparatively small increase compared to the previous year of 890 active startups is due to data cleansing.
Most new startups have recently emerged in the areas of software, advertising and education, e-commerce, legal advice and medicine. In 18% of new startups, at least one female founder is part of the team.
When it comes to investments, however, a different picture emerges. In the first half of the year, 28 financing rounds with a total volume of 47.3 million euros were made public. In the same period last year there were 37 rounds with 186 million euros.
The largest financings were accounted for Yupus (13 million euros), Food forecast (8 million euros), eternal.ag (8 million euros) and UMH system (5 million euros). For comparison: 73 financing rounds with around 380 million euros were registered in the entire year of 2025. In 2024, the investment volume was at a similarly high level of 381 million euros.
Despite the weaker first half of the year, there are also positive signals. The Cologne early-stage investor neoteq ventures announced the first closing of its second fund in May. According to the company’s own information, more than 25 million euros have already been collected. The target volume is 50 million euros.
Review: Cologne will ignite the startup turbo in 2025
Get started in Cologne – #Koelnbusiness
In our focus on Cologne, we highlight the dynamic startup ecosystem of the Rhine metropolis. What are the conditions for founders, what investments flow into innovative ideas and which startups provide new impetus? Around 800 startups have already chosen Cologne as their location – supported by a lively start-up scene, a strong investor landscape and numerous coworking spaces, trade fairs and networking events. As a central contact point for the startup and innovation scene, the Cologne Business Economic Development Agency strengthens the framework conditions for founders, connects them with investors and offers targeted support. This section is supported by KölnBusiness. #Koelnbusiness on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
