It is hard to be Berlin's rival: only 11 per cent of German startups are based in Munich, whereas the capital has 31 per cent. Yet Bavaria's largest city remains a major economic hub for European business. Many corporations, including BMW, Siemens and insurance firm Allianz, are headquartered in the city. These firms foster startups with investment and programmes.
"We usually think that these corporations are old-fashioned, but in Munich they seem really interested in inventive ideas," says Franz Glatz, managing director of co-working space and incubator WERK1. Mobility, insurance tech, biotechnology and the internet of things are startups' sectors of choice.
Munich-based companies benefit from good infrastructure, proximity to an international airport and access to graduates from top universities such as the Technical University of Munich and Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich. On the flip side, living costs are expensive by German standards. It costs about €1,000 (£846) a month to rent a one-bedroom, city-centre flat. This means that labour is expensive, too. "It's partly why Munich finds it hard to attract investment," Glatz says. "Even Munich-born investors often go elsewhere."
Tado is Europe's Nest. It specialises in smart thermostats and cooling products and has partnerships with UK-based energy companies.
Founded: 2011 Investment raised: €50m **Founders:**Christian Deilmann, Leopold von Bismarck and Johannes Schwarz
Riskmethods offers a cloud-based system to monitor risk in a business's supply chain and act as an early warning system for managers.
Founded: 2013 Investment raised: £18m Founders: Heiko Schwarz and Rolf Zimmer
Supported by Intel, GETTYLAB and Bayern Kapital, ProGove has developed smart gloves designed for use in industrial settings. The gloves have a built-in scanner which sends data wirelessly to a software solution, allowing easy tracking of goods through packing facilities and factories.
Founded: 2013 Investment raised: £1.1 million Founder: David Levine
Travador is an online travel platform with a focus on short weekend trips.
Founded: 2013 Investment raised: £17m Founders: Katrin Buckenmaier, Thorsten Schroeppe and Sebastian Schmidt
An Eco-friendly bus operator with a focus on the youth market, Flixbus describes itself as a "combination of tech-startup, e-commerce-platform and transportation company".
Founded: 2011 Investment raised: Undisclosed Founders: André Schwämmlein, Jochen Engert and Daniel Krauss
Munich hosts the Allianz X incubator and Telefónica's accelerator Wayra. The city's co-working spaces include Impact Hub Munich and WERK1.
Hotels: Louis hotel, Cortiina hotel
Eateries: 12 Vits der Kaffee, Die Küche im Kraftwerk
Places of Interest: Pinakothek der Moderne, Maximilianeum https://www.wired.co.uk/article/wired-work-smarter
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
