Startups – Nearly 900 million euros for startups in Austria in the first half of the year

Interest in Austrian startups is growing steadily, according to the Ernst & Young Startup Investment Barometer for the first half of 2022. There were 76 funding rounds, 9 more than in the same period the previous year. The volume of funding increased from 529 million euros to 881 million euros.

Austrian investors participated in 79 per cent of the funding rounds and 45 per cent of them were funded by only Austrian investors. But in the big funding rounds, Austrian donors play a secondary role. Austrian money comes mainly in the pre-incorporation and incorporation stage, while foreign investors invest in company expansion.

Foreign investors made the two largest investments: GoStudent raised 300 million backers, and TTTech Auto with 250 million. Investors from Germany, Netherlands, USA, UK and China participated in Go Student. TTTech Auto got the money from investors from Germany and the UK.

The next larger funding rounds included PlanRadar and Waterdrop, each raising $60 million. PlanRadar has found investors in Germany, France and Singapore. Waterdrop not only convinced an investor from Austria, but also investors from Germany, Liechtenstein, France and the USA.

A total of 176 investors participated in 67 published funding rounds. After all, 95 of those investors known by name (54 percent) are based in Austria. There are 28 investors in Germany, 14 from Great Britain and 13 from the USA.

The percentage of local investors was the highest in the media and entertainment sector. The proportion of Austrian investors in the four deals was 88 percent. But among the best deals, 5 were made without Austrian participation. (Abba)