Revolution in the Ruhr area: 16 new start-ups rely on AI and innovation!

Revolution in the Ruhr area: 16 new start-ups rely on AI and innovation!

in 2024 Gladbeck, Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen experienced a remarkable increase in the establishment of new companies. A total of 16 new start-ups were founded in these three cities, which corresponds to an increase of over 40 percent compared to the previous year when only nine companies dared to jump into entrepreneurship. Gelsenkirchen recorded the greatest growth and occupies an outstanding position within this dynamic. This information comes from a recent report by the German Start-Up Association, which documents the positive development in the founding process.

start-ups are usually young companies that pursue innovative business ideas and have great growth potential. Particularly noteworthy is the role of artificial intelligence, which is increasingly being used in new branches of business. A positive trend reversal nationwide also rose nationwide in 2024 by 15 percent compared to the second half of 2023 nationwide, as the Startup-Verband reported.

growth in the German start-up sector

In the first six months of 2024, a total of 1,384 new start-ups were recorded in Germany. This represents a significant recovery of the market after there was a decline in mid -2022. The leading federal states for new foundations are Berlin, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. North Rhine-Westphalia alone recorded an increase of 25 percent, while Berlin was even able to achieve an increase of 28 percent. The central software sector is particularly remarkable, which is about every fifth new start-up with 302 new start-ups. Digitization and the use of artificial intelligence are driving development here.

The distribution of the foundations also shows that Munich and Berlin are the main locations for start-up foundations, with a share of 26 percent in all new start-ups in Germany. Munich has barely overtaken Berlin at the start -up per capita, which represents an interesting development. The positive statistics are also reflected in smaller cities. Places such as Aachen, Darmstadt and Heidelberg are among the top 5 of the most powerful founding cities.

financing and challenges

start-ups in Germany are usually young, innovative and often have to rely on early business expansion and venture capital. According to a report by Statista , around 75 percent of the start-ups are focused on the B2B customer group, while about 20 percent use the end consumer area (B2C). Another revealing detail is that the proportion of male founders is around 81 percent, which indicates a gender disaritity in the founding -specific scene.

Financial sources play a crucial role in the success of start-ups. Around 45 percent of start-ups have partially financed themselves from government funding. Business Angel Capital and Venture Capital are also essential for many founders. The investments in start-ups tend to increase. After a decline in 2020, the investments rose to over 17 billion euros in 2021, while in 2022 they were almost 10 billion euros. These rivers have grown particularly well in the software and analytics sector.

Overall, there is a promising picture for the future of the start-up scene, both in the large and in the smaller cities in Germany. The upward trend for start -up and the central role of artificial intelligence could play a crucial role, especially for regions and industries with a lot of innovation potential.