Investments by German venture capital firms rose significantly to €934 million in 2016. The previous year's figure was just €837 million. This was reported by the German Association of Private Equity and Venture Capital Companies (BVK) in its 2016 annual statistics.
At the same time, however, there is a historic low to report: Only 568 companies were invested in last year. In 2011, this figure was 884, and in 2015, it was 761. However, the argument "quality over quantity" certainly holds true here.
Startups need to catch up — seed market is stagnating
A closer look at the figures reveals that the capital increase is primarily due to later-stage investments. While €379 million was invested in this segment in 2015, €501 million was already transacted last year. A not insignificant increase in this segment.
The situation is different in the startup sector. Since 2011, only slight fluctuations have been observed. Here, the total amount fell from €415 million in the previous year to €384 million in 2016. While some people speak of consistency, a critical observer would probably prefer the term "stagnation."
Furthermore, it can be observed that the seed market continues to experience a shortage of venture capital. Since 2011, the figure has hovered around €40 million, with a slight increase from €43 million to €49 million in 2016. Business angels' hopes for increased co-venture potential through VC have therefore not been realized. It is also sobering to note that, according to the BVK, venture capital fundraising is even a quarter below the previous year's figures.
