Despite macroeconomic challenges and global uncertainties, the startup ecosystem across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH) showed both resilience and transformation in 2024. The recently released State of Fundraising 2024 report by Female Founders unveils how early-stage funding held firm, gender diversity made small gains, and female founders continued to face disproportionate barriers in accessing capital.
Growth Amidst Fewer Deals
The DACH region secured €10.09 billion in startup funding in 2024—a 6.2% increase from 2023—despite an 11.6% decline in deal volume. Early-stage investments (pre-seed and seed) comprised over half of all deals, while large later-stage rounds (over €50M) nearly doubled in share. This reflects a dual trend: robust support for innovation alongside increasing capital concentration in fewer, more mature ventures.
Sector Shifts and Strategic Focus
Investment continued to gravitate towards Software & Analytics, Health, and Energy, collectively dominating the funding landscape. Conversely, once-hyped sectors like Mobility, E-commerce, and Fintech experienced notable slowdowns.
Investors showed heightened selectivity in 2024, increasingly emphasizing team quality, market size, and scalability. Angel and public grant funding shrank significantly, indicating a shift towards institutional capital and mature funding mechanisms.
Female Founders: Progress, But Far From Parity
The report highlights continued gender disparities:
- Women-only teams received just ~2% of total capital.
- Gender-diverse teams fared better, securing 22.8% of funding volume, nearly doubling their deal share year-over-year.
Founders expressed concerns about mental health, AI-readiness, and geopolitical risks. Alarmingly, 60% of female founders reported burnout, yet less than 40% had any support strategies in place. Most respondents also pointed to a persistent “pattern-matching bias” among investors, which favors male founders who resemble past success stories.
Spotlight: Sirius’ Fundraising Journey
An inspiring case study featured in the report is Charlotte Dryander, co-founder of SIRIUS, a Berlin-based online music education platform. Her seed fundraising success in 2024 is attributed to:
- Intensive preparation (over 2 months)
- Strategic investor targeting
- Resilience through frequent rejections
- Thoughtful division of founder responsibilities
Dryander’s advice for 2025? Invest early in network building, be methodical in investor selection, and maintain emotional balance throughout the process.
Public Institutions and Inclusive Innovation
The Vienna Business Agency (VBA) emerged as a role model in promoting inclusive funding. Its initiatives—like mandatory DEI strategies, women’s bonuses, and tailored founder programs—have narrowed the gender gap in funding approvals. In 2024, women-led projects in Vienna received €535,000 in bonuses, a significant jump from the previous year.
The Investor View: Selective, Cautious, and Still Biased
From the investor side, 2024 was marked by:
- Increased caution and reduced activity for 40% of surveyed investors
- Emphasis on market opportunity and team strength
- A lag in turning DEI awareness into action—most investors track diversity, but few include it in contracts or strategy
Interestingly, 92% of investors use AI tools, but only 16.7% have a defined AI investment thesis, reflecting uncertainty around emerging tech evaluation.
A Vision for 2025: Beyond Inclusion Rhetoric
As Fund F aptly noted in the report’s conclusion, female-led startups are not a niche—they are an economic imperative. With women driving over 70% of global consumer decisions, underfunding this segment is a missed opportunity.
The call to action is clear: it’s time to stop treating gender equity as a “nice-to-have” and start funding it as a strategic, high-return investment. A shift in investor mindset, institutional practices, and founder support systems is essential to unlock the full potential of the DACH startup ecosystem.
