--- title: "Start-ups in Cologne | locations.cologne" url: "https://location.cologne-tourism.com/destination-cologne/business-science/business-in-cologne/startup-city-cologne" description: "Cologne is a hotspot for start-ups and entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas. You can find more than 550 start-ups in the city. Find out everything you need to know about Cologne start-ups, start-up centres and coworking in Cologne!" language: "en" breadcrumb: "Root > locations.cologne by KölnTourismus > Destination Cologne > Business & Science > Business in Cologne > Startup city Cologne" --- Cologne: superlative city for startups ====================================== 800 startups 12 incubators 29 coworking spaces 25 universities An open, creative atmosphere, a excellent digital infrastructure and a well-developed research landscape - Cologne is still the start-up capital: 73 new start-ups were founded in 2024 alone. Start-ups in Cologne are growing rapidly, the Cologne ecosystem is young and the contact with investors and the Cologne science landscape is exemplary. In and around the city alone, there are **around 850 startups and scale-ups**. Attractive investors, major players, 12 incubators, around 29 coworking spaces, numerous networking events and, of course, Cologne’s status as a great place to do business and create the perfect environment for healthy fast-paced growth. Founded in 2019, KölnBusiness GmbH supports and initiates a wide range of sponsorship programmes, including the Gründungsstipendium.NRW (start-up grant) and content formats such as Gründschule (start-up school) – a YouTube format that explains topics relevant to founders in an understandable way. Cologne start-ups have a track record in pioneering **software, health, media and marketing**. Start-ups benefit from a varied university landscape with over 100,000 students. 25 universities as well as 12 research centers, along with numerous incubators and accelerators, are hotbeds of new talent. **Congratulations to Unicorn status startups** The Cologne-based online translation solution *Deepl* has been awarded Unicorn status as part of a new round of funding. Unicorns are start-ups with an estimated value of at least 1 billion US dollars prior to IPO or an investor exit\*. In Germany, there are currently 32 companies with Unicorn status. Coworking in Cologne is booming Coworking spaces are a great way to grow your network. And now there is space for coworkers throughout the city – something that is definitely down to the inspiring mix of established businesses, startups and creative freelancers that makes the city’s ecosystem perfect for productive exchange! At Friesenplatz in the city centre, for example, *WeWork* provides space for over 1,000 coworkers. Approximately half a kilometer up the road at the *Wallarkaden*, even more space was made available in 2021. Solutions such as "Eigene Schreibtisch" offer fixed workspaces on request, with the Labs-Schreibtische coworking service even offering its coworkers mentoring and training. Networking events, language, and yoga courses, as well as Lunch&Learn sessions are also part of the concept. *STARTPLATZ*, an experienced start-up incubator and accelerator, is in the middle of Cologne's Mediapark. It offers everything from consulting, coaching, workshops, events to access to its extensive network. To date, STARTPLATZ has invested over 170 million euros in start-ups. *Design Offices* offers conference rooms for meetings, workshops or coaching at various locations in Cologne. In Cologne’s Ehrenfeld district, ​​​​​​​ meets founders’ needs. Selection of coworking spaces in Cologne ---------------------------------------- - Design Offices Kölnnumber of rooms: 34 max. capacity in rows: 199 - Startplatznumber of rooms: 18 max. capacity in rows: 125 - BioCampus Colognenumber of rooms: 3 max. capacity in rows: 90 - InnoDomnumber of conference rooms: 2 max. capacity in rows: 100 - Spaceworksnumber of rooms: 4 max. capacity in rows: 70 - Wertheim Colognenumber of rooms: 7 max. capacity in rows: 55 - Headquaters-Downtownnumber of rooms: 3 max. capacity in rows: 50 - COWOKI Coworking plusnumber of rooms: 4 max. capacity in rows: 40 - District Coworking Köln Godorfnumber of rooms: 1 max. capacity in rows: 40 - INSURLAB Germanynumber of rooms: 5 max. capacity in rows: 40 - KalkSpace e. V.number of rooms: 2 max. capacity in rows: 40 - Series A Campusnumber of rooms: 2 max. capacity in rows: 33 - RTZ Rechtsrheinisches Technologie- und Gründerzentrum Kölnnumber of rooms: 5 max. capacity in rows: 30 - Forum Food & Nachhaltigkeitnumber of rooms: 1 max. capacity in rows: 30 - akkuraumnumber of rooms: 1 max. capacity in rows: 30 And the idea is … the Cologne Masterclass. Selecting and coaching A new seal of quality for promising Cologne-based start-ups is the *Cologne Masterclass*. Through this program, KölnBusiness and its partners select and coach outstanding start-ups and introduce them to top-class investors. The program aims to make the Cologne region even more attractive for investors as a business center. Startups that have succeeded in one of the programs or a competition run by a partner organization are nominated and given the opportunity to present their ideas to investors on *Matching Day*. In addition, selected start-ups benefit from things like access to Cologne Masterclass’s network of partners, preferential participation in various *KölnBusiness* funding programs, and help with marketing activities. The Managing Director of KölnBusiness explains in an how Cologne as a business location enables start-ups to grow and survive and why the good news in terms of funding never stops. Cologne Uni promotes start-up culture ------------------------------------- The *GATEWAY* university start-up service in Cologne – Make ideas work Cologne is a hub for science and research, producing a wide range of innovative research results. However, the path from idea to practical application often varies significantly. Under the motto ‘Make Ideas Work’, the *Gateway Excellence Start-up Centre* offers advice and coaching on all aspects of founding and starting up a business. The *Gateway Factory* focuses on promoting deep tech start-ups. Start-up spin-offs from universities are specifically linked with industrial companies, investors and research partners and supported in their search for personnel and customers. With the combined offerings of four Cologne-based scientific institutions (*the University of Cologne, TH Köln, the German Sport University Cologne and the Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln*) since 2021, Cologne is set to establish itself as a start-up hub in Germany. In 2025, the *Gateway Factory* won a competition organised by the *Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)* and is now one of ten *EXIST* start-up factories in Germany that will receive up to 10 million euros in funding until 2030. With its goals, the *University of Cologne*'s innovation and start-up centre, *Excellence Start-up Centre GATEWAY*, is in good company: the start-up service's premises are located in the new start-up hub InnoDom Cologne. From Start-up Unit to DIGITAL X. The **City of Cologne’s Start-up Unit** also supports founders and invites them to exchange ideas at networking events. The Digital Hub Cologne brings business, science, and industry together and provides advice on topics related to digitization. Other start-up gatherings include the c/o pop convention, or DIGITAL X, and trade fairs such as dmexco and gamescom, which complete the offerings. City-run initiatives such as *Digital Hub Cologne*, *BioCampus* and *InsureLab* help businesses digitalize and connect them with innovative start-ups. *BioCampus* Cologne, for example, offers start-ups and innovative technology companies a long-term perspective. InsurLab Germany e.V. is a joint initiative between business, science and public institutions aimed at strengthening Cologne as an insurance center and is currently supported by more than 80 member companies – insurers, startups, and leading service providers. The Digital Hub is a pilot and point of contact around the issues of digitization and innovation for established companies as well as the start-up ecosystem.