Bits, Pretzel and Bavarian ambitions

Now, don`t get me wrong - I really like a lot about Munich and Bavaria (not the least because I have lived there for a long time and my son is a “Münchner Kindl”). But the decade old question whether Munich or Berlin is the Start Up/ VC capital of Germany - and the extension of that argument that Munich is Germany`s California - makes me smile.

Why? Because one just can`t compare the 2 cities - or California and Munich. Whilst Munich continued its rich heritage of “old world” industrial and engineering excellence after WW II, Berlin had lost most of its industrial base and couldn`t really rebuild it during the cold war and the status as an “Island” within East Germany. 

Therefore, it was only natural for various reasons that after the Reunification, a lot of young, cash-poor start ups developed in Berlin whereas Munich was less of a Start Up destination - one of the big ones being the lack of jobs in “old” industries in Berlin.

The article gives a great overview of the differences and rational behind it. I do agree that Munich has a bit on an edge on Berlin when it comes to deeptech and cleantech,  industry related technologies whereas Berlin is still the Software place.

So, back to the question - is Munich Germany´s California - not quite yet but it has potentilal!