There’s no doubt that the startup scene in Cologne is unique.
The city has created dozens of successful startups, over the years.
Some of them are already worth billions of dollars.
So whether you’re looking to start your own business, or just interested in learning about fast-growing startups from Cologne, here’s an extensive list of 74 startups founded there.
74 Startups in Cologne 1) Silexica Silexica offers software development services that help intelligent products, such as self-driving cars, move from concept to reality.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Johannes Emigholz, Maximilian Odendahl, Weihua Sheng Industries: Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Developer Tools, Embedded Software, Embedded Systems, Enterprise Software, Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Software Number of employees: 51-100 Funding: $29,360,037 Funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 6 (EQT Ventures, EASME - EU Executive Agency for SMEs, Paua Ventures, Merus Capital, Seed Fonds Aachen) You can find their website here .
2) CHRONEXT Clients can buy and sell luxury watches on Chronext's full-service platform for luxury watch trading.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: Ludwig Wurlitzer, Philipp Man Industries: Collectibles, E-Commerce, Fashion, Lifestyle, Retail Number of employees: 101-250 Funding: $116,629,212 Funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 17 (Octopus Ventures, QVentures, Playfair Capital, Partech, Capnamic Ventures) You can find their website here .
3) ESL Professional gaming, commonly known as e-sports, is the emphasis of ESL, a gaming news and information network.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1996 Founders: William Perry Industries: Electronics, eSports, Sports Number of employees: 251-500 Funding: $30,000,000 Funding rounds: 1 You can find their website here .
4) nextmarkets nextmarkets is a commission-free internet broker in Europe.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Dominic Heyden, Manuel Heyden Industries: Financial Services, FinTech, Stock Exchanges, Trading Platform Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $43,318,971 Funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 9 (Founders Fund, Axel Springer, FinLab, Alan Howard, Cryptology Asset Group) You can find their website here .
5) Studitemps Experts in Digital Work
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2008 Founders: Andreas Wels, Benjamin Roos Industries: Career Planning, Education, Recruiting, Staffing Agency Number of employees: 251-500 Funding: € 24,200,000 Funding rounds: 11 Number of investors: 7 (HV Capital, XAnge, Iris Capital, btov Partners, Seventure Partners) You can find their website here .
6) Giant Swarm The goal of Giant Swarm is to empower and liberate everyone to create modern software that runs their lives.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 Funding: $3,325,000 You can find their website here .
7) gridscale Gridscale is a cutting-edge technology that lays the groundwork for complex cloud solutions.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $8,114,355 You can find their website here .
8) itravel itravel offers personalized mobile leisure bookings via the internet.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $16,516,400 You can find their website here .
9) GreenPocket GreenPocket is a recognized expert in energy management and consumption visualization.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $11,621,451 You can find their website here .
10) 4stop 4Stop is a global provider of KYC, compliance, and anti-fraud services.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $2,801,820 You can find their website here .
11) Sugartrends Sugartrends is a global online marketplace for all types of retailers.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $2,421,553 You can find their website here .
12) ShareACamper ShareACamper is a peer-to-peer motorhome and caravan rental platform.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 Funding: $2,244,291 You can find their website here .
13) LANXESS LANXESS is a manufacturer of speciality chemicals.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 10001+ You can find their website here .
14) METALSALE METALSALE is a business-to-business marketplace for metal scrap traders.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 Funding: $944,706 You can find their website here .
15) InfanDx InfanDx is working on a new generation of diagnostic tests for neonatal care.
Details of the startup:
You can find their website here .
16) Banking One Banks use predictive analytics to estimate which customers will be interested in specific financial products.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 Funding: $110,401 You can find their website here .
17) DeepL DeepL is a well-known deep learning firm that specializes on language translation.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
18) Fasciotens Fasciotens aids in the healing of an open abdomen by increasing the chances and lowering the hazards.
Details of the startup:
You can find their website here .
19) FoodLoop FoodLoop helps the food retail industry to sell food products with a limited shelf life by offering discounts on them.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 Funding: $54,634 You can find their website here .
20) cleverbridge Cleverbridge is a software, SaaS, and digital goods monetization and subscription billing system.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 251-500 You can find their website here .
21) eyeo eyeo is an open source software company that creates tools that millions of people use every day to improve their internet experience.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
22) Studydrive StudyDrive is a student-centric sharing and discussion platform.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
23) Ströer Media Advertisers can choose from a variety of out-of-home and online communication options provided by the Ströer Group.
You can find their website here .
24) quintly quintly is a company established in Germany that provides online social media analytics solutions to its subscribers in order to help them improve their performance.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
25) InfluencerDB InfluencerDB is a data-driven influencer marketing and relationship management platform.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
26) Saloodo Saloodo! is a platform that assists shippers in locating road freight carriers and carriers in locating loads that maximize truck capacity.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
27) Rewe Group The Rewe Group is a business that specializes in commerce, travel, and tourism.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 10001+ You can find their website here .
28) Adblock Plus In all major browsers, Adblock Plus is a free addon that allows you to block irritating adverts and prevent tracking.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
29) CheMondis CheMondis is a chemical marketplace on the internet.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
30) Armedangels Armedangels is a men's and women's apparel retailer that specializes on classic and timeless styles.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
31) SQS Software Quality Systems The SQS Group (SQS) is the world's foremost software quality specialist. Solutions, training, consulting, and resources are all available through SQS.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1001-5000 You can find their website here .
32) MeinAuto MeinAuto is an automobile sales and service consulting firm.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
33) BetterDoc BetterDoc assists patients in receiving the BEST medical care for their specific health issue from the BEST doctor.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
34) e·pilot e.pilot facilitates energy suppliers' entry into the digital world and assists them in assuming a leadership role as a provider of energy services.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
35) HRS The Hotel Portal HRS has a huge selection of hotels for both business and leisure tourists across the world.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1001-5000 You can find their website here .
36) Userlike Userlike is a website live chat software that is both professional and lightweight.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
37) Hitmeister Hitmeister is a German online marketplace that sells new and used items in a variety of categories.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
38) Social Sweethearts Social Sweethearts is the world's largest publisher of personalized, family-friendly games and content.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
39) Unitymedia In Germany, Unity Media provides basic cable television and radio services.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 5001-10000 You can find their website here .
40) Famobi Famobi generates money for developers and publishers by delivering HTML5 gaming content to mobile and web browsers.
You can find their website here .
41) PlusServer PlusServer delivers data centers with managed hosting options.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 251-500 You can find their website here .
42) fitogram Fitogram is an online marketplace for activities related to fitness and health.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
43) QSC AG QSC AG provides comprehensive ICT services to medium-sized organizations from a single supplier.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 501-1000 You can find their website here .
44) Flowtify For the food service business, Flowtify develops and manages a hygiene and quality management platform and application.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
45) Bendesk Bendesk is a B2B digital system for handling employee and corporate benefits.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
46) Lumoview Building Analytics Lumoview provides automatic building analysis using a two-second measurement per room.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
47) entrafin In Germany, entrafin provides purchasing and sales financing services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and banks.
You can find their website here .
48) Qimia AI We're creating the most powerful platform for industrialized, massively scalable, distributed AI solutions in the world.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
49) KERNWERK Every Day, Athletes Get a Perfect Workout: Athletes get properly scaled, adaptable exercises with and without equipment every day.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
50) Tunnelware Tunnelware is a virtualization as a service (VaaS) solution for the tunneling sector.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
51) NEO New Oncology NEO New Oncology is a diagnostic platform that is designed and developed by NEO New Oncology.
You can find their website here .
52) Koelnmesse International trade fairs and conferences are held in Koelnmesse.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 501-1000 You can find their website here .
53) DepotCity DepotCity is a company that digitizes the warehousing and fulfillment industry. Simply reserve your warehouse or fulfillment center online, and we'll take care of the rest!
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
54) Legalbird Legalbird is a service that assists consumers in resolving legal difficulties in a matter of minutes.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
55) TRINKKOST We developed the world's first organic certified dietary shake to promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
56) tradingtwins Professional equipment for offices, enterprises, restaurants, and hotels can be purchased in a simple B2B format.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
57) CryptoTec CryptoTec connects decentralized computer systems with high-security solutions.
You can find their website here .
58) sicherbezahlen.de Sicherbezahlen.de is a website that offers a step-by-step payment option.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
59) Freightly Freightly is a real-time transportation and logistics management solution.
You can find their website here .
60) ITyX Solutions Customer service and corporate procedures are automated with ITyX software solutions. All font-based procedures are managed by a central platform.
You can find their website here .
61) Quiply Quiply Employee Software is a new SaaS firm that provides a mobile-first communication app platform for mobile, remote, and shift workers.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
62) Qvest Media In the domains of broadcasting and media technology, Qvest Media is a world-leading systems architect and ICT integrator.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
63) Mealmatch Mealmatch brings individuals together for a shared meal in restaurants and private settings.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
64) netSTART On the areas of digital economy and digital transformation, netSTART delivers lectures, keynotes, seminars, and workshops.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
65) Startup SAFARI Startup SAFARIA is a global community that connects local startup ecosystems.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
66) PlagScan PlagScan analyzes your paper to billions of others, highlighting any significant correlations.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
67) COUPIES COUPIES is Germany's most rapidly rising mobile cashback couponing company.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
68) XOVI To enhance traffic, XOVI creates all-in-one internet marketing suites.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
69) hijob hijob is a mobile job search engine for professionals, managers, and recent graduates.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 11-50 You can find their website here .
70) DocCheck Guano Guano is the perfect fertilizer for new businesses: it gives finance, know-how, market access, and a network.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 51-100 You can find their website here .
71) VulcanoSec VulcanoSec's Compliance Scanner and Security Automation Framework are both quite strong.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 1-10 You can find their website here .
72) MEDIA BROADCAST The premier full-service provider in the broadcasting and media industries is MEDIA BROADCAST.
Details of the startup:
Number of employees: 501-1000 You can find their website here .
73) PLEV Technologies STEEREON is an E-Scooter developed by PLEV Technologies that blends lifestyle, driving enjoyment, and functionality in a unique way.
You can find their website here .
74) Flossbach von Storch Flossbach von Storch is an asset management firm that manages stock, bond, and multi-asset funds and is not affiliated with any banks.
You can find their website here .