Entrepreneurial Impact of Academic Institutions

We uncover how universities fuel startup creation, funding, and talent flows across Germany, Austria and Switzerland (2014-2024)

Objective

The Entrepreneurial Impact Study quantifies, compares, and analyzes how academic institutions across the DACH region contribute to entrepreneurship as part of their ‘third mission’, from educating future founders to enabling start-ups. This allows leaders in universities, policy and ecosystems to benchmark progress and prioritize action. In 2025, the study’s scope expanded beyond Germany to include Austria and Switzerland, providing additional country-and region-level insights, as well as data on retention and migration dynamics.

Details regarding the study can be found here: Munich Impact Study 2025

Selected Results

Leading academic institutions (absolute/funded): TUM, ETH Zurich, and University of St. Gallen lead by total number of startups founded. For funded startups, the order is:

1. ETH
2. TUM
3. St. Gallen

Leading academic institutions, relative per student/employees: Private business schools dominate in relative rankings (WHU, HHL and ESCP). Meanwhile, Swiss schools and technical universities are climbing the ranks by focusing on funded start-ups.

Ecosystem distribution and funding intensity: around 78% of DACH start-ups are based in Germany, 8% in Austria and 14% in Switzerland, with funding incidences of around 16% (Germany), 22% (Austria) and 36% (Switzerland).

Industry mix: Industry mix: Funded start-ups tend to be in the health, enterprise software and fintech sectors. Switzerland has around 26% of start-ups in the health sector, and nine universities dominate the top five industry spots.

Deep Tech: ETH and TUM lead in terms of the number of startups funded (~160 and ~140 respectively). Per student, WHU ranks first, followed by HHL and Munich Business School.

Women entrepreneurs: Mixed-gender teams are more common in AT/CH than in DE, and all-female teams account for just 3% of funded startups, compared to 6% of all startups. TU Wien is the only technical university in the top group.

Founder geography and retention: Berlin, Vienna, Zurich and Munich retain 55–65% of local founders, while Berlin attracts 23% from the Rhein-Main-Neckar region and 20–30% build outside major hubs.

Time trends: Startup creation increased from around 3,200 in 2014 to around 6,200 in 2021, before declining between 2022 and 2024. Funding intensity also decreased after 2021.

Methodology

Scope and timeframe: Startups founded between 2014 and 2024 in the DACH region. Academic institutions (n = 437) from federal statistics.

Supported by our Review Board

Meet the Team and Co-Authors for DACH Ranking 2025

Questions or ideas for collaboration? Let’s talk!