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One in three German startups sceptical on US investor financing, survey finds
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 4, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 4, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
A survey shows 31% of German startups are skeptical about US funding due to Trump's policies, with many preferring EU investors.
BERLIN (Reuters) -Nearly one in three startups in Germany would have second thoughts about accepting financing from U.S. investors, according to a survey released on Friday, in a sign of growing scepticism about the business environment under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Germany's startup scene has long considered the United States a key partner, but sentiment has begun to shift amid uncertainty about Trump's policies, with 70% of the 152 tech startups surveyed by digital association Bitkom saying he presents a risk to the German economy.
As a result, 31% of the founders said they are reconsidering financing out of the U.S., with 13% saying they now prefer EU investors, while 11% say they have become more cautious and 7% no longer consider it an option.
However, 30% said U.S. investors are still attractive to them even after the change in government, found Bitkom.
Nearly 90% called on Germany to strengthen its digital sovereignty and to become more independent from the U.S. by removing bureaucratic hurdles and making it easier to access public contracts.
"Authorities and administrations should become anchor customers for startups," said Bitkom president Ralf Wintergerst.
"And we need to mobilize more venture capital for startups, especially from institutional investors," he added.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Friederike Heine)
31% of the founders said they are reconsidering financing out of the U.S.
Nearly 90% called on Germany to strengthen its digital sovereignty and become more independent from the U.S.
13% of the surveyed startups expressed a preference for EU investors.
30% of the startups still find U.S. investors attractive despite the change in government.
Bitkom president Ralf Wintergerst suggested that authorities should become anchor customers for startups and mobilize more venture capital from institutional investors.
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