Science & Startups, the joint start-up centre of the Berlin University Alliance partners, has achieved top rankings in the latest "Europe's Leading Start-up Hubs 2026" ranking by the Financial Times, Statista and Sifted, an FT-supported media offering for the start-up community: 12th place in Europe (previous year: 19th place) and 6th place in the track record – the proven success rate of the startups supported – among 180 European startup hubs evaluated. In Germany, Science & Startups also ranks second among university startup hubs.
The ranking among the top 12 in Europe reflects the continuous work in the areas of quality of support services. Science & Startups bundles cross-university expertise, programmes and networks to systematically support science-based start-up projects and bring them to market in the long term – especially in research-intensive deep tech fields.
"Berlin is already one of Europe's leading start-up hubs as a centre of knowledge and innovation."
For the "Europe's Leading Start-up Hubs 2026" ranking, the Financial Times, Statista and Sifted evaluated start-up hubs in Europe that offer at least one incubation or accelerator programme and have been active since 2020. Alumni who had participated in start-up support programmes between 2018 and 2023 assessed mentoring, infrastructure, legal support, networking and financing opportunities, among other things. In addition, assessments from investors and entrepreneurs were also taken into account. "
Berlin is already one of Europe's leading start-up hubs as a centre of knowledge and innovation. With the expansion of Science & Startups into the joint start-up centre of the Berlin University Alliance, we will further increase Berlin's innovation momentum in the future. Where cutting-edge research meets entrepreneurial spirit, progress is made that connects science and society and advances them together," says Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, spokesperson for the Berlin University Alliance and president of Freie Universität Berlin.
"We see this ranking as further motivation to continuously expand our services for start-ups, for example through thematic launchpads in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, green chemistry, communication and space travel. We are also working intensively on expanding our digital and AI-driven offerings for entrepreneurs," says Florian Frank, member of the management team at Science & Startups.
One example of this is AI NATION, an incubator and accelerator for science-based AI start-ups. Over 350 start-up teams have applied for the current batch alone, reflecting the increase in spin-off activities. The criteria highlighted in the ranking, such as track record and mentoring, can also be illustrated with concrete examples. One such example is Green Fusion, a start-up from the scientific community that is transforming energy management in the housing industry and thus helping to shape the heat transition. Green Fusion is a prime example of start-ups that emerge from long-term science-based work and can be successfully launched on the market thanks to reliable transfer and support structures.
About Science & Startups
Science & Startups is the joint start-up centre of the partners of the Berlin University Alliance: Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin, in close cooperation with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The aim is to translate excellent research results from Berlin's universities into innovative start-ups whose products and services are socially relevant, highly scalable and sustainable.
The Berlin University Alliance
The Berlin University Alliance – the excellence network of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – positions Berlin as one of the world's leading centres of knowledge and innovation, where integrated collaboration takes place across disciplines and sectors of society. Together, this ecosystem contributes to the sustainable success of major transformations. The Berlin University Alliance is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the State of Berlin as part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder.