BayStartUP was formed in 2014 through the merger of evobis (southern Bavaria) and netzwerk nordbayern, and operates state-wide from Munich with regional offices. Its investor network brings together more than 400 private investors – business angels and family offices – plus over 200 institutional investors including VCs, corporate venture arms and public funds. Since 2014 it has brokered 578 pre-seed, seed and Series A financing rounds with a total volume of €627M, introducing roughly 130-150 startups to investors each year out of around 800 it advises on equity financing. It also runs four Bavarian business plan competitions and investor matching events.
Investment thesis
BayStartUP runs Bavaria's startup financing network, connecting founders with business angels and venture capital investors through regional programmes in Munich, North Bavaria and Swabia. It organises investor circles, business plan competitions and coaching for capital-seeking teams, and brokers more than 50 million euros of early-stage investment each year rather than investing from its own balance sheet.