Bildnachweis: Kaoun International / GITEX.
Germany’s start-ups are off to a great start in 2025. As per the KfW Venture Capital Dashboard, high-potential German ventures raked in EUR 1.6 billion in funding in Q1 2025 – a 14% jump from the previous quarter, according to statistics from GTAI. But in today’s evolving start-up climate, capital alone isn’t the complete story. As AI reshapes global tech corridors, founders need to think beyond national boundaries. Start-up success today hinges on speed, scale, regulatory headroom, and market adaptability. Roughly 4,000 kilometres southeast, another start-up engine is rewriting the rules of growth, capital access, and global scalability – specifically, the city of Dubai.
The numbers are telling. Since 2010, Dubai’s start-ups have pulled in a cumulative USD 12.6 billion in funding, according to Dubai Chamber Digital Startup Guide 2024. Nearly 90% of the UAE’s scale-ups – i.e., start-ups raising USD 1 million or more – are based in Dubai, whereas a striking 40% of all start-ups in the city have already hit that scale-up threshold; a ratio that outpaces many mature start-up ecosystems. The city’s top five most-funded start-ups represent a new class of capital-efficient, fast-growing companies, including global messaging platform Telegram (USD 2.9 billion), fintech heavyweight Tabby (USD 1.74 billion), cloud kitchen platform Kitopi (USD 804 million), Uber-acquired rideshare Careem (USD 771 million), and the mass transit disruptor Swvl (USD 709 million). Investment isn’t the only magnet. Dubai’s unmatched geographic positioning
grants start-ups fast-track access to emerging markets across the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa – a combined consumer base of over 2 billion people. With zero salary taxes, rapid licensing processes, and 10-year golden visas for founders and tech talent, the message is clear: this city is firmly establishing itself as a global springboard.
Government-backed ecosystem growth
Dubai’s public sector has become a high-speed enabler of innovation. From appointing 22 Chief AI Officers across government departments to launching the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence, the city is embedding emerging tech into public service
infrastructure. At the centre of this is the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, a 10-year plan to double the size of its economy through 100 transformational projects, which includes
Sandbox Dubai, a real-world regulatory testbed for frontier tech and green manufacturing. The Dubai AI & Web3 Campus aims to attract 500 start-ups and USD 300 million in investment by 2028. Nationally, the UAE was the first country to launch a Ministry of AI, Digital Economy & Remote Work Applications, and establish Mohamed bin Zayed University of AI, the world’s first graduate-level research university for AI. This topdown approach, matched by high policy execution speed, creates a rare dynamic: a government engaging start-ups in building the economy.
What this means for German founders
For German start-ups, particularly in AI, fintech, healthtech, or greentech, Dubai offers a platform to test, scale, and monetise faster. It’s not about leaving the EU, it’s about opening a second front – a place to pilot new models, explore emerging customer segments, and attract cross-regional investors. With over 5,600 registered start-ups (October 2024) in the UAE, supported by public accelerators, sovereign wealth funds, and international venture capitalists, Dubai offers a solid footing for start-up growth. Pair that with a high quality of life – Dubai is cosmopolitan, safe, and well-connected – and it only helps in attracting global talent. Dubai’s true power lies in its diversity and open-door policy, with over 200 nationalities residing in the city; enabling unique cultural and professional synergies.
The convergence point: GITEX Europe’s North Star
As geographical scale becomes the new metric of success, Gitex Europe x Ai Everything converges start-up communities from over 60 countries at North Star Europe featuring over 750 global start-ups, 20 unicorns, and 600+ investors, from 21–23 May at Messe Berlin. Unicorns represented include Qonto, Flutterwave, reMarkable, Glovo, and TransferMate, while international investor delegations span Earlybird VC, SOSV, B2Venture, Speedinvest, and Startup Wise Guys. Dedicated programmes like Gitex ScaleX, launched in partnership with AWS, and SMEDEX, supported by international trade and regulatory bodies, offer founders real strategic tools: market access, legal guidance, and funding intelligence tailored to Europe’s most overlooked growth-stage challenge: scaling beyond the continent. The start-up conference offers a tactical roadmap, where founders, funders, and policymakers dissect what 10x growth really looks like in 2025, in a market where shifting policies and AI competitiveness are recalibrating start-up ecosystems worldwide. For German startups building the engines of tomorrow’s industries, Dubai might just be the place to put them on the road.
