Every fourth startup working on COVID-19 solutions

More than 2,600 startups have been established in Austria since 2009, half in Vienna.

Every fourth startup working actively last year on the development of solutions for the COVID-19 crisis. A further seven percent are planning to implement specific solutions in the future. More than 90 percent of Austrian startups are already generating revenue abroad or plan to actively operate on international markets in the near future. Every fifth startup is already making a profit. These were the conclusions of the annual Austrian Startup Monitor of the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), the startup platform AustrianStartups and the Vienna University of Economics and Business startup centre.

IT and software development remain the most important sectors for startups, with a share of 29 percent. Growth has been generated in the fields of consumer goods (ten percent), life sciences (ten percent), creative industries (nine percent) and education (six percent). Achieving ecological targets comprises a top priority for 27 percent of all startups.

More than half of the startups (52 percent) has already benefitted from external capital. The level of valuations substantially rose in the last round of financing. On balance, the Austrian startup sector has more than 20,000 employees.