Boston vs. Berlin

Berlin is home to a strong Life Sciences ecosystem, characterized by excellent research institutions, innovative companies, and a collaborative environment. But especially commercialization and scaling is where Boston sets the global benchmark.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁?

→ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
By pooling talent, startups, and capital, Boston has created a dense innovation ecosystem. In contrast, Berlin’s innovation landscape is spread across many individual locations that often do not have a common strategy. Efforts should now focus on bundling resources and building stronger connections between research, startups, and investors.

→ 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲-𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹
Boston’s success rests not just on seed funding but late-stage venture capital. In Germany, this remains the critical gap. As a result, many companies relocate or are acquired — a partly natural market dynamic but often leading to a loss of expertise and innovation.
Berlin has made a strong start by launching a €10 million pre-seed VC fund to support deep tech science spin-offs — but closing the scale-up gap will require much larger growth capital initiatives.

→ 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁
Boston embedded entrepreneurship into academic culture. In Berlin, more researchers are transitioning into founders, but the momentum can still accelerate. Talent retention through attractive infrastructure and entrepreneurial incentives — as well as reducing bureaucratic hurdles — is essential.

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𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Deeper collaboration, later-stage capital, and cultural change are essential to unlock the full potential of Germany’s biotech hubs.

With the new 2025 Coalition Agreement officially identifying Life Sciences and Deep Tech as national growth priorities, the mission to strengthen entrepreneurship, attract talent, and close the scale-up funding gap has been set.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻.

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