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Industry focus

Information and communications technology (ICT)

Munich is booming as an IT center thanks to outstanding employees, high-intensity research and in-depth involvement with business and application technologies.

Munich is Europe’s IT magnet

As far back as 2014, an EU industry report ranked Munich  as Europe’s top ICT region. The pace of development has been rapid ever since.

Munich’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector boasts impressive growth: The number of employees has almost doubled since 2014 (+92 percent). In total, 9.6 percent of all employees in the Munich region work in the ICT sector.

Global players and market leaders

Munich is a magnet for major and innovative IT companies. Global players and market leaders are well established and continue to expand operations in Munich. Prominent examples include Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google Deutschland, Huawei, IBM - Watson, Microsoft, Open AI, Tiktok and Meta.

Other major companies with central offices in Munich include the CRM-solutions provider Salesforce, Fujitsu with its Digital Transformation Center (DTC), the software specialists for the construction industry NEMETSCHEK AG, the producer of supercomputers Eviden, Capgemini Technology Services, Cisco Systems, NTT Data Deutschland, the Indian companyTech Mahindra, the semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm, Telefónica Germany – the list is long. 

Munich’s major tech companies

Munich’s IT sector in figures

socially insured jobs in the city

percent of all Munich employees

companies

The strengths of Munich’s ICT industry

The broad spectrum of application fields is the result of Munich's diverse industry landscape with numerous global players in a wide range of sectors. Munich has become an international leader in the field of AI applications and quantum technology in particular. Embedded systems and security technology, for example, are also strongly represented in Munich.

The ICT services sector, which includes software consulting, data center operation, IT services and e-commerce, has long been the most important and dynamic area of Munich's ICT sector. It currently comprises 90,995 employees, or 91% of all employees in the ICT sector in Munich. Digitalization is driving growth, as the strong automotive industry and the banking sector demand specialist applications and consulting.  

The strong application sectors in Munich – automotive, biotech, aerospace engineering, medical technology, optical technologies – make use of AI but also of embedded systems to operate machines and devices and guide processes. This is also why the new start-up superstar Celonis is based here. The young company is in international demand for its process mining, which enables continuous optimization of digital processes.

Munich is developing into an international player in the field of artificial intelligence, the most important technology of the future. The basis for this is the renowned university landscape as well as the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS as important research institute.

The Munich Quantum Valley research initiative was launched in 2021 by the Bavarian State Government / Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW), the Max Planck Society (MPG), the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FhG), the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Since then, Munich Quantum Valley e.V. and the MCQST – Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology, have been carrying out quantum science research, development, and training in Munich. Funding of 300 million Euros within 10 years is provided by the Free State of Bavaria. More funds are applied for from the German Federal Government. The Leibniz Supercomputing Center and the Walther Meißner Institute in Garching near Munich, home to the supercomputer SuperMUC, are also involved in plans for future quantum computers.

Public and private initiatives are driving the digitalisation and networking of stakeholders. See → Innovation Ecosystem. The Munich Innovation Ecosystem (MIE), for example, was initiated by German Entrepreneurship GmbH, the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship, and UnternehmerTUM, and is supported by Gründerland Bayern, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs (StMWi), and the City of Munich. It plays an important role in the field of artificial intelligence. In the field of quantum technology, the Munich Quantum Valley is an association that aims to develop and operate quantum computers in the region, with funding from the Free State of Bavaria. Numerous initiatives have also been established in the private sector, such as Digitale Stadt München e.V. and the Festival der Zukunft (festival of the future).

Digital start-up scene

Munich’s outstanding university and research environment, complete with entrepreneurship centers and talented young employees, has helped create a particularly successful start-up scene. Financing for the scene almost quadrupled from 2020 to 2021.

The strongest segment was enterprise software, which attracted investment of €1.5 billion. Particularly strong and internationally renowned Munich “scale ups” include Personio and the “decacorn” Celonis.

  • Startups and new business

    Munich’s startup scene benefits from a tried-and-true network of successful major corporations, established startups, and an excellent university and research environment full of outstanding minds and institutional supporters.

    sechs Start-up Mitarbeiter*innen in einem Büro

Further information and contact

Department of Labor and Economic Development - munich business

Eva Puckner