In Europe, nearly half a million additional start-ups could emerge in ten years if all universities were to harness their potential as effectively as the leaders in the field of entrepreneurship. This is shown by the new Redstone University Startup Index. TUM ranks 4th among very large universities for start-ups founded by researchers. In terms of the ratio of start-ups to university budget, it ranks 5th.
Bert Willer / hackaTUM Start-ups are considered a key driver of Europe's innovative strength. However, not all universities support entrepreneurship among their researchers and students to the same extent. To highlight this potential, a research team from the venture capital firm Redstone, the think tank AlpMomentum, TUM and the University of Trier examined where founders conducted their research or pursued their studies. The study examines start-ups founded in 2025 and includes 1,000 universities and 50 public research institutions in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. To identify the start-ups and their founders, the team primarily used LinkedIn profile data, the Dealroom database and data from the European Patent Office.
Among very large universities, TUM ranks 4th in terms of start-ups founded by researchers (38 in 2025), trailing the University of Oxford, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. With 235 start-ups founded by current or former students, TUM ranks 8th, making it the only very large German university in Europe's top 20.
"Over the past few years, we have implemented numerous initiatives at TUM specifically designed to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit in our university's research and teaching," says TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann. "For example, the TUM Student Clubs and the TUM Entrepreneurial Masterclass have significantly increased the number of start-ups founded by students. And since 2022, we have been supporting founders with the transparently structured TUM IP Fast Track , helping them accelerate the contract signing process to within twelve weeks."
Potential for a five-trillion-euro increase in gross domestic product
The key question posed by the study is: To what extent do universities leverage their budgets to create potential for successful start-ups? The research team therefore examined how many start-ups can be considered economically viable - a total of around 23,000. The study then compares the number of start-ups attributed to each university with that university's budget. TUM ranks 5th among very large universities with 10.4 start-ups per 100 million euros in budget. Imperial College London leads the rankings here.
What would the European start-up landscape look like if all universities produced as many founders relative to their budgets as the top 10 percent? The study team has calculated that around 445,000 additional start-ups could be founded within ten years. This could create 13 million additional jobs, increase gross domestic product by five trillion euros, and generate 1.5 trillion euros in additional tax revenue.
"The comparison of universities shows that more funding isn't necessarily required for researchers and graduates to become successful entrepreneurs," says study author Dr. Timo Fischer of the Chair of Technology and Innovation Management at TUM. "Rather, the goal should be to allocate existing resources in a more targeted manner toward entrepreneurship activities. Above all, universities could integrate entrepreneurial skills into all disciplines, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and build alumni networks for mentoring and investment."
