Universities are increasingly expected to contribute not only through research and teaching, but also through innovation, entrepreneurship, and knowledge transfer that drive economic and societal impact. This growing responsibility – often described as the university’s “third mission” – raises an important question: How can entrepreneurial impact be measured?
A new study led by researchers from the Chair for Strategy and Organization at the TUM School of Management addresses this challenge. The report, Entrepreneurial Impact of Academic Institutions 2026 in the DACH Region, examines more than 51,000 startups founded between 2014 and 2024 across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and analyzes how academic institutions contribute to entrepreneurial ecosystems, job creation, startup financing, and founder development.
The study was conducted by Prof. Dr. Theresa Treffers, Prof. Dr. Isabell M. Welpe, Isabel Tretow, and Philipp Lemanczyk from the TUM School of Management, together with Prof. Dr. Bart Clarysse (ETH Zurich) and Prof. Dr. Johann Füller (University of Innsbruck).
Building on the Entrepreneurship Impact Study launched in 2023, the latest edition goes beyond measuring the number of startups associated with universities. Instead, it offers a deeper look at how academic institutions shape entrepreneurial activity and influence innovation ecosystems across the DACH region.
Looking Beyond Startup Counts
Startup creation is often used as a key indicator of entrepreneurial activity. However, the entrepreneurial impact of universities extends far beyond the number of ventures founded by students, researchers, and alumni.
To capture this broader picture, the study examines multiple dimensions, including startup creation, startup survival, employment generation, funding success, and founders’ educational and professional backgrounds. The goal is to understand not only where startups originate, but also how they develop and contribute to economic activity.
The findings reveal that entrepreneurial impact is concentrated among a relatively small number of institutions. ETH Zurich, the Technical University of Munich, and the University of St. Gallen consistently rank among the leading universities in terms of startup creation and active startups. Notably, technical universities account for six of the ten highest-ranked institutions by active startup activity, underscoring their important role within the region’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Universities as Engines of Employment
One of the study’s key insights is the scale of employment generated by university-linked startups.
Across the DACH region, enterprise software startups create the largest number of jobs, followed by ventures in transportation, energy, and fintech. The findings suggest that the impact of startups extends far beyond company formation, making a substantial contribution to employment and economic development.
The results also highlight differences between national ecosystems. While Germany records particularly strong employment effects in enterprise software and transportation, Switzerland stands out in fintech and health, and Austria shows a strong concentration of employment in energy-related ventures.
Among academic institutions, startups associated with TUM, WHU, the University of St. Gallen, and ETH Zurich each account for more than 20,000 jobs, illustrating how entrepreneurial activity is concentrated among a small group of universities.
Funding Success Is Highly Uneven
One of the clearest findings is that startup funding is highly concentrated. More than 40 percent of funded startups raise less than €1 million, while only around 10 percent secure more than €20 million in funding. Approximately 200 startups across the DACH region have raised more than €50 million.
Industry patterns also emerge. Fintech, health, and enterprise software attract the largest overall funding volumes, while transportation startups achieve the highest average funding amounts per company.
The data further show that university ecosystems differ in their funding outcomes. While startups linked to TUM lead in total funding raised, ETH Zurich records the highest number of funded startups, demonstrating how different indicators capture different dimensions of entrepreneurial success.
What Founder Pathways Tell Us
In addition to startups and funding, the researchers examined the people behind entrepreneurial activity.
The findings suggest that entrepreneurship is often preceded by several years of professional experience. On average, founders launch their ventures approximately six years after graduation, while 37 percent start a company within the first two years after completing their studies.
These findings indicate that entrepreneurship is often not an immediate outcome of higher education, but rather the result of a longer professional development process that combines academic training with practical experience.
The study also identifies notable differences across founder groups. Female founders start their companies, on average, around one year earlier than male founders.
„The differences in founding time between male and female founders might have various reasons, one can be the different industry focus of female and male founders: In our data, female founders are proportionally more strongly represented in consumer-facing sectors such as fashion, food, and education, whereas male founders tend to found in technology- and B2B-oriented fields such as FinTech and enterprise software.” – Isabel Tretow, TUM Chair of Strategy and Organization
Professional experience before entrepreneurship is common. Many founders previously worked for large corporations, consulting firms, auditing companies, or technology providers. Organizations such as Siemens, Bosch, BMW Group, EY, Credit Suisse/UBS, McKinsey & Company, and SAP appear frequently in founders’ career histories.
Educational backgrounds also matter. Most founders hold a master’s degree, while PhD graduates are particularly well represented among funded ventures and in research-intensive sectors such as health and biotechnology.
About the Study
To analyze these patterns, the research team combined data from StartupDetector, Austrian Startup Monitor, Startupticker.ch, Startup.ch, Dealroom, PitchBook, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, and company websites. The resulting dataset covers more than 51,000 startups and 437 academic institutions across the DACH region.
By examining startup creation alongside employment, funding, startup survival, and founder pathways, the study provides a more comprehensive perspective on entrepreneurial impact. As universities are increasingly expected to contribute to innovation and economic development, such evidence can help policymakers, university leaders, and entrepreneurship support organizations better understand and strengthen the role of academic institutions within entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Publication
Tretow, I., Lemanczyk, P., Treffers, T., Welpe, I.M., Clarysse, B., & Füller, J. (2026). Entrepreneurial Impact of Academic Institutions 2026 in DACH Region: Deep Dive Analysis. Chair for Strategy and Organization, Technical University of Munich.
