MUST Munich

The Munich Innovation Ecosystem

We are the driving force for the strategic development of Munich’s innovation ecosystem, connecting and enabling the key stakeholders and elevating Munich’s unique profile nationally and internationally. We put the spotlight on Munich and its dynamic and ever-evolving high-tech region by bringing together our strong network to foster the exchange between industry, science, government, startups, and ecosystem players for the entrepreneurial and innovation exchange in, from and for Munich.

The MUC SUMMIT GmbH, initiated by UnternehmerTUM GmbH, Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship GmbH, and German Entrepreneurship GmbH in 2015, has established itself as the Munich ecosystem’s main partner and facilitator of high-level networking opportunities by hosting events and workshops such as MUST – The Munich Summit and MUST Satellites: MUST 3D Printing and MUST Healthcare.

The Munich Innovation Ecosystem was initiated by:

The Visionof
The Munich Innovation Ecosystem:

Munich’s innovative, open-minded, and diverse community brings together international young talent, startups, and established companies. Together, they co-create scalable innovation that strives toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

This unique blend of academia, industry and startups with stakeholders from government, science and society offers a unique high-tech ecosystem in one of the world’s most livable cities.

Our Strategy

Strategy Workshop for Munich’s ecosystem

Based on the experience and the network of MUST, we implemented a new strategy process in 2019 to push the development of Munich’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem forward. As ecosystem builders and connectors in the entrepreneurial and innovation scene, we focused on a cross-sectoral network with an active and coordinated innovation community. We organized and orchestrated three workshops with around 45 C-level participants from government, industry, academia, and startups.

Strategy Workshop for Munich’s ecosystem

By addressing future topics apart from existing structures, we want Munich to increasingly become a leading innovation ecosystem nationally and internationally.

We organized and orchestrated three workshops with around 45 C-level participants from government, industry, academia and startups.

With partners from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, the City of Munich, Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria, the Entrepreneurship Centers from Munich’s universities, BMW, Google, Intel, PwC, Innosabi, VW, Mindspace, KPMG, WERK1 and others, we ensured that different perspectives were represented across different stakeholder groups. In 15 additional working groups we narrowed down specific topics of the strategy process by focusing on subsectors like “The Vision and Mission of Munich’s entrepreneurial ecosystem”, “Munich: a B2B hub”, “How to Market the Ecosystem” and “The Internationalization of the Munich Innovation Ecosystem”.

Key Findings of the Task Forces were:

A shared Vision for the Munich Innovation Ecosystem:
One working group focused on a shared vision for the Munich Innovation Ecosystem. Up to 12 partners from the public sector, the industry sector and the startup scene came together to create a vision for Munich’s innovation landscape. Alongside the formulation of a shared vision, the partners also addressed Mission Items that should be fulfilled by The Munich Innovation Ecosystem to implement the vision. Mission Items included the scouting and promotion of international talents, tech founders and start-ups, international networking and joint programmes with international ecosystems, an interactive community platform, spaces that promote interaction, topic-specific pilot projects involving the relevant stakeholders, and social impact. If you have any further questions about the vision and/or mission items for the Munich Innovation Ecosystem, please do not hesitate to contact us – the aligned vision, including mission items for the Munich innovation ecosystem was published and can be forwarded upon request.
The Draft of an Ecosystem Builder:
Discussions revealed that a facilitator and orchestrator of the ecosystem is needed to improve networking, visibility, and aligned activities for the ecosystem. The working group members designed a concept for a connecting and cooperative networking entity that puts the focus on the strategic development of the Munich startup and innovation ecosystem, enables and networks through cooperation and exchange between the members, and markets the ecosystem nationally and internationally.
One central location to gather a whole ecosystem under one roof:
A place within the city center for startups, innovators, academia, industry representatives and entrepreneurs to grow their business, network, and benefit from the community is a missing component. Three possible measures for the establishment of this kind of space were discussed during the strategy workshop: the establishment of a new physical space, the bundling of already existing activities, and/or a virtual exchange platform. It was suggested that the operators of the existing sites exchange on a regular basis to examine how transparency can be improved and what joint activities can be developed. This could be through a format with different physical locations or a series of workshops to present the different locations and programs to the ecosystem.
International Point of Contact:
Support is needed for international stakeholders to meet important contacts, find out who is who, and to identify the right access points to the ecosystem. Therefore, a list of improvement areas was created to identify the main issues international stakeholders are facing when trying to enter the ecosystem (inbound) as well as how to support local stakeholders who need support going international (outbound). See also key finding number 7 for “The Munich Pitch Deck” and don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for further information.
National and International Marketing:
The internal and external communication of Munich’s innovation ecosystem and its driving forces can be improved. A central website as well as marketing tools would be highly welcomed to promote Munich’s activities.
International Representation:
It would be helpful to have an organizer who bundles international activities and represents the innovation ecosystem jointly at the international level. This includes representation at international events as well as organizing and welcoming international delegations and representatives to connect within the Munich ecosystem, thereby bridging the local ecosystem with other international innovation stakeholders.
One Munich Pitch Deck:
A cohesive pitch deck was designed as a marketing tool for the international presentation of Munich’s high-tech innovation ecosystem. If you are interested in the pitch deck, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Personal vs Virtual Exchange:
What type of exchange is missing: small or big events, one-on-ones, digital platforms?
This question was intensely debated and many diverse answers were given, such as the personal exchange between stakeholders in smaller and more personal settings as well as bigger events or a digital platform for the regular exchange between academia, industry, startups, government, and science.If you have any further questions on upcoming events, please get in touch with us.
Target Group:
An exchange and design of who we aim to attract to Munich was facilitated and drafted. What is the outside perception of Munich? What does Munich stand for? What does Munich have to offer? If you are interested in the results, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Ecosystem Mapping: A better overview of Munich’s offerings, such as hubs, accelerators, experts, and tech-startups is missing and should be provided by the ecosystem.

If you want to learn more about the key findings and gain in depth knowledge, please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to provide you with further information.

Aside from the key findings, all participants welcomed regular exchange, networking and further opportunities to play an active role in the development of the ecosystem. These diverse outcomes were part of a very fruitful and necessary process to drive the strategic development of Munich’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem forward. We want to thank our partners and participants for being great contributors and designers of our ecosystem!

Find your Perfect Match in Munich

Home of the Big Ones.

Munich combines the headquarters and strategic locations of many DAX companies and multinationals like BMW, Google, Allianz, IBM, Siemens, Intel under one roof. The metropolitan city is the root of success for some of the world’s most renowned and forward-thinking companies.

Munich is establishing itself as an economic hotspot not only for now, but for decades to come. For this endeavor, Germany’s most livable city can rely on its superb infrastructure, buzzing city center, open-minded culture, and let’s not forget, its absolutely stunning natural surroundings.

Welcome to Startup’s Paradise.

Thriving and growing. Having successfully activated numerous new businesses, Bavaria’s startup programs with their special focus on Munich play an important role, built on a rich network of multiple prestigious business accelerators, entrepreneurship centers, incubators, and co-working spaces.

Another bonus: Munich is home to various startup and corporate events, workshops and conferences like Bits & Pretzels or MUST – The Munich Summit. Together with the digital and eco-friendly infrastructure, it’s the place to be for any startup.

Munich’s Got Talent.

Leading in research. With nearly 15,000 patents a year and top institutions like the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, we provide the perfect foundation for research and development. Munich is proud to be home to international, world-class universities developing highly-qualified talent with an entrepreneurial mindset like the Technical University of Munich, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and the University of Applied Sciences Munich.

Looking for talent? We’ve got the newest masters of their classes right here.

Let’s Get Technical.

Leading tech-hub in Germany. Munich is paving the way with excellent infrastructure and technological resources, making it a major tech hotspot with many subsectors like aerospace, artificial intelligence, biotech, health, insuretech, mobility, and smart city.

Moreover, several hubs have chosen Munich for its environment that encourages startups and companies to connect and exchange in their field of business, pushing each other forward.