Klatten wants to expand with UnternehmerTum

The BMW heir apparently wants to expand its start-up hub to the whole of Europe. She wants to compete with the USA and China.

BMW heiress Susanne Klatten wants to bring the start-up cluster UnternehmerTum to the whole of Europe. Germany's richest woman tells Handelsblatt that this is the only way we have a chance of keeping up with the USA or China. The Business Insider also states that the start-up scene has changed for the better, according to Klatten. In her opinion, more and more young people, women and people with a migration background are founding their own companies.

As BMW heiress, Germany's richest woman and start-up promoter, Klatten founded the start-up cluster UnternehmerTum, which is affiliated with the Technical University of Munich, together with Helmut Schönberger almost 20 years ago. Since then, more than 1,000 companies have been founded in the start-up cluster or with its help. In 2021 alone, the start-ups raised more than 3.5 billion euros for new business models and concepts.

Klatten revealed in an interview with Handelsblatt that she wants to expand her start-up center to the whole of Europe. The heiress is clear in her reasons: "Only together can we compete with the USA or China." The question of how Europe fits into this new global order is one that we are heading towards, Klatten told Handelsblatt. "I support the idea of a single European market and comprehensive self-sufficiency. We can protect our culture and European identity if we preserve our technological independence," Klatten continued. Numerous technology-oriented start-ups are supported by UnternehmerTum.

It remains to be seen how many investments are planned and how large the new venture fund could be. However, Schönberger, Klatten's business partner, pointed out the size of the task Europe would face if it tried to compete with the USA or China in the technology sector. There would then be 50 start-up hubs in Europe the size of UnternehmerTum.