Klatten wants to expand with UnternehmerTum

The BMW heiress apparently wants to expand her startup hub to the whole of Europe. In doing so, she wants to hold her own against the USA and China.

BMW heiress Susanne Klatten wants to bring the start-up cluster UnternehmerTum to all of Europe. The richest woman in Germany tells Handelsblatt that only in this dimension do we have a chance of keeping up with the USA or China. Businessinsider also says that the start-up scene has changed for the better, according to Klatten. More and more young people, women and people with an immigrant background are starting their own businesses, in her opinion.

As BMW heiress, Germany's richest woman and startup promoter, Klatten founded the startup 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 startups 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 hold our own against the U.S. or China." The question of how Europe fits into this new global order is one we are heading toward, 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 added. Numerous technology-oriented star.ups are supported by UnternehmerTum.

It remains to be seen how many investments are planned and how large the new venture fund might be. However, Schönberger, Klatten's business partner, pointed out the size of the task Europe would face if it tried to compete with the U.S. or China in the technology industry. Then there would be 50 startup hubs in Europe the size of UnternehmerTum.