Carsten Berrar, Managing Partner of S&C’s Frankfurt office, Partner Florian Späth and associate Heiko Blaut co-authored the Global Overview and Germany: Law and Practice chapters of the 2026 edition of Chambers’ Venture Capital guide. Carsten also served as Global Editor for the guide.
The Global Overview provides insight into the 2025 venture capital industry and its outlook for 2026. “[W]hat 2025 demonstrated is not a return to the conditions of 2021, but rather the deepening of a trend towards a more bifurcated market that had previously become observable,” the authors write. “[E]xceptional companies, especially in AI and AI infrastructure, were able to raise very sizeable rounds on attractive terms, while the market generally continued to operate with greater discipline on valuation, profitability expectations and governance.”
In the Germany chapter, the authors discuss key trends and challenges across the region’s venture capital market. They note that in 2025, artificial intelligence, healthtech and defense tech were the strongest industries as the German market for growth companies mirrored global venture capital trends, but with moderate momentum and a stronger element of selectivity.
Looking into 2026, the authors highlight their expectations for the VC market, which “is likely to be shaped by trends such as further concentration in category leaders, greater reliance on secondary liquidity alongside traditional exits, sustained discipline on valuation, governance and exit rights outside top-tier assets and a gradual broadening of investments related to or based on the existing AI infrastructure.”
Florian was also featured on the Chambers Global Practice Guides State of the Market podcast, where he discussed both the Global Overview and Germany chapter. Listen to the episode here: State of the Market: Venture Capital | Chambers Global Practice Guides - Chambers Global Practice Guides State of the Market | Podcast on Spotify
Read the global overview.
Read the Germany chapter.