Leonardo Ferigutti - Full-Stack Developer

This is a completely personal take, but I truly believe Munich is one of the places to be in Europe in 2026 if you work in technology.

Interestingly, I never planned to end up here.

For years I had the classic dream many engineers share: working in Silicon Valley and living the American tech dream. Like many people, it always felt distant, almost impossible.

Life had other plans.

After traveling for some time, I ended up moving to Munich in 2021. To be honest, I didn’t know much about the city. For me, Munich meant Oktoberfest and little else. But only a week after arriving, I received an offer to work at a startup in the renewable energy sector. That was my first real step into the local tech ecosystem.

Over the years I started attending meetups, Python conferences, and tech events around the city. Slowly I began to understand something surprising: Munich has one of the most concentrated technology ecosystems in Europe. Major global companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and many others have large offices here. At the same time, the startup scene has been growing rapidly, especially in deep tech sectors such as energy, AI, robotics, mobility, and healthtech.

But the moment I fully realized the strength of the ecosystem was when I decided it was time to look for a new job.

The number of opportunities surprised me. Startups at different stages, new companies just emerging, and highly technical teams building ambitious products.

Within Germany, Munich is often compared to Berlin, which historically has been the country's main startup hub. Berlin still holds that position in many ways, especially in consumer startups. However, Munich is quickly catching up and in some sectors even surpassing it.

The difference is the deep-tech focus.

Munich sits at the intersection of world-class engineering, strong universities, large industrial companies, and government support programs. This combination creates the perfect environment for startups building complex technologies.

It is a city where people come not only to launch apps, but to build real technological infrastructure.

Looking back, it’s funny. I once dreamed about Silicon Valley. Today I realize that, in many ways, the closest European equivalent might be forming here.

And I didn’t even know it when I arrived.