27 Top Companies in Germany to Know

Germany is home to some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world.

Written by Abel Rodriguez
Berlin skyline at sunset.
Photo: Shutterstock
UPDATED BY
Margo Steines | Sep 09, 2024

Germany is known for its manufacturing prowess and long history of developing luxury automobiles and cutting-edge pharmaceutical products. In many ways, those sectors have created a national sentiment promoting innovation throughout all sectors of the economy. Creativity has also penetrated the tech industry as domestic companies have secured thousands of patents while exporting products and services around the world. Below are some of the top companies that embody Germany’s innovative culture. 

Top Companies in Germany to Know

  • Dynatrace
  • Qualtrics
  • SAP
  • Getty Images
  • Allianz
  • Bayer
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Siemens

 

Top Companies in Germany

Taboola is a martech and software company with a Berlin office. It runs a native content discovery platform where content creators and advertisers bring media assets like videos, images, songs and written copy to create custom campaigns. The platform allows either or both parties to define factors like budget and audience and sends finished content to its network of publisher sites. 

 

SRAM designs and manufactures bicycle components, such as shifters, derailleurs, brakes, chains, suspension and power meters. Bicycle manufacturers, distributors and bicycle retailers purchase SRAM’s components. The company has offices in Schweinfurt and Dusseldorf.

 

Commercetools makes SaaS products and digital tools for e-commerce businesses. It offers a platform where users can process sales and maintain digital storefronts to advertise and sell their goods and services. Commercetools uses the headless commerce model that’s becoming best practice across e-commerce. This model allows for back-end work to take place independently from features that users can see. Headquartered in Munich, the company has 12 global offices and is considered an extremely fast-growing SaaS company.

 

Navan is a travel, corporate card and expense management platform offering thousands of global customers solutions for visibility and control over spend. Its technology serves professionals, including finance teams, travel managers and employees. The tech company has offices in Berlin and Munich.

 

Bayer is a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company developing health and nutrition products. Using a network of facilities, the company manufactures popular products like Claritin and Aleve. On the biotech side of its business, Bayer lends its expertise to sustainable agricultural projects, among other initiatives.

 

SAP is one of Germany’s largest companies, with over 100,000 global employees. The company develops various software products that enable clients to optimize their operations. Some of its products include CRM solutions, enterprise resource planning, or ERP software, and financial planning platforms. Over 24,000 companies use SAP products.  

 

Contentsquare’s platform supports data-driven digital experiences. It comes with features for customer journey analysis, error analysis, feedback collection and other processes that can yield insights to drive digital optimization. The technology offers solutions for teams ranging from marketing to IT.

 

Lufthansa is a German airline company operating international and domestic flights. It’s also the parent company of several European airlines including Discover Airlines and Eurowings. Besides operating flights, the company provides IT services to other airlines through its Lufthansa Systems subsidiary.

 

Qualtrics develops software for companies to capture customer and employee feedback. Its products are customizable platforms and feature various tools to monitor analytics and engage with users. Qualtrics also provides qualitative research, which helps its clients uncover trends and understand customer and employee behavior. 

 

Mercedes-Benz is known for developing luxury automobiles; however, it is also a leader in EVs and autonomous vehicles. Its autonomous driving pilot is currently underway in California, and it is using 3D imaging and road geometry to navigate through various road conditions. Meanwhile, for its EV lineup, Mercedes-Benz provides at-home and on-the-go charging solutions. 

 

Notion provides businesses and individuals with virtual workspaces where they can organize and share important content, such as product roadmaps, brand guidelines and meeting agendas. The technology comes with an AI-powered assistant that can translate copy, for example, or help users find answers based on information across the apps they use.

 

HiBob builds technology to support efficient HR operations. Its platform comes with solutions for important tasks like job marketing, onboarding, payroll processing, collecting employee feedback and managing time off requests. HiBob’s technology features automation capabilities to save time on manual administrative tasks and improve overall HR team productivity.

 

Grammarly is a real-time AI-powered writing assistant that catches grammar, spelling and style mistakes. Trusted by over 30,000 teams and 30 million people, Grammarly has free or premium options for individuals, developers and businesses. Grammarly is compatible with  a variety of platforms including email and social media. Grammarly employees primarily work from home, but it encourages in-person interaction at its office spaces in San Francisco, New York City, Kyiv, Vancouver and Berlin. 

 

Magna International is an automotive manufacturer building technologies, systems and concepts to make vehicles safer and cleaner. The company has more than 55,000 employees and 103 manufacturing facilities throughout the E.U. Magna is situated in a region focused on auto R&D investments and a growing interest in green vehicles.

 

BMW vehicles are known globally for their high performance and amenities; however, its parent company, BMW Group, also manufactures MINI Coopers and Rolls-Royce automobiles. Like other automotive enterprises, BMW is advancing its electric vehicle lineup and exploring self-driving technology.

 

Celonis makes process mining solutions that companies in industries ranging from banking to life sciences use. Its technology develops a digital twin representing business processes, which helps organizations capture valuable intelligence so they can make data-driven improvements. The company has a Munich office located in the Maxvorstadt district.

 

SAP LeanIX offers solutions to transform the IT architecture of enterprise organizations. It aims to make IT information more accessible, up to date and easier to understand. The company is headquartered in Bonn and has offices in Munich and Berlin. 

 

Dynatrace makes an observability platform designed to support multi-cloud environments. Its technology uses AI to drive automations, providing businesses with an array of solutions that cover incident triage for IT issues, as well as remediation workflows to ensure that problems don’t recur. Dynatrace’s platform has uses for companies across industries including financial services, retail and education. It’s German office is in Munich where it focuses on sales and delivery.

 

ServiceNow offers cloud-based, AI-driven software for automating multiple enterprise management workflows. The company aims to help employees and customers improve connections, innovation and agility. It has offices in Berlin and Düsseldorf.

 

Siemens is a global company creating technologies for infrastructure, mobility and healthcare clients. Its work often encompasses large projects and has been instrumental in building smarter supply chains, energy grids and sustainable construction. Siemens was founded in Munich but has since expanded to a number of other countries.

 

Headquartered in Munich, Allianz is an insurance and financial services company. Its insurance products include typical coverages like property and life insurance; however, it also provides specialty solutions like debt collection and trade credit insurance. 

 

BlackLine helps businesses solve finance and accounting challenges. The company’s software includes tools for executing and managing financial close, intercompany and invoice-to-cash processes with full transparency and automation. BlackLine serves customers across multiple industries and locations.

 

TransUnion is a U.S. fintech firm with global operations and clientele. Its software monitors consumer credit, and its data management in this space allows it to also function as a purveyor of financial data insights. TransUnion is one of three major credit reporting bureaus for consumer credit in the U.S. and has an office in Hamburg.

 

Providing images and video for news outlets and creative teams, Getty Images is one of the largest media repositories in the world. The platform hosts over 500 million digital assets capturing world events, sports and entertainment. Recently, Getty Images expanded into AI-generated images and unveiled a product that uses its media collection to create new content. 

 

Contentful provides a composable content platform that acts as a centralized workspace for marketing campaign management. It allows both technical and non-technical users to use AI tools so they can create customized digital marketing across multiple media channels. The company’s hybrid workforce is headquartered in Berlin.

 

Imprivata lets organizations provide compliant remote access and third-party identity management capabilities to their teams. Its technology helps increase overall security while enabling connectivity from anywhere. Imprivata’s platform provides controls and permissions when controlling network access and full visibility into third-party activities. 

 

Deutsche Bank is a multinational investment bank with a spanning presence in North America, Asia and Europe. Its services include private and commercial banking, asset management and market research. Deutsche Bank’s clientele includes governments, institutional investors and enterprise companies.

 

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Rose Velazquez, Sara B.T. Thiel, Ana Gore and Ashley Bowden contributed reporting to this story.

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