WERK1
WERK1 is a Munich-based digital startup incubator, coworking, and coliving hub offering office space, coaching, mentoring, events, and housing to early-stage tech startups, freelancers, and founders, backed by Bavarian state funding programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What WERK1 does
WERK1, operated by the legal entity WERK1.Bayern GmbH (registered at Amtsgericht München, HRB 126093), is a Munich-based digital startup center, coworking, and coliving hub founded in 2013 and located in the Werksviertel-Mitte district near Ostbahnhof. The organization provides an integrated physical workspace-and-community platform serving three primary segments: early-stage digital/technology startups seeking incubation, office space, coaching and mentoring; freelancers and independent professionals seeking flexible coworking; and startup founders and employees needing coliving housing near the ecosystem. It is a private, government-backed non-profit-style entity funded in part by Bavarian state initiatives (StmWi Bayern and Gründerland Bayern), with no disclosed venture or private equity ownership.
Operationally, WERK1 runs a real estate and community platform rather than a proprietary software product. Its core offerings comprise a startup incubator with team offices plus coaching, mentoring and funding facilitation; flexible coworking memberships; coliving apartments; an event venue with meeting rooms (including the annual Startup WORK job fair, first held in 2019); and an on-site WERK1 Café. The footprint spans roughly 11,000 sqm across locations, including the WERK1.4 Schlosserpassage site (Am Kartoffelgarten 14) and the newer WERK1 Startup Hub at Friedenstraße 6/6a in the Stadtsparkasse München building, opened in early 2024 with over 3,300 sqm across five floors.
The business model is primarily recurring, subscription-style revenue from startup office memberships, coworking memberships, coliving apartment rentals, and event/meeting-room venue rental, supplemented by food-and-beverage sales through the café. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging 100+ annual events, an alumni referral network, government-program partnerships, and digital/social content to acquire members. Scale indicators include 40+ current startups, 250+ alumni, 200+ coworking members, an 80% claimed five-year startup success rate, and 1.7 billion EUR in venture capital raised cumulatively by alumni startups such as Scalable Capital, Limehome, Cartken, Edurino and Tacto.
WERK1 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WERK1
- Legal name
- WERK1.Bayern GmbH
- Website
- https://werk1.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- WERK1 is a Munich-based digital startup incubator, coworking, and coliving hub offering office space, coaching, mentoring, events, and housing to early-stage tech startups, freelancers, and founders, backed by Bavarian state funding programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
WERK1 industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Incubation and Coworking Spaces
- NAICS
- Facilities Support Services (561210), Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131)
- SIC
- Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Workplace Technology & Smart Office Support (Room Booking Systems, IT/AV Liaison) (IMAIALAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Nomad & Remote-Work Monthly Stays (THAMAFAI)
Keywords
Where WERK1 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
WERK1 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Startup Office Memberships: Rental of office spaces to startups in the incubator program, including coaching and mentoring support.
- Coworking Memberships: Flexible coworking memberships for freelancers and creative professionals with access to workspace, workshops, and networking events.
- Coliving Apartments: Rental of coliving apartments for startup founders and employees.
- Event Venue Rental: Meeting rooms and event location rental for external customers.
- WERK1 Café: On-site café operations generating revenue from food and beverage sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Coworking membership for freelancers and creative professionals |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
WERK1 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WERK1 operates a digital startup hub in Munich providing office space for incubated startups with coaching and mentoring, flexible coworking memberships for freelancers, coliving apartments for founders and employees, and meeting/event room rentals, complemented by an on-site café. The offering combines physical workspace rental with community programming and access to the Munich startup ecosystem and government funding pathways.
Product overview
WERK1 is a digital startup hub, coworking, and coliving center located in Munich's Werksviertel-Mitte district near Ostbahnhof. The company operates a single-location physical workspace ecosystem consisting of a startup incubator (with team offices, coaching, and mentoring), flexible coworking spaces, coliving apartments, event venues with meeting rooms, and an on-site café. The offering is a unified physical workspace-and-community platform rather than a modular software product, where all components share the same location and community infrastructure.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WERK1 Café: On-site café located at WERK1.4 Schlosserpassage, Am Kartoffelgarten 14, 81671 Munich, offering food and beverages to community members
- WERK1 Startup Hub
- Startup WORK
Quantifiable outcome
- 80% success rate after 5 years for incubated startups
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use WERK1
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
WERK1 technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
WERK1 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Tech Quartier FrankfurtminorInnovation platform founded in 2016 in Frankfurt's financial district, bringing together startups, companies, and talent. Partner in the Digital-Hub-Initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Cross-location collaboration for startup ecosystem.
- Stadtsparkasse MünchencoreMunich's municipal savings bank whose building at Friedenstraße 6 and 6a houses the WERK1 Startup Hub location opened in early 2024.
- LexwareminorLexware Incubator promotional program for startups offering free software usage, individual coaching, workshops and information on overcoming entrepreneurial obstacles.
- Tabakfabrik LinzminorMixed-use urban site in Linz, Austria, serving as a cultural and creative industries hub, contemporary technologies, and startup ecosystem - location partner for cross-border collaboration.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
WERK1 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mindspace: Mindspace runs premium coworking and flexible office spaces across Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, and the UK, serving startups through enterprise clients. It is one of WERK1's most direct operational peers in the German flex-workspace category, with overlapping target customers and event programming.
- Factory Berlin: Factory Berlin operates large startup campuses in Berlin offering coworking, office, and community programs for digital startups. It shares WERK1's positioning as a 'startup ecosystem hub' combining workspace, events, and venture access — a direct German counterpart in scale and mission.
- AHORUM (Workhaus): AHORUM/Workhaus operates coworking and innovation spaces focused on the German Mittelstand and startup ecosystem, including urban-hub formats. It overlaps with WERK1 on community-driven coworking and startup programming, particularly in the Hamburg/northern Germany footprint.
- Space (Munich): Space is a Munich coworking operator offering flexible workspace and a startup-oriented community directly inside WERK1's home market. It competes for the same freelancer and early-stage startup tenants and is one of the closest local direct competitors.
- betahaus Berlin: betahaus is a long-running Berlin coworking and startup community space with event programming and incubator-style memberships. It targets the same freelancer and early-stage startup segments as WERK1 and shares the 'community + events + flex office' value proposition.
- Tech Quartier Frankfurt: Tech Quartier is a Frankfurt-based innovation hub bringing together startups, corporates, and talent, and is already a documented cross-location partner of WERK1. Its startup-engagement and digital-hub model mirrors WERK1's positioning, making it both a peer and a strategic collaborator.
- Impact Hub Germany: Impact Hub runs a global network of impact- and innovation-focused coworking spaces, including Munich and Berlin. Its community-led model, event programming, and incubator offerings closely parallel WERK1's positioning toward socially purposeful digital startups.
Regional players
- Tabakfabrik Linz: Tabakfabrik Linz is a mixed-use creative-industries and startup hub in Linz, Austria, already a documented WERK1 location partner. While it serves a different geography and emphasizes cultural/creative industries, its hub-and-community operating model is highly comparable.
Broad incumbents
- WeWork: WeWork is a large global coworking operator with a presence across Germany including Munich. It serves a broader enterprise and SMB mix rather than WERK1's startup-hub niche, but it sets benchmark pricing and competes directly for office tenants in the same districts.
- IWG / Regus: IWG (parent of Regus, HQ, and Signature) is the largest global flexible-workspace operator with a significant Munich and German footprint. While broader and less startup-specialized than WERK1, it competes for the same SME and enterprise tenants and pressures pricing across the Munich market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
WERK1 social profiles
Digital presenceWERK1 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WERK1 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
WERK1 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WERK1 M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WERK1
What does WERK1 do?
WERK1 operates a digital startup hub in Munich providing office space for incubated startups with coaching and mentoring, flexible coworking memberships for freelancers, coliving apartments for founders and employees, and meeting/event room rentals, complemented by an on-site café. The offering combines physical workspace rental with community programming and access to the Munich startup ecosystem and government funding pathways.
Is WERK1 a public or private company?
WERK1 is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was WERK1 founded?
WERK1 was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is WERK1 based?
WERK1 is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does WERK1 make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Startup Office Memberships are the primary driver. The others are coworking Memberships, coliving Apartments, event Venue Rental and WERK1 Café.
Who are WERK1's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mindspace, Factory Berlin, AHORUM (Workhaus), Space (Munich), betahaus Berlin, Tech Quartier Frankfurt and Impact Hub Germany. Tabakfabrik Linz is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are WeWork and IWG / Regus.
Does WERK1 have an API?
No public API is recorded for WERK1.
What industry is WERK1 in?
WERK1's product category is Startup Incubation and Coworking Spaces. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIALAK, Workplace Technology & Smart Office Support (Room Booking Systems, IT/AV Liaison), with a secondary code of THAMAFAI, Digital Nomad & Remote-Work Monthly Stays. Its NAICS code is 561210 and its SIC code is 7000.