Munich’s tech flywheel keeps spinning: Apple’s European Silicon Design Centre downtown is in the middle of a second, roughly €1-billion expansion through 2029, while BMW – an enterprise so large it has its own postal code – is retooling its city plant to launch the Neue Klasse in 2026 en route to all-electric production in Munich by 2027.
This growth sits on strong foundations: a #7 ranking for both Business Ecosystem and Unemployment, #6 for Large Companies and #9 for Convention Centre Messe München. This massive facility (encompassing more than 200,000 square metres of halls) hosted BAU 2025, EXPO REAL 2025 and the returning IAA Mobility. Together, these powerhouses cement Munich’s #5 overall Prosperity standing. They also fuel a pipeline of life-science and software start-ups, drawing talent from across the globe to Isar Valley. The Technical University of Munich and Ludwig Maximilian University are hotbeds of innovation, powering the city’s #10 ranking for Universities. Munich is also leaning into its #9 Biking and #11 Walkability rankings, with new protected links on the Altstadt bike ring, calmer streets around the 370-hectare Englischer Garten and fresh Isar riverbank promenades that tie leisure trails to daily commutes.