Data report
brnoregion 2025

Brno and South Moravia is part of the global semiconductor value chain, especially in chip design

The South Moravian Region and Brno are particularly strong in chip design, the development of tools for electronic design automation (EDA) and extensive R&D in materials and their characterisation. Hundreds of professionals in the field of semiconductors, especially in their design, work in Brno.

The Czech Semiconductor Center is being established in Brno in 2025 as part of the European Chips Act initiative aimed at strengthening Europe's position in semiconductor development and manufacturing. The centre was established in cooperation with Brno University of Technology, Czech Technical University in Prague, JIC, the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster, onsemi and Codasip. The objectives of the centre are to provide access to pilot lines and design platforms in the field of semiconductors, to facilitate technology transfer, to support the creation of new companies in the field of semiconductors, to build the necessary skills and competences of the workforce, to coordinate with competence centres in the rest of the EU and to assist companies in obtaining funding from the Chips Fund.

There are numerous semiconductor companies present in the region such as Codasip from Brno, onsemi from the USA and NXP Semiconductors from the Netherlands, which design and test chips for the global market, while electron microscopes manufactured in Brno are essential for quality control during the semiconductor manufacturing process; this is complemented by research at the Brno University of Technology and CEITEC. Also important is the connection and proximity to the neighbouring Zlín region, where onsemi has announced the largest direct investment in the history of the Czech Republic in 2024 to expand chip production in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm with an estimated investment value of around 1.8 billion euros.

Brno-based Codasip continues to strengthen its important position – in 2025, Codasip, as the European leader in RISC-V architecture, has joined the large European microchip consortium DARE (Digital Autonomy with RISC-V in Europe) in a leading position with a budget of 240 million euros to strengthen Europe's position in semiconductor technologies. In 2025, Codasip received an investment from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, which is extremely selective. Only two other Czech companies have received funding in this way and only 50 companies from Eastern European countries have been supported in this way – the remaining 929 investments have always been mainly in Western European countries and to a lesser extent in Southern European countries or Israel.

In 2024, the Brno University of Technology opened a degree programme in Chip Design and Advanced Semiconductor Technology, which, in cooperation with industrial partners, educates future experts and professionals for the further development of the semiconductor sector.

The visualization shows the competences of the partners of the Czech Semiconductor Centre, which is based in Brno.

Every third electron microscope in the world comes from Brno  

Brno has long profiled itself as a global centre of electron microscopy. The region has three major companies – Thermo Fisher Scientific, TESCAN and Delong Instruments, which together manufacture around 30% of the world's electron microscopes in Brno.   

More than 2,800 people are employed in companies producing electron microscopes in Brno and the 3 largest companies had a turnover of around 1.1 billion euros in 2023, which is 40% more than in 2022. Research and development in TESCAN and Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2023 was 71 million euros, which is an increase of 20% compared to 2022.  

Electron microscope manufacturing is an extremely sophisticated activity. According to the Economic Complexity Index, which measures the knowledge intensity of products, electron microscopes are the 10th most complex product in the world to manufacture.  

The academic and research community in Brno is significantly contributing to the development of this field. Masaryk University opened a unique Master's degree in Microscopy in 2024, which provides students with in-depth theoretical knowledge and practical experience in electron microscopy as well. Other important scientific institutions include the Institute of Instrumentation Technology of the Academy of Sciences, CEITEC, Brno University of Technology, Masaryk University and the Institute of Physics of Materials of the Academy of Sciences. The Brno and South Moravian ecosystem of electron microscopy includes manufacturers of electron microscopes, their users from the research sphere, but also other companies involved in the entire manufacturing value chain. The total number of people who are part of this ecosystem may be around 5,000. 

At the same time, the Brno Region Microscopy platform was launched in Brno in 2024, with the aim of strengthening the local community and attracting new talent, raising awareness of electron microscopy, expanding and strengthening the involvement of local companies in the value chain, and strengthening commercialisation and transfer from universities and research environments.  

Source: The Commercial Register and the Collection of Deeds

Source no. 2: The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)

 

The number of people working in the space industry in Brno and South Moravia is growing significantly

There are already over 30 space technology companies in the region, which together employ around 410 highly skilled professionals. This number has grown significantly recently – local companies have hired around 120 new professionals in the past three years alone. Annual revenues of space companies in the region are around 40 million euros. Since 2020, companies have been associated in the Brno Space Cluster platform, which currently includes 22 companies, facilitating their cooperation on demanding international contracts, including European Space Agency (ESA) projects.   

Local government and institutions supporting innovation continue to support the development of this sector – an example is the ESA BIC incubation programme, which has been supporting startups in the wider space industry since 2018.  

The space industry also benefits from the region's historic strength in precision engineering and microelectronics research, with interconnectivity with the wider aerospace industry, which employs over 2,000 people in the region. Local aerospace firms used to primarily act as subcontractors to Western aerospace firms but have gradually developed the capacity to lead entire space projects. 

The Brno University of Technology opened a unique Master's degree in Space Applications in 2021, taught in English. This degree programme prepares students for the development and production of satellites and other space technologies. In view of the growing demand from companies, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technologies (FEKT) at the Brno University of Technology has decided to double the number of students admitted to the Space Applications programme from the academic year 2024/2025 – instead of 20, 40 will be admitted each year.  
 

 

Most venture capital investment in Brno and South Moravia goes to cybersecurity companies

At the beginning of 2025, Whalebone, Threatmark and Safetica received investments worth a total of 40 million euros.  

Notable exits in recent years include the acquisition of Flowmon Networks or the sale of Runecast, which was worth 36 million euros. Historically, AVG Technologies became the first "unicorn" from Brno when its acquisition by Avast Software in 2016 exceeded a market capitalization of 1 billion US dollars.   

At the same time, there are also more foreign companies operating in the region, such as the US-based SolarWinds and Jamf, or ESET from Slovakia. In 2020, the CyberSecurityHub, a cybersecurity expert organisation founded by Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology and Czech University of Technology in Prague, was established. The CyberSecurityHub connects research institutions, business clusters and public administration, strengthening the cybersecurity innovation ecosystem. The role of the public administration is also strong in the region and the National Office for Cyber and Information Security is based in Brno.   
 

There is a strong and growing community of game developers in Brno and South Moravia

Over 40 game studios operate in the region. The five largest studios - Bohemia Interactive, 2K Czech/Hangar 13, Ingame Studios, Madfinger Games and Ashborne Games - together employ around 450 people. Most of the other studios have fewer than 10 employees. Overall, there is an active community of over 900 game developers in Brno.  

The quality of games developed in Brno is at a relatively high level, with a user rating of 84% on the Steam gaming platform. Notable games developed in Brno include the Mafia series, Arma and games such as Machinarium, Botanicula and Farming Simulator 2022. In the past 30 years more than 210 games have been developed in Brno.  

In 2023, the first game incubator in the Czech Republic - GAMEBAZE - was established in the Brno creative hub KUMST. This incubator provides budding developers with a space to grow and support their projects. The region also benefits from the connection between experienced developers with more than 20 years of experience and young talent, for whom educational opportunities in game development are expanding. Every year, Brno hosts the Game Access conference, which attracts thousands of creative people from all over the world.  

The South Moravian Region is the leader in knowledge intensity in the Czech Republic

The latest data for 2023 confirms the position of the South Moravian Region as the national leader in terms of knowledge intensity, measured by the share of R&D expenditure in regional GDP, although knowledge intensity dropped from 3.1% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2023.    

Knowledge intensity shows regular fluctuations. Historically, the highest knowledge intensity was in 2012–2015 when billions of euros were invested – for example, in the construction of research infrastructure such as CEITEC or the International Clinical Research Center (ICRC-FNUSA) – or during periods of large investments by major companies.

The absolute amount invested in R&D increased slightly by 1.5% year-on-year to almost 950 million euros. This growth was driven by the business sector, which also saw the largest increase in funds invested in science and research, up 2.9% year-on-year, while the government and higher education sectors saw a slight decline in spending. The largest growth in resources invested in the business sector occurred in the electronics and electrical industries, which saw a 17% year-on-year increase. This is reflected, for example, in investment in electron microscopy. 

The South Moravian Region has long been ahead of other Czech regions: Prague (2.7%), the Central Bohemian Region (2.0%), the Czech Republic as a whole (1.8%), and the EU average (2.3%). 

93% of R&D expenditure is accounted for by the city of Brno. The share of R&D expenditure in the city's local GDP was 5.1% in 2022, indicating Brno's significant focus on R&D. 
 

Source: Czech statistical office

Source no. 2: National Census 2021

Source no. 3: Brno metropolitan area

 

The knowledge intensity of the South Moravian Region is comparable to developed Western European regions

In the EU benchmark in 2021 (the latest year for which Eurostat data are available), the South Moravian Region is ranked 28th out of 249 European regions in terms of knowledge intensity (3.1%). It is thus comparable, for example, to Southern Sweden (with the regional center of Malmö), Freiburg (3.1%) and Lower Franconia (3.1%) in Germany or Tyrol (3.2%) or Carinthia (3%) in Austria. 

The absolute leader in terms of knowledge intensity in the EU is the Walloon Brabant region (11.39%). However, this result is rather an exception – the region with a population of around 400,000 is dominated by the presence of the large university UCLouvain. Other regions such as Stuttgart (6.8%), Braunschweig (6.1%) and Tübingen (5.5%) are next. 

The share of people working in research and development is growing in the South Moravian Region

The region's strength in knowledge intensity is also complemented by the share of people working in research and development in relation to the total number of people employed in the region, which is the second highest in the South Moravian Region (4.3%) after Prague (6.7%). In 2021 (the last available year for Brno only), 10.8% of all people working in Brno were working in R&D, indicating a specialisation in R&D.   

58% of R&D workers are employed in the private sector, almost two thirds of them for foreign companies. At the same time, the number of small enterprises conducting research activities increased by almost 10% year-on-year, which may be an indicator of a vibrant startup scene in the region.   
 

Source: Czech statistical office

Source no. 2: National Census 2021

 

The number of people working in research and development is comparable to developed Western European regions

The South Moravian Region was ranked 53rd out of 234 European regions in terms of the absolute number of people working in research and development (25,231) in 2021, the latest year for which Eurostat data are available. The highest numbers of R&D workers are in large regions such as Lombardy (108,332), Upper Bavaria (108,239), or Stuttgart (104,470), which have a significantly higher population than South Moravia. The South Moravian Region has about half the number of R&D workers as, for example, Berlin (56,090), Vienna (50,164), or Stockholm (48,299). Nevertheless, the number of R&D workers is high for a region of this size and often surpasses even regions with a larger total population.

Brno is a university centre and the number of students has been growing in recent years

In 2024, there were 65,359 university students studying in Brno. The total number of students has increased by 6.4% over the last five years, reversing the decline that was underway until 2019 as a result of the low birth rate in the 1990s and early 2000s. The number of students is rising again due to both the onset of stronger population years and increasing numbers of international students. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years.  

The largest number of students is at Masaryk University (33,531), Brno University of Technology (17,499), Mendel University (9,238), Veterinary University Brno (2,329) and Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (704). The University of Defence also operates under a special regime. There are also two private universities in the South Moravian Region. 

In the South Moravian Region, the largest number of people study in the field of technology, manufacturing and construction, with 11,438 students. This field benefits from a long tradition of technical education in the region and a strong industrial base in engineering. One third of the students of these fields in the Czech Republic study in Brno.  Another popular field of study is computer science and communication technology (ICT), with 6,349 students, who often find employment in local tech companies and start-ups. The share of students in IT fields has been growing considerably in recent years and now stands at 9.7%, which is comparable to Finland or Estonia.  There are 4,744 students in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. Health and social care (6,418 students) and agriculture and forestry (5,418 students) are increasingly linked to STEM fields. 

More than half of students are in STEM and related fields

More than a third of people in Brno study core STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). The total number of students in these fields is 22,531. Medical and agricultural fields are often associated with STEM because of the interconnectedness in research and applications in biotechnology or agro/food technology. If we add medicine and agriculture to STEM, the share of students in these fields reaches almost 53%, amounting to 34,367 students.

A total of 2,835 people studied doctoral programmes in Brno in 2024. The largest number of Ph.D. students is in natural sciences, with 1,016 students. One in five students of natural sciences in Brno is pursuing a Ph.D. Every third Ph.D. student in IT in Czechia is studying in Brno.

For the most talented Ph.D. students in STEM fields, JCMM and the City of Brno offer financial support through the Brno Ph.D. Talent competition. Since 2009, more than 282 top Ph.D. students have been supported.

In 2024, the STEM Project was launched – an initiative linking the South Moravian Region, the City of Brno, universities and large technology companies. The aim is to encourage young people to study STEM. One of the main goals is to increase the number of STEM graduates by 30% over the next ten years.

Almost a quarter of students in Brno are from abroad

There are 15,190 foreign students from 128 countries studying at universities in the South Moravian Region. Among them, students from Slovakia are traditionally the largest group, accounting for approximately two-thirds of all foreign students. The number of international students at Brno universities excluding Slovaks was 4,951.

The internationalisation of Brno universities continues to grow. In 2024, 23.2% of all university students came from abroad. This figure has increased steadily — in 2010, it was 11.9% and in 2001, only 4%. However, there was a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.3% due to a drop in the number of students from Russia and Belarus.

Brno was ranked the 4th best student city in the world in 2023 by Campus Advisor. In previous years, it was also ranked 6th best by QS Top Universities.

The proportion of international students is highest at the doctoral level, where they make up 30.5% of the total.

Source: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport

Source no. 2: Campus Advisor

Source no. 3: QS Top Universities

 

The number of people working in IT, science and engineering has been growing for a long time

A total of 70,000 people work in IT, science and engineering positions in the South Moravian Region. Of these, 25,100 work in IT and 44,900 in science and engineering. The most qualified specialists and people in management positions make up 47% of the total.

The total number of specialists and technical workers in the fields of IT, science and engineering has been growing for a long time and has increased by 52% since 2011. 95% work in the private sector.

In 2023, the median monthly wage for science and engineering specialists was 2,402 euros, while the median wage for ICT specialists was 3,032 euros. For science and technology technicians, the median wage was 1,821 euros, while for IT technicians the median wage was 2,121 euros.

The figures are based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) and include the ICT, science and technology categories (ISCO 1223, 1330, 21, 25, 31, 35). For IT positions, the number is likely underestimated due to the common practice of self-employment in this sector, which is not accounted for in these data.

The South Moravian Region and Brno are becoming more cosmopolitan every year

In 2024, 110,034 people from abroad lived in the South Moravian Region, 3,696 more than in the previous year. The share of people from abroad in the total population of the South Moravian Region is now 9%.

The total number of people from abroad is in reality more than 110,034. This is mainly due to the fact that many citizens of the European Union are not fully registered, especially for the Slovak nationality – so there are potentially thousands more.

The biggest increase took place in 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the number of foreigners grew steadily even before the conflict and has almost tripled since 2010.

Almost 60% of foreigners live in Brno, and the number of foreigners and its development in Brno is discussed in detail in the analysis on the portal data.brno.cz.

The quality of life in Brno is also attractive in an international context. On the Numbeo Quality of Life Index for 2024, Brno is ranked 94th globally (beating Prague by 3 places), 48th in Europe below Berlin and above Bristol, and 2nd in the Eastern Europe region.

People from 158 countries live in the South Moravian Region

EU citizens make up almost 25% of the total number of foreigners. The remaining non-EU European countries account for around 50%, and non-European countries make up approximately 25%.

The largest group of foreigners are citizens of Ukraine – 58,961 people live in the South Moravian Region – and the largest population increase occurred as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A significant group consists of people from Slovakia, officially numbering 17,645, whose numbers have also more than doubled since 2010. However, this figure is underestimated, as many Slovaks are not officially registered. The remaining 33,428 foreigners come from other countries. Among the other nationalities with the largest numbers are citizens of Vietnam, Russia, India, Romania, the Philippines, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, the United States, and Turkey.

There are several organizations in the region that assist foreigners with their arrival and integration. In Brno, the Brno Expat Centre has supported more than 13,000 qualified expats over its 14 years of operation. For the entire region, the Centre for Foreigners of the South Moravian Region provides support.

Source: Ministry of the Interior

Source no. 2: Czech Statistical Office

 

Over the last 4 years, more than 300 million euros have been invested in startups in the South Moravian Region

This year's significant investments were directed to Threatmark (22 million euros), Whalebone (13 million euros), and Safetica (3.8 million euros), all of which are active in the field of cybersecurity. Thus, almost 40 million euros were invested in 2025.

The year 2024 was more along the lines of smaller investments and more companies involved in artificial intelligence, and approximately 8 million euros were invested by private venture capital, along with a 10 million euro sum from the EU in Mycroft Mind – although this was not a direct investment.

In terms of the total amount of venture capital investment in the South Moravian Region, 2022 was a record year when more than 200 million euros were invested in local companies. The largest share was a more than one-hundred-million-euro investment in Kiwi, followed by large investments in Tatum, Kontent.AI, and Kentico, amounting to tens of millions of euros. The global peak of investment was in 2021 – the decline in investment since then is a global trend.

More local companies have grown to a mature stage and are globally successful businesses with high sales and a strong presence abroad. Some of the largest – still primarily locally owned and with more than 40 million euros in annual revenues – include Seyfor, Kentico, and Y Soft.

It is important to note that the amount of investment is in many cases indicative, and many investments are not publicly known – so the overall figures are likely underestimated. For the purposes of the visualisation, only those companies for which the estimated amount of investment could be identified from public sources were included.

More local companies have reached a mature stage and are globally successful, with high revenues and a strong international presence. Some of the biggest include Seyfor, Kiwi, Notino, Y Soft, and Kentico. However, dozens of other large companies operate in the region – particularly in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

The total value of exits of companies from Brno is at least 2.2 billion euros

In recent years, the innovation ecosystem of the South Moravian Region has been characterized by an increasing number of successful exits across various sectors – which indicates its maturity and attractiveness for investors.

Significant transactions in 2024 and 2025 include the acquisition of Runecast, a provider of security and compliance solutions, by Dynatrace for 36 million euros. Sewio Networks, a specialist in ultra-wideband real-time location systems (RTLS), was also taken over by global company HID Global, with an estimated value in the low tens of millions of euros. Other significant exits include fintech company Roger with a transaction in the low tens of millions of euros, and Coworkers.ai, focused on AI and automation, with an exit in the low millions of euros. Biovendor, operating in the field of medtech and diagnostics, was acquired by ARCHIMED.

Although these exits often result in the transfer of ownership to foreign entities, they bring significant capital and new opportunities to the region. This financial benefit strengthens the local innovation ecosystem and supports its further development. In addition, many founders and key employees of companies, after the exit, start up new businesses – thereby contributing not only financial resources but also valuable know-how to the ecosystem. Exits are therefore a natural part of the development of the startup environment.

The record in terms of the size of the acquisition still belongs to AVG, which was sold for almost 1.2 billion euros in 2016.

Source: Czechcrunch

Source no. 2: Dealroom

Source no. 3: Czech Founders

 

Major global technology companies have branches in the South Moravian Region

Every year, the Joint Research Center of the European Commission publishes a list of companies that have the highest research and development expenditures. Of the top 2,000 global companies, 57 operate in the South Moravian Region. Unfortunately, no Czech company is on this list yet.

A total of 20 companies operating in the region come from the United States, 14 from Germany and 8 from Japan. The remaining companies come from 11 other countries in Western Europe and East Asia.

Most companies are engaged in software and services, electronics, electronic devices, hardware and technological equipment – or mechanical engineering. However, the automotive sector is also strongly represented.

Other major foreign corporations include Red Hat, which has the largest development centre in Brno outside the United States, and Yunex Traffic.