The IT cluster Rhine-Main-Neckar, also known as Silicon Valley of Germany, is one of the most important locations of the IT and high-tech industry worldwide.
In addition to universities such as Technische Universität Darmstadt and University of Frankfurt and research institutions such as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and ATHENE, software companies such as SAP SE, Software AG and T-Systems also have their headquarters in the region.
[11] In a competition, the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media awarded Darmstadt the title of Digital City in 2017.
[12][13] In 2016, the Federal Ministry of Finance decided to make the region around Darmstadt the pre-eminent hub for the digital transformation of the economy.
[14] According to a study by the auditing firm Ernst & Young from 2018, 24% of all Fintechs in Germany have settled in the Rhine-Main-Neckar region, with Frankfurt being considered the centre.
According to the report of the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2018, in the period under review from 2014 to 2016 the TU Darmstadt received the highest number of competitive grants in the field of computer science and the University of Mainz the highest number of competitive grants in the natural sciences.
[18] In a nationwide competition by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the Technische Universität Darmstadt was honoured as founding university.