Top-10 Startup Hubs in the World
Sujata Sangwan
Audit I Tax I Advisory I Cyber I Compliance I ESG I Ex-Deloitte, YourStory, BW Businessworld
Silicon Valley has traditionally been the epicentre of startups, but rest of the world has also been catching up. Outside the Valley, other startup hubs include Tel Aviv, London, Singapore and Bengaluru among others, where startups are doing big things.
Upon reaching out to a number of investors, entrepreneurs & startup co-founders and based on a number of searches across several media sites, here are 10 cities worldwide which we think are top startup incubators.
1. Silicon Valley, CA, US
Silicon Valley, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, is home to thousands of startup and global technology companies with Google, Apple and Facebook among others. It accounts for one third of all venture capital investments in the United States. As per AngelList, there are 18,876 companies situated in Silicon Valley, with around 28,790 investors.
Top Startup Categories: Technology, Digital Media, Advertising, Beauty & Wellness
2. Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel Aviv is a global city, a technological and economic hub, home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, corporate offices, and R&D centres. The country is known for its cyber security efforts with startups such as CyActive, SecBi, Checkmarx, Dome 9, and Cybereason among others. Around 200 companies are based in Tel Aviv, with 11,589 Angel investors.
Top Startup Categories: Cyber Security, Technology, eCommerce, Social Media
3. London, England
London is considered as the most active city for startups and investors in Europe. It is emerging as a primary choice of US entrepreneurs for establishing their online presence. Some notable startups that are based in London include TransferWise, RolePoint, Thread, Tweetdeck, Wonga, GoCardless and Citymapper among others. Around 5,620 companies are headquartered in London with 8,495 investors.
Top Startup Categories: Tech, Online Payments, Travel
4. Toronto, Canada
Toronto is the largest startup ecosystem in Canada, and one of the largest in the world and has seen several million dollars investment in Canadian startups. WP Technology, FreshBooks, Achievers, Bionym, Wave Accounting and Wattpad are some of the growing startups in the city. About 2,158 companieshave established their presence in Toronto with around 4,205 investors.
Top Startup Categories: Digital Media, eCommerce, Social CRM, Electronics
5. Paris, France
Paris, is known for being innovative traditionally in fashion and cuisine. It has a good network of incubators and due to lack of venture capital and angels, entrepreneurs are far more likely to be dependent on incubators, friends and family for investment. Previously, a $250 million startup fund was launched as part of ‘La FrenchTech’ for the growth of startups. There is high software development expertise thanks to superior universities that produce skilled engineers each year. Some of their notable startups are Stupefix, Twelve, Dailymotion, Appsfire, and Hypios etc. It is the centre of 1,538 companies and 5,887 investors.
Top Startup Categories: Fashion, Social Media, Healthcare, Advertising
6. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sao Paulo is Brazil’s financial centre, which was expected to have the third highest economic growth in the world between 2011 and 2025, after London and Mexico City. 500 Startups are present across Brazil alongside local accelerators Wayra and StartupFarm. It is the home of 5,99 companies along with 2,575 investors. VivaReal, Veduca, Sonoma, UniPay, and Fashion.me are some of the growing startups with huge potential.
Top Startup Categories: Investments, eCommerce, Real Estate
7. Berlin, Germany
Berlin is one of the favorite city for startups because of its cultural diversity. From tech startups to hardware and arts, it is a diverse startup environment where around 1,126 startups are listed along with 6,129 investors. Some of their notable startups include SoundCloud, GameDuell, Wooga, DeliveryHero, EyeEm and Interact among others. Google has a major office in Berlin, and it helped establish a co-working space in the city as part of its Google for Entrepreneurs program. Additionally, Berlin has relaxed visa rules that means it is easier to import top talent for any startup.
Top Startup Categories: Music, Games, Online Food, Technology
8. Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya’s capital Nairobi is home to thousands of Kenyan businesses and over 100 major international companies and organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is Africa’s fourth-largest exchange in terms of trading volume, capable of making 10 million trades a day. Some of notable startups are Mobius Motors, Wuzzuf, BitPesa, Applied Logic, and Kudobuzz etc. About 1,995 companies are established in Kenya or Africa with around 1,908 investors.
Top Startup Categories: Transport, Advertising, Payments, Big Data Analytics
9. Singapore
Singapore is a base for many Asia-pacific companies and one of the launchpads for startups. It is the home of around 1,144 firms including InMobi, RedMart, 2C2P, Coda Payments, and TripVillas etc and 11,522 investors. Singapore has not produced many household names in technology companies, but many investment firms have made investments in Singapore’s companies.
Top Startup Categories: Online Payments, eCommerce, Real Estate, Healthcare
10. Bengaluru, India
Bengaluru is the center of India’s high-tech industry. Many VC firms like Accel, IDG, and Intel Capital have opened their offices in India and a lot of investment action are happening there. It is the home of companies like Flipkart, Lookup, CommonFloor, Zoom, HackerEarth and ZipDial among others. Around 2,084 startups have listed in Bengaluru, with nearly 12,056 investors.
Top Startup Categories: Big Data, eCommerce, Real Estate, Online Travel, Saas
Do you think your city should be included in the Top-10 startup list? Share it with us..
The article was first published on iamwire.com.