Bangalore rises up global startup ecosystem ranks, Delhi and Mumbai follow

PTI, Sep 22, 2021, 6:19 PM IST

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London: Bangalore rose up three spots to be ranked 23rd in an annual analysis of the world’s most favourable ecosystems to build a globally successful startup, according to a report released here on Wednesday that is topped by the Silicon Valley in California.

Delhi held on to its 36th position in the ‘Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021’ by Startup Genome, with Mumbai topping a parallel ”Top Emerging Ecosystems” ranking for the second year in a row.

The Startup Genome report analyses cities around the world where early stage startups have the best shot at building global success.

“Bangalore, Karnataka, at #23, improved enough in Funding, Connectedness, and Knowledge to return to the Top 25 after briefly slipping out,” notes the report.

Bangalore’s ranking was also boosted by healthy access to growth capital, demonstrated by recent large funding rounds from food delivery platform Swiggy (USD 1.3bn), social media company ShareChat (USD 502m) and edtech company Byju’s (USD 460m).

Delhi was praised for “impressive growth” and Mumbai for outperforming all other emerging global hubs.

“Mumbai is once again the #1 Emerging Ecosystem. It outperformed all others in Performance, Funding, Experience, and Talent & Experience,” the analysis notes.

The research shows that Indian startups raised USD 12.1 billion in the first half of this year, demonstrating the rapid growth of India as a global hub for tech and innovation.

As of August 2021, India has produced 24 unicorns in 2021, including six in just four days in April. The city of Bengaluru and the surrounding state of Karnataka is also the world’s 4th largest technology and innovation cluster and home to more than 400+ global R&D centres. Alongside Mumbai, a number of other Indian hubs made it into the ‘Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems’ list, including

Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. Released to coincide with London Tech Week, the largest tech event in Europe, the report ranks the leading 140 startup ecosystems based on seven success factors including Performance, Talent and Connectedness.

The findings revealed that London is the most attractive destination to set up a tech startup outside of Silicon Valley, with an overall ecosystem value of USD 142.7bn. Despite Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, London maintained its second-place ranking tied with New York for the second year in a row.

“India and London have shared strengths in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship and today’s report findings demonstrate the abundance of opportunities for Indian tech companies looking to London for international expansion,” said Janet Coyle, Managing Director Business Growth, London & Partners.

“For startups and high growth companies considering global expansion, London has access to high levels of funding, talent and customers all in one city. As one of the world’s leading hub for innovation, there is huge opportunity for London to collaborate with other fast-growing startup hubs like Bangalore and Mumbai,” Coyle said.

London has risen up the league table in the last few years, climbing from number eight in 2012 when the first rankings were released to number two in 2020.

“London is a fantastic place to grow and scale a global tech business. We celebrate the diverse, international nature of our tech ecosystem and it is great to see our thriving startup community being recognised in this report,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

“In the face of Brexit and the global pandemic, London has demonstrated its resilience and proven itself once again to be one of the best places globally for tech innovations and startups,” he said. London is also recognised for its world class talent pool, with the city ranking highly across the board for quality and access to Tech and Life Sciences talent. Silicon Valley, London, New York, Beijing and Boston complete this year’s top five.