The Startup Ecosystem Report 2012 reveals that while Silicon Valley is still the world’ s largest and most-influential start-up ecosystem, it no longer wields the power and influence it once did. Flourishing communities in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia have grown considerably over recent years and are now beginning to challenge Silicon Valley’ s domination in technology innovation.
Research launched by the Startup Genome and Telefónica Digital argues that this trend suggests that countries are shifting from service-based economies to become increasingly driven by a new generation of fast-moving software and technology organisations.
The report identifies the ecosystem factors which have contributed to the success of Silicon Valley and uses it as a baseline to compare how well suited other cities are to fostering entrepreneurs.
Tel Aviv, a highly advanced ecosystem, is the leading alternative to Silicon Valley, while on Silicon Valley’ s doorstep, flourishing communities in New York and Los Angeles mean the USA is home to three of the largest ecosystems in the world. Across the Atlantic, London is by far the largest startup ecosystem in Europe, although its output is still just a third of that of Silicon Valley. Outside of the more traditional markets, Sao Paulo’ s startup ecosystem is growing rapidly and creates more jobs for the local community than Silicon Valley does for its own.
The Top 20 start-up ecosystems in the world are:
1. Silicon Valley
2. Tel Aviv
3. Los Angeles
4. Seattle
5. New York City
6. Boston
7. London
8. Toronto
9. Vancouver
10. Chicago
11. Paris
12. Sydney
13. Sao Paulo
14. Moscow
15. Berlin
16. Waterloo (Canada)
17. Singapore
18. Melbourne
19. Bangalore
20. Santiago
More info
- Telefónica Digital Hub – Startup ecosystems around the world fast challenging Silicon Valley
- Download the full report (pdf)