1
Global metro areas and their tech companies
Global Tech
Hubs Report
2
Contents
3
4
5
7
12
15
17
Who Made the Cut?
Our Tech Hubs: 25 Metro Areas
Executive Summary
2018 Tech Hubs Compared
Who’s Up, Who’s Down?
Defining Our Tech Hubs
Heavyweight Hubs
25
33
42
49
53
55
High Growth Hubs
Up and Comers
The Rise of Asia
The Exit Strategy
Tech Hubs That Didn’t Make It This Year
Methodology
3
Who made the cut?
4
O U R T E C H H U B S
25 Metro Areas
A M S T E R D A M
A U S T I N
B E N G A L U R U
B A R C E L O N A
B E I J I N G
B E R L I N
B O S T O N
D E N V E R
L O S A N G E L E S
L O N D O N
M U M B A I
N E W D E L H I
N E W Y O R K
P A R I S
S Ã O P A U L O
S E A T T L E
S E O U L
S H A N G H A I
S T O C K H O L M
S I L I C O N V A L L E Y
S Y D N E Y
T E L A V I V
T O K Y O
T O R O N T O
V A N C O U V E R
5
What We Found
S I L I C O N V A L L E Y
S T I L L O F F T H E
C H A R T S
Since 2012, Silicon Valley-
based tech companies
brought in a total of 12K
deals, followed by New York-
area based companies with
5K. For funding, Silicon
Valley companies brought in
a total of $140B with Beijing
next coming in at $75B.
B U T B E I J I N G A N D
S H A N G H A I A R E
C A T C H I N G U P
Beijing and Shanghai are
poised to be the tech hubs of
the future. They lead among
high-growth hubs for
unicorns, mega-rounds, and
large exits. Company
creation is accelerating.
E X I T S R E T U R N
$ $ $ T O
C A L I F O R N I A ,
L O N D O N ,
B E I J I N G
Globally, Silicon Valley saw
4x more $100M+ exits than
the next hub, NY. Hubs with
the most large exit counts
also included London, LA,
and Beijing.
Refer to Report Methodology on Slide 55.
E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
1
2
3
6
What We Found
S O F T B A N K : K E Y
I N A S I A ’ S R I S E
The Japanese tech holding
company’s portfolio includes
more than 65 companies in
our Asian hubs, showing how
a single investor has
propelled the rise of tech in
Asia, particularly China and
South Korea.
T E L A V I V
I S T H E M O S T
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
More than 2/3 of funding
deals to startups in Tel Aviv
involve foreign investors.
Other emerging hubs like
São Paulo also benefit from
a high percentage of
international investors.
S H A N G H A I A N D
B E I J I N G S E E
M E G A - E X I T S
Outsized returns help
funnel new capital into an
ecosystem, as investors
don’t want to miss out on
the next big exit.
JD.com and Alibaba were
among the largest exits
globally in the period
studied and will fuel more
resources and talent.
Refer to Report Methodology on Slide 55.
E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
4
5
6
7
2018 Tech Hubs
Compared
8
Beijing- and Shanghai-based tech companies
take on Silicon Valley
2 0 1 8 T E C H H U B S C O M P A R E D
Beijing and Shanghai are ramping up to
compete with Silicon Valley fundraising
levels, buoyed by large rounds to hot
startups like Didi, Toutiao, Mobike and
Ele.me.
Silicon Valley
Beijing
NY
Shanghai
$140B
C U M U L A T I V E D O L L A R S T O H U B S
J A N 2 0 1 2 – M A Y 2 0 , 2 0 1 8
$72B
$36B
$23B
9
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Silicon Valley still plays a dominant role
Since 2012, Silicon Valley metro area companies saw 12K deals spread out amongst
7K unique companies — more deals to tech than all non-US metro hubs combined.
2 0 1 8 T E C H H U B S C O M P A R E D
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Silicon Valley
12,337 deals
New York
5,252 deals
12127
12000
Full scale
London
2,982
deals
LA
2,659
deals
See full scale at right
*Jan 2012 – May 20, 2018
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60Beijing and Shanghai ramp up with high unicorn
numbers
Values are for tech unicorns only; No tech unicorns: Austin, Tokyo, Mumbai, Toronto, Denver, Vancouver, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Sydney
2 0 1 8 T E C H H U B S C O M P A R E D
T E C H U N I C O R N S B Y M E T R O R E G I O N A S O F M A Y 2 0 , 2 0 1 8
60
See full scale at right
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Full scale
Silicon Valley
57 unicorns
Beijing
29 unicorns
New York
13 unicorns
Shanghai
11 unicorns
11
Beijing and Shanghai unicorn creation has lately
been hot on the heels of Silicon Valley
Values are for tech unicorns only; No Tech unicorns: Austin, Tokyo, Mumbai, Toronto, Denver, Vancouver, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Sydney.
U N I C O R N S B Y M E T R O R E G I O N
T E C H U N I C O R N S B O R N I N Q 1 2 0 1 8
12
Who’s Up?
Who’s Down?

13
Key
Investment growing outside of California
W H O ’ S U P ? W H O ’ S D O W N ?
P E R C E N T C H A N G E I N F U N D I N G T O S T A R T U P S 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 1 5 V S 2 0 1 6 – 2 0 1 7
GROWTH
DECLINE
14
Key
Stockholm stands out for high deals growth
W H O ’ S U P ? W H O ’ S D O W N
P E R C E N T C H A N G E I N D E A L S T O S T A R T U P S 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 1 5 V S 2 0 1 6 – 2 0 1 7
GROWTH
DECLINE
15
Defining The Tech Hubs
B R E A K D O W N S
16



























D E F I N I N G O U R T E C H H U B S
17
Heavyweight Hubs
D E E P D I V E
18
Heavyweight hubs
B R E A K D O W N S : D E F I N I N G O U R T E C H H U B S
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Lower/stable growth rates
Fewer new companies entering the market
Higher concentration of later stage rounds
High density of engineering hiring
Higher rates of follow-on deals to startups
670
Average deal count
2012 – 2017
$38B
Average dollar amount raised
2012 – 2017
19
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Deals plateau for these traditional hubs
E Q U I T Y D E A L S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
D E E P D I V E : H E A V Y W E I G H T H U B S
Tel Aviv
New York
Silicon Valley
Los Angeles
London
Boston
20
0%
4%
8%
12%
16%
20%
0
100
200
300
Tel Aviv has large exits with little previous funding
Bubble size indicates aggregate total funding of companies at exit. First exits only.
D E E P D I V E : H E A V Y W E I G H T H U B S
Tel Aviv has fewer exits than many hubs,
but 14% of all exits in the city are valued
above $100M.
Silicon Valley has well over 200 exits at
the $100M+ level. Large exits are the best
indicator of a healthy tech ecosystem.
SIL ICON VALLEY
PERCENTAGE SHARE OF TOTAL EXITS VALUED OVER $100MTEL AVIV
NEW YORK
LOS ANGELES
BOSTON
COUNT OF EXITS VALUED OVER $100M
LONDO N
B E T W E E N T H E Y E A R S O F 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
21
Tel Aviv attracts a high
number of US- and Europe-
based investors, leading to
a high proportion of foreign
investor-backed deals.
Tel Aviv attracts a lot of foreign investors
D E E P D I V E : H E A V Y W E I G H T H U B S
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Tel Aviv
London
Silicon
Valley
New York
Boston
Los Angeles
percent of rounds with
no foreign investors
percent of rounds with
foreign investors
F U N D I N G R O U N D S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
22
F U N D I N G R O U N D S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
percent of rounds with
no corporate investors
percent of rounds with
corporate investors*
Known for its cybersecurity
and enterprise software
companies, Tel Aviv is not
surprisingly a standout for
corporate investors.
Corporate investors favor Tel Aviv
*Corporate investors include corporate venture capital arms.
D E E P D I V E : H E A V Y W E I G H T H U B S
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Tel Aviv
Silicon
Valley
Boston
New York Los Angeles
London
23
Notable companies
*Total raised reflects the total equity amount raised by companies.
D E E P D I V E : H E A V Y W E I G H T H U B S
UBER
INFOR
SPACEX
DELIVEROO
HEADQUARTERS San Francisco
New York City
El Segundo (LA Metro)
London
TOTAL RAISED* $15B
$2.6B
$1635M
$958M
VALUATION $68B
$10B
$18.5B
$2B
RECENT INVESTOR(S)
SoftBank Group,
Sequoia Capital
Koch Industries
Founders Fund
Accel, DST Global
CATEGORY
Mobile → Travel
App
Internet → Finance
Management
Industrial → Robotics
Internet → Food
Delivery
MOSAIC SCORE
940
790
860
890
24
158
40
30
19
13
2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Silicon Valley
New York
Los Angeles
London
Boston
Tel Aviv
Silicon Valley shows strength in mega-rounds
R O U N D S G R E A T E R T H A N $ 1 0 0 M S I N C E 2 0 1 4
D E E P D I V E : H E A V Y W E I G H T H U B S
25
High Growth Hubs
D E E P D I V E

26

High growth hubs
B R E A K D O W N S : D E F I N I N G O U R T E C H H U B S
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Higher frequency of early startups entering the market
Higher dollar investment and deal count growth rates
Higher concentration of early-stage companies
High rates corporate-backed deal-making in Asia
171
Average deal count
2012 – 2017
$14B
Average dollar amount raised
2012 – 2017
27
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Beijing and Shanghai see growth skyrocket
D E E P D I V E : H I G H G R O W T H H U B S
E Q U I T Y D E A L S T O P R I V A T E T E C H C O M P A N I E S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
Seattle
Beijing
Shanghai
Paris
Bengaluru
Tokyo
28
Beijing and Shanghai lead on exits
Not surprisingly, Beijing and Shanghai
tech companies tend to raise a lot of
money and end up highly valued at exit.
Since 2012, Beijing has seen over 30
large exits, with JD.com, the logistics
tech giant, seeing an IPO valued at
about $26B.
Shanghai is clocking in at nearly
20 exits valued over $100M.
The size of the bubbles show aggregate
amounts raised before exit for tech
companies in each metro. Beijing
and Shanghai also dominate there.
Bubble size indicates total funding before exit. First exits only.
D E E P D I V E : H I G H G R O W T H H U B S
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
0
10
20
30
40
BEIJ ING
SHANGH AI
SEATTLE
AUSTIN
TORONTO
PARIS
BENGALURU
NEW DELHI
BERLIN
TOKYO
PERCENTAGE SHARE OF TOTAL EXITS VALUED OVER $100MCOUNT OF EXITS VALUED OVER $100M
B E T W E E N T H E Y E A R S O F 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
29
Berlin sees a lot of foreign investors
D E E P D I V E : H I G H G R O W T H H U B S
percent of rounds with
no foreign investors
percent of rounds with
foreign investors
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
F U N D I N G R O U N D S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
US hubs like Austin and
Seattle see relatively
little foreign investor
participation showing
how US tech hubs tend
to be less cosmopolitan
in investor terms
30
Tokyo’s tech market
sees prolific investment
from corporate investors
including Toyota and
Hitachi.
Tokyo and corporates, a love story
*Corporate investors include corporate venture capital arms.
D E E P D I V E : H I G H G R O W T H H U B S
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%










F U N D I N G R O U N D S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
percent of rounds with
no corporate investors
percent of rounds with
corporate investors*
31
Notable companies
*Total raised reflects the total equity amount raised by companies.
D E E P D I V E : H I G H G R O W T H H U B S
lU.COM
DIDI
BLABLACAR
OLACABS
HEADQUARTERS Shanghai
Beijing
Paris
Bengaluru
TOTAL RAISED* $1.7B
$15B
$335M
$3.6B
VALUATION $18.5B
$56B
$1.6B
$3.7B
RECENT INVESTOR(S)
Ping An Ventures,
Bank of China
SoftBank Group
Baring Vostok Capital
Partners
SoftBank Group,
Tencent Holdings
CATEGORY
Internet → Lending Mobile → Travel
Mobile → Travel
Mobile → Travel
MOSAIC SCORE
730
850
760
860
32
Beijing and Shanghai dominate in mega-rounds
R O U N D S G R E A T E R T H A N $ 1 0 0 M S I N C E 2 0 1 4
D E E P D I V E : H I G H G R O W T H H U B S
128
58
21
18
11
5
4
4
1
Beijing
Shanghai
Bengaluru
New Delhi
Berlin
Paris
Austin
Seattle
Tokyo
33
Up and Comers
D E E P D I V E
34
Up and comers
B R E A K D O W N S : D E F I N I N G O U R T E C H H U B S
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Lower deal counts than other hubs
Lower dollar investment
High percentage of first-time funding rounds
High foreign investment rates
75
Average deal count
2012 – 2017
$2.5B
Average deal amount
2012 – 2017
35
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Seoul and Stockholm emerge from the pack
E Q U I T Y T E C H D E A L S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
Stockholm
Mumbai
Sydney
Seoul
Vancouver
São Paulo
36
Bolstered by Atlassian’s IPO in 2014 at
$1.1B and Freelancer.com’s IPO at $1B,
Sydney, Australia-based tech companies
have seen a relatively high percentage
of valuable exits.
The Denver and Stockholm areas have
seen the most exits of $100M+ or more.
Stockholm clearly leads in aggregate
funding raised by startups before exit.
Sydney’s tech exits propped up
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
0
2
4
6
8
10
Bubble size indicates total funding raised before exit. First exits only.
STOCKHO LM
SYDNEY
SEOUL
SÃO PAULO
BARCELONA
VANCOUVE R
DENVER
MUMBAI
AMSTERDAM
PERCENTAGE SHARE OF TOTAL EXITS VALUED OVER $100MCOUNT OF EXITS VALUED OVER $100M
B E T W E E N T H E Y E A R S O F 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
37
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%









Stockholm and São Paulo draw foreigners
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
percent of rounds with
no foreign investors
percent of rounds with
foreign investors
F U N D I N G R O U N D S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
Again, a US tech hub
stands out for less
foreign investor
participation.
38
Asian hubs tend to see more corporate activity
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
*Corporate investors include corporate venture capital arms.
F U N D I N G R O U N D S 2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 7
percent of rounds with
no corporate investors
percent of rounds with
corporate investors*
Seoul’s game development
companies have seen notable
interest from corporates
including China-based
Tencent and Line Corp.
39
Notable companies
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
*Total equity raised by company
COUPANG
KLARNA
LETGO
SCYTL
HEADQUARTERS Seoul
Stockholm
Naarden
(Amsterdam Metro)
Barcelona
TOTAL RAISED* $1.8B
$334M
$475M
$127M
VALUATION $5B
$2.5B
$1B
N/A
RECENT INVESTOR(S)
Fidelity Investments,
BlackRock
Visa, Permira
NEA, Accel
Adams Street
Partners, Sapphire
Ventures
CATEGORY Online → Coupons
Online → Payments
Online →
Ecommerce/Chat
Online → Government
Management
MOSAIC SCORE 780
910
740
620
40
8
8
7
4
1
1
1
1
Amsterdam
Sao Paolo
Seoul
Mumbai
Barcelona
Sydney
Denver
Stockholm
Amsterdam and São Paulo draw mega-rounds
R O U N D S G R E A T E R T H A N $ 1 0 0 M S I N C E 2 0 1 4
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
41
Spotlight on Stockholm
D E E P D I V E : U P A N D C O M E R S
Home to Spotify, one of the largest IPOs in 2018, and iZettle, acquired by PayPal for
$2B, Stockholm is a high-ranking up and comer.
$4B
Total raised
since 2012
648
Total deals
since 2012
34%
Increase in first time
funding rounds
(2016 vs 2017)
T O P 5 I N V E S T O R S
Current
unicorn
42
The Rise of Asia
D E E P D I V E
The rise of confident tech hubs
including those in China and India but
also South Korea and Japan are an
expression of Asia’s growing
influence in the technology sector.
43
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
First deals to startups growing across region
D E E P D I V E : R I S E O F A S I A
Company creation in the region is accelerating, shown by first
financing trends.
Beijing
Shanghai
Tokyo
Seoul
C O U N T O F F I R S T - T I M E F U N D I N G R O U N D S T O U N I Q U E C O M P A N I E S
44
Shanghai and Beijing dominate list of big exits
D E E P D I V E : R I S E O F A S I A
ELE.ME
QUDIAN
PPDAI GROUP
MOBIKE
HEADQUARTERS Shanghai
Beijing
Shanghai
Shanghai
EXIT TYPE M&A by Alibaba
IPO
IPO
M&A
EXIT VALUE $9.5B
$7.9B
$3.9B
$3.7B
PREVIOUS
INVESTOR(S)
Sequoia Capital, Ant
Financial, Didi
Ant Financial, BlueRun
Ventures, Kunlun
Worldwide
Alibaba Group, Sequoia
Capital, Lightspeed China
Partners
Sequoia Capital,
Qualcomm Ventures,
Panda Capital
CATEGORY
Online → Grocery
Delivery
Online → Lending
Online → Lending
Mobile → Travel
45
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Beijing sees the most unicorn births
*Births 2012 – June 1, 2018
D E E P D I V E : R I S E O F A S I A
Since 2012, Beijing has seen a total of 29 unicorn births, two
of which exited.
U N I C O R N S B O R N I N H U B S S I N C E 2 0 1 2
Beijing
Shanghai
New Delhi
Seoul
Bangalore
Tokyo
46
Top tech unicorns within Asian tech hubs
Beijing comes in with the most, at 29 total tech unicorns.
*Current unicorns as of June 1, 2018
D E E P D I V E : R I S E O F A S I A
+26 more
companies
+2 more
companies
+8 more
companies
Pinduoduo
47
Top five most highly valued tech unicorns
D E E P D I V E : R I S E O F A S I A
DIDI CHUXING
XIAOMI
CHINA INTERNET
PLUS
BYTEDANCE
dba Toutiao
LU.COM
HEADQUARTERS Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Shanghai
VALUATION
as of most recent
funding date
$56B
$46B
$30B
$20B
$18.5B
YEAR ENTERED 2014
2011
2015
2017
2014
CATEGORY
Mobile → Ride
Hailing
Electronics →
Smartphone
Online →
Ecommerce
Mobile → Content
Aggregator
Online → Lending
MOSAIC SCORE
870
890
620
730
730
48
SoftBank’s investments span all of Asia
The Japanese telecom giant and tech holding company
favors South Korea and China.
Data includes all of Softbank’s Affiliates. Funding values since 2012 – June 1, 2018.
D E E P D I V E : R I S E O F A S I A
+20 more
companies
+11 more
companies
+4 more
companies
+1 more
company
+11 more
companies
49
The Exit Strategy
D E E P D I V E
50
“Without big exits, the ecosystem is
like a roach motel, money can come
in, but it doesn’t get out. And that’s not
a good thing for anyone”
T H E E X I T S T R A T E G Y
— Lou Kerner, Partner at CryptoOracle.io
51
In exits, traditional hubs show their strength
T E C H E X I T S ( M & A / I P O ) V A L U E D O V E R $ 1 0 0 M
2 0 1 2 – 2 0 1 8 ( A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 8 )
D E E P D I V E : E X I T S T R A T E G Y
252
EXITS
61
EXITS
49
EXITS
43
EXITS
34
EXITS
23
EXITS
19
EXITS
19
EXITS
17
EXITS
13
EXITS
52
Exits are for the years 2012 – 2018 (May 20, 2018).
Largest tech exits across all hubs
D E E P D I V E : E X I T S T R A T E G Y
FACEBOOK
SPOTIFY
JD.COM
SNAP
HEADQUARTERS San Francisco
Stockholm
Beijing
Venice Beach (LA
Metro)
EXIT TYPE
IPO
IPO
IPO
IPO
EXIT VALUE $104B
$29.4B
$25.7B
$24.8B
PREVIOUS
INVESTOR(S)
Horizons Ventures,
Microsoft
Accel, DST Global,
Technology Crossover
Ventures
Sequoia Capital China,
Tencent Holdings
Benchmark, KKR, New
Enterprise Associates
CATEGORY
Internet → Social
Media
Internet → Music
Internet → eCommerce
Internet → Social
Media
53
Tech Hubs That Didn’t
Make It This Year
L O O K I N G F O R W A R D
54
Metros with high potential for the future
L O O K I N G F O R W A R D
CITY
NOTABLE ACTIVITY
Chicago
Total of 4 tech unicorns in the region with a 5th born
in Q1’18 – Tempus Labs, a biotechnology company.
Shenzhen
Total of 5 tech unicorns with 15 rounds at $100M+
between 2014 and 2017.
Singapore
23% deal growth and 178% funding growth between 2016
and 2017. Two billion-dollar exits in 2016 and 2017.
Hangzhou
High number of new startups getting funding and home of
Alibaba headquarters.
Montreal
Little tech activity, but home to McGill University (a top tech
school)
DC
168% increase in deal activity between 2016 and 2017.
Home to the Carlyle Group.
55
Methodology
I N D E X
56
We used the CB Insights platform to aggregate data around funding and exit events for
startups around the world. The 25 top tech hubs were chosen based on a deal share basis of
the global total. To diversify our selection geographically, we limited the US hubs to 7.
Methodology
T E C H D E F I N I T I O N
Companies that operate within Internet,
Mobile, Software, Computer Hardware,
Telecom, Electronics, and Robotics were
included in the report. Note that healthcare
companies, including those operating within
the Medical Device sector, were not
included.
M E T R O S B R E A K D O W N
Metro hubs were chosen on a 30-50 mile
radius from city center. Companies were
mapped to the respective region based on
city/state and city/country matching.
Breakdowns of tech hubs into three
categories was based on similar deal
count to ensure comparison of metros
against similar markets.
C L A S S I F I C A T I O N O F
R O U N D S
Equity rounds, first time exits only.
Funding includes rounds to companies
that are considered to be standalone or
not acquired
Note: For this report a “startup” is a
private tech company.
I N D E X
57
The CB Insights platform has the
underlying data included in this report
W H E R E I S A L L T H I S D A T A F R O M ?
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FREE
58
cbinsights.com
@cbinsights