About Techcelerate Ventures
Tech Investment and Growth Advisory for Series A in the UK, operating in £150k to £5m investment market, working with #SaaS #FinTech #HealthTech #MarketPlaces and #PropTech companies.
Startup cities in the
Entrepreneurial Age
8 JULY 2021
Global data platform for intelligence on startups,
innovation, ecosystems and venture capital.
Financial Times-backed new media site
telling the untold Stories of European Tech.
Created by Dealroom and Sifted, and supported by the
European Commission and European Parliament,
European Startups is a two-year project aimed at
facilitating informed conversation and collaboration
among European tech ecosystem stakeholders, to take
Europe’s startup economy to the next level.
At the centre of the initiative is the European Startups
database, a definitive platform providing macro-level
trends. We also publish several research reports and
organise a few events each year.
x
EuropeanStartups.co
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» Deep Tech (Jan ‘21)
» Corporate innovation (June ‘21)
» Covid-19 Startup Survey (Jul ‘20)
» Index Ventures / Not Optional (Oct ‘20)
» Europe stepping up (Jun ‘20)
» Launch report (April ‘20)
Previous reports:
Join event
Record venture capital investment
Globally
venture
capital
investment has
smashed previous records with €264B in the
first six months of 2021. This represents
year-over-year (YoY) growth of 2.3x
Europe is the fastest growing major region by
venture capital investment (growing faster than
US, China, Asia). Investment into European
startups grew by 2.9x YoY to €49B.
What you need to know.
Two new unicorns per day
Each day, more than two new unicorns emerged
globally during 2021. There are now 1,601
unicorns and $1B+ exits of which 1,071 still
private unicorns.
The combined global value of tech companies
has ballooned to over $35 trillion, of which $18T
from companies founded after 2000, and $10T
from companies founded after 2010. The rate of
innovation is accelerating
Unicorns and $1B exits
VC funding into startups globally
Cities with one or more unicorns
2021
170
2010
2021
50
1,601
1,322
2010
155
Entrepreneurship is spreading
Knowledge about building startups is much
more widespread. There are now 170 cities with
at least one unicorn. Europe has the most
unicorn cities.
The Bay Area is still growing but its relative
contribution peaked in 2014. The rest of the US
has more unicorns, more VC funding and is
growing faster by number of unicorns.
€264B
€114B
2.3x
H1
2012
H1
‘21
Page / 5
22
H1
‘20
Source: Dealroom.co
Source: Refinitiv (via Financial Times).
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
30%
25%
20%
15%
Why should cities care about startups and
unicorns?
Page / 6
10%
5%
Europe’s share of world equity market value
has shrunk, largely due to the rise of big tech.
35%
Startups have become a leading source of job growth. In cities analysed by
Dealroom, startup jobs grew by about 10% annually, or 2‒3x faster than the
wider local economy*. Tech is also more resilient to external shocks (e.g.
pandemic, Brexit). Today, 1% of European jobs are at startups (most are
venture backed). In the US, where venture capital has been around for much
longer, it is estimated that venture-backed companies are responsible for
10% of all jobs.
Meanwhile, the global economy is transitioning to digital. Tech companies
are reshaping nearly every industry and tech giants are forming. US tech
companies are worth $24 trillion (the entire S&P 500 is $32T). They
contribute to 50% of all domestic R&D. About 70% of all AI experts work for
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon. But despite the concentration of
economic power, entrepreneurialism is on the rise as startups are able to
scale faster than ever before. Younger cohorts of startups are creating as
much value, actually taking advantage of the infrastructure of big tech (AWS,
Facebook, Google).
This means there’s a huge opportunity for younger startup ecosystems, like
Europe and elsewhere. Europe’s startup ecosystem is coming of age.
Europe’s tech companies are now worth $3 trillion. Entrepreneurial
ecosystems are increasingly borderless, as startup teams can be distributed
and venture capital is being invested remotely. This new reality means it’s
important to embrace and foster entrepreneurship more than ever. It also
means that ecosystems do not exist in isolation. This report therefore takes
a global perspective, of startup ecosystems in the entrepreneurial age.
* Source: various reports including Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Berlin.
The Entrepreneurial Age.
Transition to a digital economy
80% of the population is online and
increasingly expecting services to be online.
Simultaneously, tech makes it easier than
ever to launch and scale a company.
Supportive governments
Tech and entrepreneurship are being
recognised as resilient economic & job
growth engine. Global competition for
startups and capital has intensified (and
playing field has levelled).
The rise of startups everywhere
Startups have become the vehicle of choice
for rapid innovation. They’ve become great
places to build a career and fulfill individual
potential, for entrepreneurs and operators
from diverse backgrounds.
Availability of capital anywhere
Abundance of capital and capital moving
more towards venture. Tech has become the
safe asset. Capital is also accessible in more
places.
Page / 7
The rise of startups everywhere
Availability of capital anywhere
Benefiting from a distributed world
1
2
3
Table of contents.
The rise of startups everywhere
1
Paul Graham
Co-founder of Y Combinator
written in April 2021 on
How People Get Rich Now
“If you start a startup now, your parents won't freak out the way they would
have a generation ago, and knowledge about how to do it is much more
widespread.”
“But the main reason it's easier to start a startup now is that it's cheaper. Technology has driven down
the cost of both building products and acquiring customers.”
“Technology hasn't just made it cheaper to build and distribute things, but faster too. This trend has
been running for a long time. IBM, founded in 1896, took 45 years to reach a billion 2020 dollars in
revenue. Hewlett-Packard, founded in 1939, took 25 years. Microsoft, founded in 1975, took 13 years.
Now the norm for fast-growing companies is 7 or 8 years.”
New unicorns announced
During 2021:
over 2 new
unicorns per day
Until 2014:
one unicorn every
month
2018‒2020:
a new unicorn
every day
Over two new unicorns were announced each day
in the first half of 2021.
Page / 11
Source: Dealroom.co
Inflection point around 2014.
What happened?
■
Population online/on smartphones
(80% of adults as of today)
■
Scalable software (AWS) and global
distribution (Facebook, Google, ...)
available on-demand to any startup
■ Massive growth of venture capital
industry
■
Large pools of experienced talent
with knowledge of building startups
and influx of new talent
■
Chinese internet took off during
2014-2018
100
200
300
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
H1
400
13
26
18
34
71
121
90
122
285
241
255
320
2014‒2018:
a new unicorn
every three days
250
200
100
50
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
Rest of USA
(excl. Bay Area)
2021E
Europe
Rest of Asia
China
RoW
The US continues to outperform the rest of the world in terms of new
unicorns, especially the “Rest of the US” i.e. outside of the Bay Area.
Projected at
current pace
Number of new unicorns announced
Bay Area
2020
150
Page / 12
Source: Dealroom.co
Cumulative number of unicorns and $1B exits
2000
2010
Today
Jan ‘21
1,322
50
1,601
Page / 13
1,601 tech companies founded since 1990
that have crossed the $1 billion milestone.
Source: Dealroom.co. * Pre 1990 includes companies like Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Adobe, IBM, Oracle, SAP.
2010
2021
$35T
Cumulative valuation ($T)
Tech companies globally have reached a
combined value of $35 trillion, of which $27
trillion (79%) after 1990.
$1.9T
Pre 1990
cohort
$7.3 trillion *
1990+
cohort
$27 trillion
$5T
$10T
$15T
$20T
$25T
$30T
$35T
There are now 170 “unicorn cities” with one or more unicorn, of which 65 in Europe.
21
14
33
15
43
18
4
3
20
6
2
25
24
6
3
32
24
9
3
40
27
11
6
50
30
16
8
57
34
17
12
61
38
20
15
65
42
23
17
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
13
13
10
8
7
RoW
Rest of Asia
(excl. China)
USA
Europe
1
170
155
140
119
95
78
65
52
38
32
28
22
1
23
21
20
15
11
10
7
3
China
Cities with one or more unicorn
Page / 14
Source: Dealroom.co
0
20
40
60
70
Cities with 1 unicorn
Cities with 2 unicorns
3 unicorns
4 unicorns
5 unicorns
6 to 10 unicorns
11 to 20 unicorns
21 to 50 unicorns
>50 unicorns
Number of cities by size ▉ in 2014 ▉ in 2021
10
30
50
71
28
26
11
15
1
8
8
8
2
13
4
16
1
6
0
(incl. Bay Area, New York City, Beijing)
1
Page / 15
(incl. Seattle, Chicago, Paris)
(incl. Berlin, Singapore, New Jersey, São Paulo, Bengaluru)
(incl. Atlanta GA, Hong Kong, Tokyo)
(incl. Houston, Copenhagen, Manchester)
(incl. Helsinki, Tampa, Madrid)
(incl. Dublin, Vienna, Montreal)
(incl. Prague, Belo Horizonte, Dubai)
Since 2014, the number of cities with one unicorn grew from 28 to 71. The number
of cities with over 10 unicorns grew from 2 to 29.
7
Source: Dealroom.co
Paris, Shenzhen (21 unicorns each)
Salt Lake City Metro (16)
New Jersey (15)
San Diego (14)
New Delhi (11)
Toronto (10)
Cambridge (9)
Sydney, Raleigh-Durham (6)
Manchester (5)
Madrid, Tampa (4)
Barcelona, Basel, Jerusalem (3)
Prague, Leed, Moscow (2 unicorns each)
Success breeds success. Of the 28 cities with one unicorn in 2014, 82% have more in
2021, and several have more than 10.
Page / 16
2014: 28 cities with
one unicorn
2021: most have
several unicorns
20
15
10
5
1
Source: Dealroom.co
Unicorns & $1B+ exits per city
Malmo
Several first-time unicorn cities were born in 2020 and 2021.
Bello Horizonte
Chennai
Malmo
Montevideo
Accra
St. Louis
Mexico City
Tirat Carmel
Nedre Vats
Grand Rapids
Bend, OR
Mo i Rana
Baoding
Thane
Kansas City
Morehead, KY
Zhengzhou
Orlando, FL
Riyadh
Munster
Almaty
Tattenhall
Pittsburgh
Lexington
Cairo
Glasgow
Sheffield
Anhui
Venlo
Page / 17
Source: Dealroom.co
Where the world’s unicorns and $1B+ exits are based.
USA
853 (53%)
Europe
268 (17%)
China
280 (17%)
RoW
68 (4%)
Rest of Asia
132 (8%)
Bay Area
London
Beijing
São
Paulo
Tel Aviv
New York City
Paris
Shanghai
Melbourne
Singapore
Greater Boston Region
Hangzhou
Berlin
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Munich
Rest
Shenzhen
Nanjing
Rest
Greater Los Angeles
Seattle, WA
Chicago
Bengaluru
Seoul
New Delhi
Hong Kong
Rest
Toronto
Sydney
Montreal
Rest
Austin, TX
Salt Lake City metro, UT
Rest
392
113
54
61
28
21
16
16
137
113
63
21
21
10
45
71
21
19
18
13
11
115
30
18
14
13
11
8
38
14
14
10
6
3
21
New Jersey
15
Guangzhou
7
Page / 18
Source: Dealroom.co
USA
Europe
China
RoW
Rest of Asia
47%
3%
35%
9%
7%
58%
6%
20%
10%
5%
56%
14%
14%
10%
5%
53%
17%
17%
8%
4%
64%
17%
10%
6%
3%
65%
8%
15%
9%
4%
Combined
enterprise value
since 1990 *
Total Unicorns
and $1B+ exits
since 1990
Future
Unicorns **
Number of
seed stage
companies
New unicorns
since 2020
Number of
series A+
companies
When looking at earlier stages, Europe is starting to take a more prominent place.
Page / 19
Source: Dealroom.co * Combined enterprise value of all startups & tech companies founded since 1990. ** Future unicorns are valued $250M-$1B and funded in last 5 years.
Unicorns and $1B+ exits
280
100
43
34
34
23
21
875
19
19
19
18
15
13
10
21
7
6
6
4
4
4
4
4
6
USA
China
United Kingdom
Germany
Israel
India
France
Sweden
Australia
Canada
Brazil
Netherlands
Singapore
South Korea
Switzerland
Hong Kong
Japan
Norway
Spain
Indonesia
Denmark
Finland
Belgium
Russia
Mexico
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns since 2015
Australia
Canada
Brazil
Hong Kong
Japan
21x
19x
19x
10x
7.0x
The USA, China and UK are the top three countries by number of unicorns and
$1B+ exits. Australia, Canada and Brazil are the fastest growing.
Switzerland
Norway
Spain
France
Sweden
6.5x
6.0x
6.0x
5.8x
5.3x
South Korea
India
Israel
Denmark
Belgium
5.0x
4.3x
4.3x
4.0x
4.0x
United States
Germany
Singapore
China
Netherlands
3.9x
3.9x
3.6x
3.2x
3.2x
United Kingdom
Indonesia
Mexico
Ireland
Nigeria
3.0x
3.0x
3.0x
3.0x
3.0x
Italy
Austria
3.0x
3.0x
Page / 20
Source: Dealroom.co
The Bay Area, Beijing, New York and London are the top hubs, while Salt Lake City, New
Jersey and São Paulo are the fastest growing by number of Unicorns.
113
113
71
63
61
55
30
392
21
21
21
20
19
18
18
28
16
15
14
14
14
14
14
14
16
Bay Area
Beijing
New York City
London
Shanghai
Greater Boston Region
Greater Los Angeles
Tel Aviv
Seattle
Paris
Hangzhou
Shenzhen
Chicago
Berlin
Singapore
Stockholm
Austin
Salt Lake City metro
New Jersey
São Paulo
Bengaluru
San Diego
Amsterdam
Melbourne
Washington DC
Unicorns and $1B+ exits
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns since 2015
Salt Lake City metro
New Jersey metro
São Paulo
San Diego
Melbourne
16x
15x
14x
14x
14x
Nanjing
Toronto
Philadelphia
Hong Kong
Paris
10x
10x
10x
8.0x
7.3x
Guangzhou
Tokyo
Greater Los Angeles
Seoul
Boston Metro
7.0x
7.0x
6.8x
6.5x
6.1x
Tel Aviv
Sydney
Dallas
Raleigh-Durham
Detroit
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
Munich
New York City
Mumbai
Houston
Manchester
5.5x
5.4x
5.0x
5.0x
5.0x
Page / 21
Source: Dealroom.co
Explore over 1,600 unicorns online.
Why count unicorns?
With so many unicorns, the term itself has become a
misnomer. Still, it’s a very helpful metric to measure
the development local ecosystems. The rise of a new
unicorn creates a boost for local ecosystems (the
founders, employees, the investors) which creates
tons of positive second order effects. Every day, two
unicorns emerge. To keep track of them all, we’ve
created a dedicated page, including a set of definitions.
Check out the link below to explore:
» Private unicorns
» New unicorns in 2021
» More ...
» Rumoured unicorns
2 Capital available anywhere
Global venture capital investment » view online
Global venture capital is crushing previous records in 2021.
▊ Series C €40M–€100M
▊ Series B €15M-€40M
▊ Megarounds plus €250M+
▊ Megarounds €100M–€250M
▊ Series A €4M-€15M
▊ Seed €1M-€4M
▊ Pre-seed €0M-€1M
€200B
€100B
€264B
€114B
2.3x
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
Page / 24
Source: Dealroom.co
In Europe, the growth in venture capital is even more pronounced.
European venture capital investment » view online
€40B
€30B
€20B
€10B
€49B
€17B
2.9x
€50B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
Page / 25
Source: Dealroom.co
▊ Series C €40M–€100M
▊ Series B €15M-€40M
▊ Megarounds plus €250M+
▊ Megarounds €100M–€250M
▊ Series A €4M-€15M
▊ Seed €1M-€4M
▊ Pre-seed €0M-€1M
Venture capital investment by destination » view online
Europe
China
USA
RoW
Rest of Asia
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021 H1
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
18%
52%
11%
12%
7%
15%
Europe’s share of global venture capital is higher than it’s ever been, now 18%. China’s share
of global Venture Capital has been shrinking.
16%
10%
13%
12%
11%
12%
14%
12%
9%
12%
Page / 26
Source: Dealroom.co
Nearly all regions are seeing rapid growth in VC investment.
VC investment by destination
China
Europe
Latin America
Rest of the World
USA
Rest of Asia (excl. China)
$40B
H1
2010
H1
2012
H1
2014
H1
2016
H1
2018
H1
2021
$20B
$60B
$40B
$154B
H1
2020
+2.3x
H1
2010
H1
2012
H1
2014
H1
2016
H1
2018
H1
2021
H1
2020
H1
2010
H1
2021
H1
2020
H1
2010
H1
2021
H1
2010
H1
2021
$53B
+2.9x
$80B
$160B
$10B
$20B
$30B
$40B
$34B
+2.3x
$4B
$8B
$12B
$12B
+3.3x
$8B
+5.5x
Page / 27
$3B
$6B
$9B
H1
2010
H1
2012
H1
2014
H1
2016
H1
2018
H1
2021
H1
2020
$30B
+1.6x
$20B
$60B
$40B
$120B
Source: Dealroom.co
2021 YoY growth by country
12.4x
9.2x
9.2x
8.6x
7.0x
6.9x
5.6x
21.1x
4.3x
4.3x
4.2x
3.9x
3.2x
3.0x
2.8x
5.2x
2.7x
2.7x
2.2x
2.2x
2.2x
1.9x
1.8x
1.7x
2.5x
Turkey
Norway
Nigeria
Colombia
Mexico
Netherlands
Sweden
Hong Kong
Denmark
Canada
Brazil
Spain
Austria
Finland
South Korea
Germany
UAE
Indonesia
UK
Vietnam
Italy
Israel
India
France
Switzerland
1.6x
1.6x
1.5x
1.3x
Russia
Australia
Singapore
Belgium
Ireland
1.1x
Venture capital investment in H1 2021
$17.1B
$8.4B
$6.8B
$2.5B
$10.3B
$4.6B
$3.6B
$1.9B
$4.2B
$5.2B
$3.3B
$2.8B
Australia
UK
Mexico
Colombia
Nigeria
Germany
Sweden
South Korea
France
India
Israel
Netherlands
Spain
Switzerland
Indonesia
Finland
Singapore
UAE
Denmark
Turkey
Norway
Hong Kong
Japan
Ireland
Belgium
$7.8B
$4.8B
Austria
Russia
Italy
Canada
Brazil
2.3x
USA
1.6x
China
Vietnam
1.0x
Japan
$1.7B
$1.3B
$1.1B
$1.0B
$1.0B
$0.8B
$0.5B
$0.4B
$0.4B
$1.8B
$1.5B
$1.0B
$0.5B
$1.3B
$1.3B
$0.7B
$0.6B
USA
China
$153.6B
$30.3B
Page / 28
Northern Europe has been one of the world’s fastest growing regions for VC investment.
Source: Dealroom.co
Venture capital has become more global, especially more flows from USA and
Asia into European marketplaces.
Source of capital
▊ Domestic
▊ Europe
▊ USA
▊Asia
▊ RoW
▊Unknown HQ
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2021 2010Global startups
» view online
USA startups
» view online
European startups
» view online
Asian startups
» view online
2021 20102021 201020
21
2010Asia
USA
Asia
Asia
USA
Asia
USA
Europe
Domestic
Domestic
Europe cross border
Domestic
Europe
Domestic
Europe
Page / 29
% of investment by source of capital
Source: Dealroom.co
Venture capital funding per capita in 2021E
2021E average European per capita funding still lags the US and Israel. But
individual countries like the UK, Sweden and Finland have closed in significantly.
Venture capital funding per capita
in 2016-2021E
$1,329
Sweden
$1,011
Israel
$883
USA
$479
UK
$478
Finland
$407
Netherlands
$201
Germany
$150
France
Page / 30
Source: Dealroom.co
Benefiting from a distributed world
3
“Innovation can happen anywhere. Distribution right now is
a wonderful thing. If you follow Twitter in the US, it seems
like every entrepreneur and VC is moving to Miami or
Austin, Texas. Some amount of that is real and that's good.
Digital tools allow you to do that. That couldn't have
happened 10 years ago and it's such a net positive for
society.
But the reality is that clusters of people who work together
will continue to work in those locations and the real
innovation and creativity is when you have the interaction
of humans and ideas, and that will always continue to
happen in the cities as it has in the past.”
“We have invested in many companies over the last year
where I have never met the founders in person. That's
mindblowing for me. But just remember that raising
money is a bit like Ireland in the 90’s — no divorces
allowed.”
Mark Suster
Partner, Upfront Ventures
Dealroom x Sifted event
“Distribution of
innovation is a wonderful
thing. It's such a net
positive for society.
“Peak Bay Area was in 2014.”
“The meme right now is that the pandemic has finally
kicked the Bay Area off its pedestal.… But the reality for us
and our portfolio is that the Bay Area’s share of companies
in our portfolio has been declining for seven years.
“Following the 2008 financial crash, the region was both
substantially cheaper and had a strong corps of technical
talent. But by the mid-2010s, the stresses and pressures
of the rising cost of living became widely known, it became
much harder to compete against Big Tech companies on
recruiting and so this trend began reversing as companies
began spreading out. By 2018, fewer than half of our
companies in the fund beginning that year were based in
Northern California.“
Kim-Mai Cutler
Initialized Capital
Cumulative number unicorns and $1B+ companies
in the US.
20
10
30
44
58
83 126 182 217 262 395 518 666 853
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
▊New York
▊Boston *
▊Rest
▊Bay Area
20
11
20
12
20
13
20
14
20
15
20
16
20
17
20
18
20
19
20
20
20
21
Peak Bay Area ?
Source: Dealroom.co | *Greater Boston Region.
Page / 33
By number of future unicorns, New York and Boston together are getting close to
Silicon Valley size. The center of gravity is shifting away from Bay Area.
New York city (113)
Greater Boston Region (61)
Greater Los Angeles (54)
Seattle (28)
Chicago (21)
Austin (16)
Salt Lake City (16)
New Jersey (15)
New York City (219)
Greater Boston Region (195)
San Diego (68)
Greater Los Angeles (66)
Austin (36)
Washington DC (31)
Seattle (30)
Atlanta (29)
Chicago(29)
Denver (28)
1.2x
1.7x
594
461
1,000
392
Bay Area
Rest of USA
Bay Area
Rest of USA
Top-3 cities are
already as large as Bay
Area. New York and
Boston cluster cover
roughly same travel
area as Bay Area.
Future unicorns *
Unicorns and $1B+ exits *
Page / 34
Source: Dealroom.co | * number of startups founded since 1990 that reached $1B+ valuation or $250M-$1B for future unicorns.
15.4%
10.4%
8.6%
8.1%
6.5%
-9.6%
-9.7%
-17.2%
-18.2%
-35.8%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale
Houston
Dallas-Fort Worth
Philadelphia
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Denver, Colorado
Chicago
Austin
Washington D.C. / Baltimore
Boston
Seattle
New York City
San Francisco Bay Area
0.5%
Market area
Year-over-year percent change
Page / 35
2.9%
-5.1%
Analysis comparing metro areas’ inflow-outflow ratio based on LinkedIn users’ profile location changes from March
2020 - February 2021 vs. March 2019 - February 2020 (via Axios)
"It used to be that you waited until 10 to 15 years
into your career and then you could make a choice
about where you wanted to live. Now it's like, oh
yeah, I came to California for a year, now I can go
be where I want to be. (Joseph Woodbury)”
“Pandemic moves are redistributing coveted tech
workers more evenly across the country after
being so heavily concentrated in just a handful of
cities for years.
“This is also expected to help spread wealth, job
opportunities and startup creation in new places.”
Kim Hart
Axios article “COVID-19 scatters tech
hubs for young talent”
Believe the hype? Miami and Houston are
the US metros with largest migration
changes for software and IT workers.
-8.0%
Austin
Miami
Atlanta
Greater Boston
New York City
Denver
Bay area
Greater Los angeles
Seattle
Columbus
Salt Lake City
Santa barbara
San Diego
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns
since 2015
>300
unicorns
>100
>50
>10
>5
>2
1
Unicorn cities in the US
Salt Lake City, UT
New Jersey
San Diego, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Greater Los Angeles
16.0x
15.0x
14.0x
10.0x
6.8x
Greater Boston Region
Dallas, TX
Raleigh-Durham
Detroit, MI
New York City
6.1x
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
5.4x
Chicago
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Washington DC
Houston
Charlotte
Raleigh-Durham
Density: number of unicorns per 1M
inhabitants
Bay Area
Austin, TX
New York City
Salt Lake City, UT
Greater Boston Region
50.3
16.0
13.6
13.3
13.3
Santa Barbara, CA
Seattle, WA
Raleigh-Durham
San Diego, CA
Denver, CO
8.0
7.0
4.3
4.2
3.4
Dallas
Detroit
Phoenix
Tampa
Minneapolis
Connecticut
Nashville
Columbia
Cleveland
St. Louis
Grand Rapids
Buffalo
Bend
Kansas City
Morehead
Orlando
Albuquerque
Pittsburgh
Portland
Lexington
Indianapolis
Page / 36
Source: Dealroom.co
Las Vegas
Utah is the fastest growing state in the US when it comes to Unicorn creation.
David Carlebach
Vice President
International Investment
World Trade Center Utah
“Utah's culture is its secret
sauce. Founded by bold,
principled, industrious, and
courageous pioneers, that spirit
lives on in our state.”
“Utah is one of the most entrepreneurial states
in the US, and this is a major factor in our
status as the fastest growing economy in the
US. Startups help us grow now and create
cornerstones of our economy in the future.
Qualtrics, Merit Medical, and Black Diamond
Equipment were once startups in Utah. Startups
from outside the state add to this growth engine,
and we welcome the talent, diversity, and capital
they are able to bring with them and to attract.”
“Utah has outstanding social cohesion. Our
government, community, and business leaders
compromise and collaborate and are kind and
civil. They believe in the One Utah Roadmap
where the state's success benefits everyone.”
Unicorns and $1B+ exits in Utah
201420
21
16x
1x
20
15
20
16
20
17
20
18
20
19
20
20
Page / 37
Source: Dealroom.co
“Atlanta’s competitive edge is its diversity”
21%
USA average
Atlanta
Percentage of tech workers
that are African American.
(source: Center for American Progress)
2%
Nathan Regan
Senior Vice President,
Economic Development
Invest Atlanta
Lexie Newhouse
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Program Manager
Invest Atlanta
“Atlanta’s , tech industry accounts for 12.5% of the
city’s economy. Announcements such as Microsoft and
Airbnb making the move to Atlanta continue to pop up
across the city with new offices and opportunities.
What continues to attract both homegrown startups
and transplants is access to capital, talent, programs
and corporations.
“With 22% of residents living below the poverty line,
access to capital for minority entrepreneurs is a
challenge, particularly due to a lack of generational
wealth among African American families. This is key
for startups, where many source their first rounds of
funding from friends and family. Atlanta continues to
prioritize access to capital for black and brown
communities through institutions like the Fearless
Fund and Zane Venture Fund, in addition to Invest
Atlanta’s low-interest loan programs.
“Talent from the city’s local universities and colleges
is another advantage in the ecosystem, especially
with the presence of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HCBUs) like Morehouse College, Spelman
College and Clark-Atlanta University. Programs like
Invest Atlanta’s Students2Startups, which provides
subsidized internships for college students to local
Atlanta startups, and efforts with the City’s workforce
development arm, WorkSource Atlanta, helps train up
tech talent and fuel these diverse tech talent pipelines.
“The city features many programs devoted to
supporting minority entrepreneurs. The Women’s
Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI), powered by Invest
Atlanta,
is believed to be the only city-funded
incubator for women in the nation. Other incubators,
accelerators and coworking spaces like the Russell
Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE),
Atlanta Tech Village (ATV), Advanced Technology
Development Center (ATDC) and The Gathering Spot
play a significant role in fostering community and
providing access to technical assistance and capital
across the city. Entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders
like Paul Judge of Pindrop, Jewel Burks Solomon of
Google for Startups and Joey Womack of Goodie
Nation truly power these programs and partnerships.
As many global tech hubs recognize, there must be a
collaborate effort and succinct vision across all facets
of the ecosystem.
“Atlanta’s entrepreneurial tech ecosystem reaches
far beyond the city. Through partnerships among
Invest Atlanta, The Mayor’s Office of International
Affairs, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Georgia
Department of Economic Development and others,
Atlanta continues to compete and collaborate with
neighboring tech hubs. Most recently, Atlanta was
officially named a ‘La French Tech’ Hub by France’s
Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, for
instance.”
Sherry Gutch
VP Innovation
Orlando Economic Partnership
Susan Davenport
Chief Economic Development Officer
Greater Houston Partnership
“We are America’s most diverse city with one in four
Houstonians born outside the U.S. Because of this global
spirit and entrepreneurial outlook, we’re not a place
where folks will get in your way, but rather understand
that as each Houston company, start-up, etc. succeeds,
we all get a little bit better.”
Notable tech companies:
“Orlando’s innovation economy launched with the country’s
space race and has not slowed down since man landed on the
moon. From simulation and defense to autonomous vehicle
technology, the diverse industries that make up Orlando’s
collaborative businesses community foster an innovation-driven
environment helps the region lead the nation emerging
technologies and experiential entertainment.”
Notable tech companies:
Orlando
Houston
Page / 39
Source: Dealroom.co
Fastest growing hubs in the US.
Growth (2021E vs. 2016)
Page / 40
Source: Dealroom.co
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns
since 2015
10.5x
5.5x
4.5x
4.3x
4.0x
Paris
Munich
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Madrid
Unicorn cities in Europe
70+
18-21
10+
5+
Fastest growing new Unicorn Cities,
2015-2021
+7
+4
+4
+4
+3
Zurich (Metro)
Copenhagen
Oslo
Hamburg
Malmö
3.8x
Berlin
+3
Vienna
+3
Dublin
+3
Lausanne
+3
Milan
Manchester
5.0x
1-5
London Amsterdam
Stockholm
Berlin
Munich
Zurich
Paris
Page / 41
Source: Dealroom.co
Milan
Barcelona
Madrid
Grenoble
Basel
Saint
Petersburg
Lausanne
Mosc
Vienna
Prague
Poznań Warsaw
Hamburg
Dublin
Münster
Stuttgart
Luxembourg
Oslo
Mo i Rana
Nedre Vats
Helsinki
Tallinn
Riga
Vilnius
Edinburgh
Manchester
Glasgow
Peterborough
Malmö
Copenhagen
Borås
Page / 42
“The City of Amsterdam, along with private stakeholders, is actively
engaged in creating a local ecosystem that facilitates the rapid growth of
startups and increases the business sector’s commitment to social
responsibility and inclusiveness. Startups are attracted to the city
because it’s a city with a large talent pool, great infrastructure, ease of
doing business and a high quality of life. Amsterdam is a pocket-sized
world city, providing the best of both worlds: a buzzing business culture
and a high level of connectedness. Everybody is just one bike-ride away.”
Amsterdam
€1.5B
€1.0B
€0.5B
€2.5B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€200B
€150B
€100B
€50B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€2.3B
+13.6x
65K
2019
2017
77K*
Number startup jobs
_ Home grown
_ Foriegn
€2.0B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€208B
Joël Dori
Startup Liaison
StartupAmsterdam
» Explore Amsterdam’s Startup Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co | *Startup jobs in Amsterdam - 2020
Page / 42
Page / 43
Madrid
€0.3B
€0.2B
€0.1B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€15B
€5B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€0.4B
+4.1x
€0.4B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€14.5B
€10B
“In few years the Madrid Region has become a consolidated
ecosystem and one of the largest startup centers in Europe, thanks to
its intrinsic capacity to unite the action of investors, companies,
facilitators, university and research centers, renowned business
schools, ... with a diverse business vision, led by many national and
international young talents. Madrid exports talent and cooperates
with other places, but also attracts many entrepreneurs from other
parts of the world.”
“The coming years will be vital for the world and the Madrid Region
trusts startups as innovation driver to achieve the objectives and
challenges related to sustainable development, digitization, health,
the sharing economy, … but also the recovery of sectors such as
tourism or transport. Technologies, i.e. artificial intelligence, medtech,
big data, ... and Madrid strong and diverse startup ecosystem has
much to offer in this context.”
Eduardo Díaz Sánchez
Head of Unit
Fundación madrid
» Explore the Madrid Startup Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 43
Page / 44
London
€6B
€4B
€2B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€300B
€100B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€9.2B
+2.2x
€8B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€438B
€200B
”London has the “finance” of New York, the “tech” of Silicon Valley and
the policymakers of Washington, all within a 15 minute journey by tube.
These factors make London one of the world’s most connected global tech
hubs in the world, with all the necessary ingredients for startups to
succeed, from investors to world-class universities and talent to
policymakers – this is our secret sauce.”
“London is an outward looking, diverse global city that continues to build
strong relationships with tech hubs across Europe and around the world. It
is fundamental for global tech hubs to work together, to share expertise
and knowledge, and to drive forward progress and innovation. Working in
collaboration with cities in Europe allows Europe to continue to compete on
the global stage, with the likes of the US and China. Europe had a record
year for VC investment last year, and global investors are increasingly
interested in what is going on across the pond from the traditional tech hub
in Silicon Valley. There is a lot that European tech is bringing to the table
and we are very excited for the future of London and Europe’s thriving tech
scene.”
Janet Coyle
Managing Director Business Growth
London & Partners
€10B
€400B
» Explore the UK Startup Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 4
Page / 45
Berlin
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€150B
€50B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€4.1B
+4.4x
2014
2016
2018
2020
€145B
€100B
“Looking at automotive and Mittelstand you will find well
performing regions outside of Berlin. However, looking at e.g. the
overall unemployment rate there is room for additional progress.
This is where the innovative startup ecosystem was and still is
playing an important role to make Berlin shine and move ahead.”
“There are so many ingredients in the Berlin secret sauce, two
important ones are: Berlin is epicentre and melting pot for
innovators and creatives from all over the world. They come and join
the Berlin movement because Berlin is a lovable, diverse and always
changing environment. Also, Berlin has a startup history, beginning
with Alando, StudiVZ, gate5 and others. The former founders grew
to now be established as important players, educators and investors
in today's ecosystem.”
Norbert Herrmann
Startup Affairs
Berliner Senatsverwaltung für
Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe
€3B
€2B
€1B
€4B
» Explore the Berlin Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 45
Page / 46
Paris
€3B
€2B
€1B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€3.2B
+2.1x
2014
2016
2018
2020
€99B
“Innovative start-ups actively contribute to the economic and
sustainable development of the territory. Through their concrete
solutions, they respond to major urban challenges: improving the
daily lives of citizens, solving the needs of businesses, communities,
or public services. Also creating jobs, they are helping to transform a
more inclusive and resilient city!”
“It is a combination of public and private investments to reduce risks
at launch and then guarantee a good take-off ramp, combining real
estate, capital, engineering, visibility. All addressed by a significant
number of private and public operators engaged in the development
of these startups. An effective mix of practical tools, skills and
business opportunity creation that leads to a sustainability rate of
80% at 5 years of the companies supported, vs 50% at the national
level.”
Anne Gousset
Deputy Director General
Paris&Co
€60B
€20B
€40B
€100B
€80B
» Explore France’s Tech ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 46
Page / 47
Cologne
Porto
Switzerland
“Cologne needs startups if it wants to continue
its path of economic growth. Startups are a big
economic driver and will secure a big portion of
jobs in the future. It also ensures there is always
innovation coming into various markets and
companies are able to develop as well as to keep
the markets lively.
We have a massive industry over here and the so
called “Mittelstand” but they can’t find all the
solutions themselves and need help with their
digitization efforts. Last, startups are also a good
example how to deal with failure or bad decision
by trying again and looking for solutions rather
than giving up.”
“Startups bring dynamism and innovation to the city
and the region. They also address the big challenges
our society faces. Even if a big amount of startups
that survive are unable to scale their growth, the
small portion that does, the scaleups, tends to make
a very relevant contribution to competitiveness in
the region. Once startups become scaleups, they
tend to make a very relevant contribution to
innovation, economy and they have a big impact in
society. The
integration of scaleups
in an
entrepreneurial ecosystem promotes a set of
positive effects, direct and
indirect.
These
companies
generate
high
qualified
jobs,
competitiveness, which has a consequence in
aggregate
productivity,
leading
to
more
opportunities that result in a better quality of live
for all.”
“For Switzerland's future competitiveness, it is
important to bring forth
innovations and
successfully master digital transformation. The
true value of startups, and this does not only
apply to Switzerland, lies in doing just that, in
driving technological and digital
innovation,
rethinking markets and existing business
patterns, and finding new solutions to "old"
problems.
Successful
startups
not
only
strengthen a country's innovative power, but also
create jobs. They also serve as role models for
others and encourage them to set up ventures.
Switzerland is home to one of the most modern,
most developed and fastest growing startup
ecosystems in the world.”
Gil Baxpehler
Startup Unit Cologne
KölnBusiness
Daniela Monteiro
Head of Entrepreneurship
Porto Digital
Nicolas Bürer
Managing Director
digitalswitzerland
» Cologne Startup Ecosystem
» Porto Startup Ecosystem
» Swiss Startup Ecosystem
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns
since 2015
Density: number of unicorns per 1M
inhabitants
Unicorn cities in Asia
100+
15+
10+
5+
1-4
Hong Kong
Guangzhou
Tokyo
Mumbai
Jakarta
8.0x
7.0x
7.0x
5.0x
5.0x
Suzhou
Beijing
Shanghai
Bengaluru
Singapore
4.9x
4.8x
4.8x
4.7x
4.5x
Beijing
Shanghai
Hangzhou
Shenzhen
Hong Kong
5.3
2.4
2.0
1.7
1.1
Dubai
Tokyo
Jakarta
Suzhou
Guangzhou
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
Singapore
3.0
Beijing
Shanghai
Shenzhen
Singapore
Seoul
New Delhi
Bengaluru
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Mumbai
Jakarta
Tokyo
Taipei
Manilla
Changsha
Qingdao
Chennai
Pune
Thane
Almaty
Wuhan
Zhengzhou
Ningde
Guiyang
Chengdu
Guangyuan
Nanjing
10.0x
Seoul
6.5x
Seoul
1.3
Bengaluru
1.7
Page / 48
Source: Dealroom.co
Bangkok
Singapore: a tech ecosystem that has the best of all worlds doesn’t exi…
Unicorns per 1m inhabitants
Yong Cong CHOY
Regional Vice President (Europe)
Singapore Economic Development
Board
As a small nation with no natural resources,
Singapore has always strived to remain open and
collaborative. Even before the rise of digital tech,
Singapore had established
links with other
innovation hubs in the world. Tech has “shrunk” the
world. Therefore, it is imperative for Singapore to be
well-connected with other global tech hubs and be
a key node in that network.
3.0
2.1
Sweden
Singapore
1.5
Switzerland
3.8
Israel
1.2
Hong Kong
1.1
Netherlands
China
0.9
United States
United Kingdom
0.2
0.1
0.8
Australia
Singapore has benefited tremendously from
startups. Startups inject new ideas and ways of
working into cities, offer exciting careers and help to
make cities more liveable. From embedding tech
into spaces and turning them into smart homes and
offices to using autonomous robots to deliver
groceries.
The Nongsa D-Town is an example of how
collaboration
and
competition
can
coexist.
Nicknamed “the Digital Bridge between Singapore
and Indonesia”, D-Town allows Singapore-based
companies to hire Indonesia’s pool of young tech
talent and access the Indonesian market.
Scale-ups looking to internationalise often look to
Singapore as a “scale-up launchpad” where they
can tap into Southeast Asia’s huge market and
access talent. Companies like Zoom, Endava, Palo IT
and Bytedance are leveraging Singapore’s tech
ecosystem to grow their business. Revolut
amassed 77,000 customers in less than two years
after establishing their SEA business in Singapore.
Page / 49
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 50
Melbourne, Victoria
Sydney, NSW
Xero
€1.5B
€1.0B
€0.5B
€2.0B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€150B
€100B
€200B
€50B
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
Australia & New Zealand
€1.7B
+1.5x
€1.1B
2021
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
€185B
Page / 50
Source: Dealroom.co
Wellington, NZ
201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021“In 2020 the Victorian Government invested
$110.5 million via LaunchVic to activate
early-stage startup
investments; support
programs that grow more scaleups; and drive
awareness and advocacy for the local startup
sector. The work that is underway in Victoria
with regard to early-stage investment is
foundational and will dramatically alter the
startup ecosystem in the next 5 to 10 years.
“As Victoria’s startup agency, LaunchVic’s
experience of the sector is one that harbours a
culture of giving back and knowledge sharing.
“Many of the 18 unicorns and their founders
that have been created in Melbourne,
Australia in the last 10 years are generous
with their time and experience. This culture of
collaboration and a united vision for success is
undoubtedly making our startup ecosystem
stronger.”
$45B
$29B
Combined enterprise value of startups created
since 1990 in Victoria (incl Melbourne)
$15B
$10B
$6B
$3B
$2B
$1B
$825M
$641M
$654M
$367M
» Explore Victoria’s Tech ecosystem
Page / 51
“Startups play a valuable role in
Victoria’s economy by creating
jobs and helping to drive Victoria’s
economy forward. Job growth in
the startup sector was 11% in
comparison to Victoria’s economy
as a whole at 3.1% over the last 3
years, Dealroom.co’s report
showed.”
Dr Kate Cornick
CEO
LaunchVic
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 52
Latin America
€6B
€4B
€2B
€8B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€200B
€150B
€100B
€250B
€50B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
Mexico City / Mexico
Bogotá / Colombia
São Paulo / Brazil
Belo Horizonte / Brazil
Curitiba / Brazil
Montevideo / Uruguay
€7.7B
+5.5x
€1.4B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€246B
Page / 52
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 53
Middle East and North Africa
Israel / Tel-Aviv
Egypt / Cairo
Turkey /
Istanbul
Saudi Arabia / Riyadh
€6B
€4B
€2B
€8B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€200B
€100B
€300B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
UAE / Dubai
€7B
+2.6x
€3B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€275B
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 54
Ghana
Nigeria
South Africa
€600M
€400M
€200M
€800M
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€20B
€15B
€10B
€25B
€5B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
Sub-saharan Africa
€785M
+3.2x
€245M
2014
2016
2018
2020
Page / 54
Source: Dealroom.co
€21B
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Financial Times-backed new media site
telling the untold Stories of European Tech.
Created by Dealroom and Sifted, and supported by the
European Commission and European Parliament,
European Startups is a two-year project aimed at
facilitating informed conversation and collaboration
among European tech ecosystem stakeholders, to take
Europe’s startup economy to the next level.
At the centre of the initiative is the European Startups
database, a definitive platform providing macro-level
trends. We also publish several research reports and
organise a few events each year.
x
EuropeanStartups.co
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» Deep Tech (Jan ‘21)
» Corporate innovation (June ‘21)
» Covid-19 Startup Survey (Jul ‘20)
» Index Ventures / Not Optional (Oct ‘20)
» Europe stepping up (Jun ‘20)
» Launch report (April ‘20)
Previous reports:
Join event
Record venture capital investment
Globally
venture
capital
investment has
smashed previous records with €264B in the
first six months of 2021. This represents
year-over-year (YoY) growth of 2.3x
Europe is the fastest growing major region by
venture capital investment (growing faster than
US, China, Asia). Investment into European
startups grew by 2.9x YoY to €49B.
What you need to know.
Two new unicorns per day
Each day, more than two new unicorns emerged
globally during 2021. There are now 1,601
unicorns and $1B+ exits of which 1,071 still
private unicorns.
The combined global value of tech companies
has ballooned to over $35 trillion, of which $18T
from companies founded after 2000, and $10T
from companies founded after 2010. The rate of
innovation is accelerating
Unicorns and $1B exits
VC funding into startups globally
Cities with one or more unicorns
2021
170
2010
2021
50
1,601
1,322
2010
155
Entrepreneurship is spreading
Knowledge about building startups is much
more widespread. There are now 170 cities with
at least one unicorn. Europe has the most
unicorn cities.
The Bay Area is still growing but its relative
contribution peaked in 2014. The rest of the US
has more unicorns, more VC funding and is
growing faster by number of unicorns.
€264B
€114B
2.3x
H1
2012
H1
‘21
Page / 5
22
H1
‘20
Source: Dealroom.co
Source: Refinitiv (via Financial Times).
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
30%
25%
20%
15%
Why should cities care about startups and
unicorns?
Page / 6
10%
5%
Europe’s share of world equity market value
has shrunk, largely due to the rise of big tech.
35%
Startups have become a leading source of job growth. In cities analysed by
Dealroom, startup jobs grew by about 10% annually, or 2‒3x faster than the
wider local economy*. Tech is also more resilient to external shocks (e.g.
pandemic, Brexit). Today, 1% of European jobs are at startups (most are
venture backed). In the US, where venture capital has been around for much
longer, it is estimated that venture-backed companies are responsible for
10% of all jobs.
Meanwhile, the global economy is transitioning to digital. Tech companies
are reshaping nearly every industry and tech giants are forming. US tech
companies are worth $24 trillion (the entire S&P 500 is $32T). They
contribute to 50% of all domestic R&D. About 70% of all AI experts work for
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon. But despite the concentration of
economic power, entrepreneurialism is on the rise as startups are able to
scale faster than ever before. Younger cohorts of startups are creating as
much value, actually taking advantage of the infrastructure of big tech (AWS,
Facebook, Google).
This means there’s a huge opportunity for younger startup ecosystems, like
Europe and elsewhere. Europe’s startup ecosystem is coming of age.
Europe’s tech companies are now worth $3 trillion. Entrepreneurial
ecosystems are increasingly borderless, as startup teams can be distributed
and venture capital is being invested remotely. This new reality means it’s
important to embrace and foster entrepreneurship more than ever. It also
means that ecosystems do not exist in isolation. This report therefore takes
a global perspective, of startup ecosystems in the entrepreneurial age.
* Source: various reports including Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Berlin.
The Entrepreneurial Age.
Transition to a digital economy
80% of the population is online and
increasingly expecting services to be online.
Simultaneously, tech makes it easier than
ever to launch and scale a company.
Supportive governments
Tech and entrepreneurship are being
recognised as resilient economic & job
growth engine. Global competition for
startups and capital has intensified (and
playing field has levelled).
The rise of startups everywhere
Startups have become the vehicle of choice
for rapid innovation. They’ve become great
places to build a career and fulfill individual
potential, for entrepreneurs and operators
from diverse backgrounds.
Availability of capital anywhere
Abundance of capital and capital moving
more towards venture. Tech has become the
safe asset. Capital is also accessible in more
places.
Page / 7
The rise of startups everywhere
Availability of capital anywhere
Benefiting from a distributed world
1
2
3
Table of contents.
The rise of startups everywhere
1
Paul Graham
Co-founder of Y Combinator
written in April 2021 on
How People Get Rich Now
“If you start a startup now, your parents won't freak out the way they would
have a generation ago, and knowledge about how to do it is much more
widespread.”
“But the main reason it's easier to start a startup now is that it's cheaper. Technology has driven down
the cost of both building products and acquiring customers.”
“Technology hasn't just made it cheaper to build and distribute things, but faster too. This trend has
been running for a long time. IBM, founded in 1896, took 45 years to reach a billion 2020 dollars in
revenue. Hewlett-Packard, founded in 1939, took 25 years. Microsoft, founded in 1975, took 13 years.
Now the norm for fast-growing companies is 7 or 8 years.”
New unicorns announced
During 2021:
over 2 new
unicorns per day
Until 2014:
one unicorn every
month
2018‒2020:
a new unicorn
every day
Over two new unicorns were announced each day
in the first half of 2021.
Page / 11
Source: Dealroom.co
Inflection point around 2014.
What happened?
■
Population online/on smartphones
(80% of adults as of today)
■
Scalable software (AWS) and global
distribution (Facebook, Google, ...)
available on-demand to any startup
■ Massive growth of venture capital
industry
■
Large pools of experienced talent
with knowledge of building startups
and influx of new talent
■
Chinese internet took off during
2014-2018
100
200
300
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
H1
400
13
26
18
34
71
121
90
122
285
241
255
320
2014‒2018:
a new unicorn
every three days
250
200
100
50
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
Rest of USA
(excl. Bay Area)
2021E
Europe
Rest of Asia
China
RoW
The US continues to outperform the rest of the world in terms of new
unicorns, especially the “Rest of the US” i.e. outside of the Bay Area.
Projected at
current pace
Number of new unicorns announced
Bay Area
2020
150
Page / 12
Source: Dealroom.co
Cumulative number of unicorns and $1B exits
2000
2010
Today
Jan ‘21
1,322
50
1,601
Page / 13
1,601 tech companies founded since 1990
that have crossed the $1 billion milestone.
Source: Dealroom.co. * Pre 1990 includes companies like Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Adobe, IBM, Oracle, SAP.
2010
2021
$35T
Cumulative valuation ($T)
Tech companies globally have reached a
combined value of $35 trillion, of which $27
trillion (79%) after 1990.
$1.9T
Pre 1990
cohort
$7.3 trillion *
1990+
cohort
$27 trillion
$5T
$10T
$15T
$20T
$25T
$30T
$35T
There are now 170 “unicorn cities” with one or more unicorn, of which 65 in Europe.
21
14
33
15
43
18
4
3
20
6
2
25
24
6
3
32
24
9
3
40
27
11
6
50
30
16
8
57
34
17
12
61
38
20
15
65
42
23
17
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
13
13
10
8
7
RoW
Rest of Asia
(excl. China)
USA
Europe
1
170
155
140
119
95
78
65
52
38
32
28
22
1
23
21
20
15
11
10
7
3
China
Cities with one or more unicorn
Page / 14
Source: Dealroom.co
0
20
40
60
70
Cities with 1 unicorn
Cities with 2 unicorns
3 unicorns
4 unicorns
5 unicorns
6 to 10 unicorns
11 to 20 unicorns
21 to 50 unicorns
>50 unicorns
Number of cities by size ▉ in 2014 ▉ in 2021
10
30
50
71
28
26
11
15
1
8
8
8
2
13
4
16
1
6
0
(incl. Bay Area, New York City, Beijing)
1
Page / 15
(incl. Seattle, Chicago, Paris)
(incl. Berlin, Singapore, New Jersey, São Paulo, Bengaluru)
(incl. Atlanta GA, Hong Kong, Tokyo)
(incl. Houston, Copenhagen, Manchester)
(incl. Helsinki, Tampa, Madrid)
(incl. Dublin, Vienna, Montreal)
(incl. Prague, Belo Horizonte, Dubai)
Since 2014, the number of cities with one unicorn grew from 28 to 71. The number
of cities with over 10 unicorns grew from 2 to 29.
7
Source: Dealroom.co
Paris, Shenzhen (21 unicorns each)
Salt Lake City Metro (16)
New Jersey (15)
San Diego (14)
New Delhi (11)
Toronto (10)
Cambridge (9)
Sydney, Raleigh-Durham (6)
Manchester (5)
Madrid, Tampa (4)
Barcelona, Basel, Jerusalem (3)
Prague, Leed, Moscow (2 unicorns each)
Success breeds success. Of the 28 cities with one unicorn in 2014, 82% have more in
2021, and several have more than 10.
Page / 16
2014: 28 cities with
one unicorn
2021: most have
several unicorns
20
15
10
5
1
Source: Dealroom.co
Unicorns & $1B+ exits per city
Malmo
Several first-time unicorn cities were born in 2020 and 2021.
Bello Horizonte
Chennai
Malmo
Montevideo
Accra
St. Louis
Mexico City
Tirat Carmel
Nedre Vats
Grand Rapids
Bend, OR
Mo i Rana
Baoding
Thane
Kansas City
Morehead, KY
Zhengzhou
Orlando, FL
Riyadh
Munster
Almaty
Tattenhall
Pittsburgh
Lexington
Cairo
Glasgow
Sheffield
Anhui
Venlo
Page / 17
Source: Dealroom.co
Where the world’s unicorns and $1B+ exits are based.
USA
853 (53%)
Europe
268 (17%)
China
280 (17%)
RoW
68 (4%)
Rest of Asia
132 (8%)
Bay Area
London
Beijing
São
Paulo
Tel Aviv
New York City
Paris
Shanghai
Melbourne
Singapore
Greater Boston Region
Hangzhou
Berlin
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Munich
Rest
Shenzhen
Nanjing
Rest
Greater Los Angeles
Seattle, WA
Chicago
Bengaluru
Seoul
New Delhi
Hong Kong
Rest
Toronto
Sydney
Montreal
Rest
Austin, TX
Salt Lake City metro, UT
Rest
392
113
54
61
28
21
16
16
137
113
63
21
21
10
45
71
21
19
18
13
11
115
30
18
14
13
11
8
38
14
14
10
6
3
21
New Jersey
15
Guangzhou
7
Page / 18
Source: Dealroom.co
USA
Europe
China
RoW
Rest of Asia
47%
3%
35%
9%
7%
58%
6%
20%
10%
5%
56%
14%
14%
10%
5%
53%
17%
17%
8%
4%
64%
17%
10%
6%
3%
65%
8%
15%
9%
4%
Combined
enterprise value
since 1990 *
Total Unicorns
and $1B+ exits
since 1990
Future
Unicorns **
Number of
seed stage
companies
New unicorns
since 2020
Number of
series A+
companies
When looking at earlier stages, Europe is starting to take a more prominent place.
Page / 19
Source: Dealroom.co * Combined enterprise value of all startups & tech companies founded since 1990. ** Future unicorns are valued $250M-$1B and funded in last 5 years.
Unicorns and $1B+ exits
280
100
43
34
34
23
21
875
19
19
19
18
15
13
10
21
7
6
6
4
4
4
4
4
6
USA
China
United Kingdom
Germany
Israel
India
France
Sweden
Australia
Canada
Brazil
Netherlands
Singapore
South Korea
Switzerland
Hong Kong
Japan
Norway
Spain
Indonesia
Denmark
Finland
Belgium
Russia
Mexico
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns since 2015
Australia
Canada
Brazil
Hong Kong
Japan
21x
19x
19x
10x
7.0x
The USA, China and UK are the top three countries by number of unicorns and
$1B+ exits. Australia, Canada and Brazil are the fastest growing.
Switzerland
Norway
Spain
France
Sweden
6.5x
6.0x
6.0x
5.8x
5.3x
South Korea
India
Israel
Denmark
Belgium
5.0x
4.3x
4.3x
4.0x
4.0x
United States
Germany
Singapore
China
Netherlands
3.9x
3.9x
3.6x
3.2x
3.2x
United Kingdom
Indonesia
Mexico
Ireland
Nigeria
3.0x
3.0x
3.0x
3.0x
3.0x
Italy
Austria
3.0x
3.0x
Page / 20
Source: Dealroom.co
The Bay Area, Beijing, New York and London are the top hubs, while Salt Lake City, New
Jersey and São Paulo are the fastest growing by number of Unicorns.
113
113
71
63
61
55
30
392
21
21
21
20
19
18
18
28
16
15
14
14
14
14
14
14
16
Bay Area
Beijing
New York City
London
Shanghai
Greater Boston Region
Greater Los Angeles
Tel Aviv
Seattle
Paris
Hangzhou
Shenzhen
Chicago
Berlin
Singapore
Stockholm
Austin
Salt Lake City metro
New Jersey
São Paulo
Bengaluru
San Diego
Amsterdam
Melbourne
Washington DC
Unicorns and $1B+ exits
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns since 2015
Salt Lake City metro
New Jersey metro
São Paulo
San Diego
Melbourne
16x
15x
14x
14x
14x
Nanjing
Toronto
Philadelphia
Hong Kong
Paris
10x
10x
10x
8.0x
7.3x
Guangzhou
Tokyo
Greater Los Angeles
Seoul
Boston Metro
7.0x
7.0x
6.8x
6.5x
6.1x
Tel Aviv
Sydney
Dallas
Raleigh-Durham
Detroit
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
Munich
New York City
Mumbai
Houston
Manchester
5.5x
5.4x
5.0x
5.0x
5.0x
Page / 21
Source: Dealroom.co
Explore over 1,600 unicorns online.
Why count unicorns?
With so many unicorns, the term itself has become a
misnomer. Still, it’s a very helpful metric to measure
the development local ecosystems. The rise of a new
unicorn creates a boost for local ecosystems (the
founders, employees, the investors) which creates
tons of positive second order effects. Every day, two
unicorns emerge. To keep track of them all, we’ve
created a dedicated page, including a set of definitions.
Check out the link below to explore:
» Private unicorns
» New unicorns in 2021
» More ...
» Rumoured unicorns
2 Capital available anywhere
Global venture capital investment » view online
Global venture capital is crushing previous records in 2021.
▊ Series C €40M–€100M
▊ Series B €15M-€40M
▊ Megarounds plus €250M+
▊ Megarounds €100M–€250M
▊ Series A €4M-€15M
▊ Seed €1M-€4M
▊ Pre-seed €0M-€1M
€200B
€100B
€264B
€114B
2.3x
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
Page / 24
Source: Dealroom.co
In Europe, the growth in venture capital is even more pronounced.
European venture capital investment » view online
€40B
€30B
€20B
€10B
€49B
€17B
2.9x
€50B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
Page / 25
Source: Dealroom.co
▊ Series C €40M–€100M
▊ Series B €15M-€40M
▊ Megarounds plus €250M+
▊ Megarounds €100M–€250M
▊ Series A €4M-€15M
▊ Seed €1M-€4M
▊ Pre-seed €0M-€1M
Venture capital investment by destination » view online
Europe
China
USA
RoW
Rest of Asia
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021 H1
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
18%
52%
11%
12%
7%
15%
Europe’s share of global venture capital is higher than it’s ever been, now 18%. China’s share
of global Venture Capital has been shrinking.
16%
10%
13%
12%
11%
12%
14%
12%
9%
12%
Page / 26
Source: Dealroom.co
Nearly all regions are seeing rapid growth in VC investment.
VC investment by destination
China
Europe
Latin America
Rest of the World
USA
Rest of Asia (excl. China)
$40B
H1
2010
H1
2012
H1
2014
H1
2016
H1
2018
H1
2021
$20B
$60B
$40B
$154B
H1
2020
+2.3x
H1
2010
H1
2012
H1
2014
H1
2016
H1
2018
H1
2021
H1
2020
H1
2010
H1
2021
H1
2020
H1
2010
H1
2021
H1
2010
H1
2021
$53B
+2.9x
$80B
$160B
$10B
$20B
$30B
$40B
$34B
+2.3x
$4B
$8B
$12B
$12B
+3.3x
$8B
+5.5x
Page / 27
$3B
$6B
$9B
H1
2010
H1
2012
H1
2014
H1
2016
H1
2018
H1
2021
H1
2020
$30B
+1.6x
$20B
$60B
$40B
$120B
Source: Dealroom.co
2021 YoY growth by country
12.4x
9.2x
9.2x
8.6x
7.0x
6.9x
5.6x
21.1x
4.3x
4.3x
4.2x
3.9x
3.2x
3.0x
2.8x
5.2x
2.7x
2.7x
2.2x
2.2x
2.2x
1.9x
1.8x
1.7x
2.5x
Turkey
Norway
Nigeria
Colombia
Mexico
Netherlands
Sweden
Hong Kong
Denmark
Canada
Brazil
Spain
Austria
Finland
South Korea
Germany
UAE
Indonesia
UK
Vietnam
Italy
Israel
India
France
Switzerland
1.6x
1.6x
1.5x
1.3x
Russia
Australia
Singapore
Belgium
Ireland
1.1x
Venture capital investment in H1 2021
$17.1B
$8.4B
$6.8B
$2.5B
$10.3B
$4.6B
$3.6B
$1.9B
$4.2B
$5.2B
$3.3B
$2.8B
Australia
UK
Mexico
Colombia
Nigeria
Germany
Sweden
South Korea
France
India
Israel
Netherlands
Spain
Switzerland
Indonesia
Finland
Singapore
UAE
Denmark
Turkey
Norway
Hong Kong
Japan
Ireland
Belgium
$7.8B
$4.8B
Austria
Russia
Italy
Canada
Brazil
2.3x
USA
1.6x
China
Vietnam
1.0x
Japan
$1.7B
$1.3B
$1.1B
$1.0B
$1.0B
$0.8B
$0.5B
$0.4B
$0.4B
$1.8B
$1.5B
$1.0B
$0.5B
$1.3B
$1.3B
$0.7B
$0.6B
USA
China
$153.6B
$30.3B
Page / 28
Northern Europe has been one of the world’s fastest growing regions for VC investment.
Source: Dealroom.co
Venture capital has become more global, especially more flows from USA and
Asia into European marketplaces.
Source of capital
▊ Domestic
▊ Europe
▊ USA
▊Asia
▊ RoW
▊Unknown HQ
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2021 2010Global startups
» view online
USA startups
» view online
European startups
» view online
Asian startups
» view online
2021 20102021 201020
21
2010Asia
USA
Asia
Asia
USA
Asia
USA
Europe
Domestic
Domestic
Europe cross border
Domestic
Europe
Domestic
Europe
Page / 29
% of investment by source of capital
Source: Dealroom.co
Venture capital funding per capita in 2021E
2021E average European per capita funding still lags the US and Israel. But
individual countries like the UK, Sweden and Finland have closed in significantly.
Venture capital funding per capita
in 2016-2021E
$1,329
Sweden
$1,011
Israel
$883
USA
$479
UK
$478
Finland
$407
Netherlands
$201
Germany
$150
France
Page / 30
Source: Dealroom.co
Benefiting from a distributed world
3
“Innovation can happen anywhere. Distribution right now is
a wonderful thing. If you follow Twitter in the US, it seems
like every entrepreneur and VC is moving to Miami or
Austin, Texas. Some amount of that is real and that's good.
Digital tools allow you to do that. That couldn't have
happened 10 years ago and it's such a net positive for
society.
But the reality is that clusters of people who work together
will continue to work in those locations and the real
innovation and creativity is when you have the interaction
of humans and ideas, and that will always continue to
happen in the cities as it has in the past.”
“We have invested in many companies over the last year
where I have never met the founders in person. That's
mindblowing for me. But just remember that raising
money is a bit like Ireland in the 90’s — no divorces
allowed.”
Mark Suster
Partner, Upfront Ventures
Dealroom x Sifted event
“Distribution of
innovation is a wonderful
thing. It's such a net
positive for society.
“Peak Bay Area was in 2014.”
“The meme right now is that the pandemic has finally
kicked the Bay Area off its pedestal.… But the reality for us
and our portfolio is that the Bay Area’s share of companies
in our portfolio has been declining for seven years.
“Following the 2008 financial crash, the region was both
substantially cheaper and had a strong corps of technical
talent. But by the mid-2010s, the stresses and pressures
of the rising cost of living became widely known, it became
much harder to compete against Big Tech companies on
recruiting and so this trend began reversing as companies
began spreading out. By 2018, fewer than half of our
companies in the fund beginning that year were based in
Northern California.“
Kim-Mai Cutler
Initialized Capital
Cumulative number unicorns and $1B+ companies
in the US.
20
10
30
44
58
83 126 182 217 262 395 518 666 853
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
▊New York
▊Boston *
▊Rest
▊Bay Area
20
11
20
12
20
13
20
14
20
15
20
16
20
17
20
18
20
19
20
20
20
21
Peak Bay Area ?
Source: Dealroom.co | *Greater Boston Region.
Page / 33
By number of future unicorns, New York and Boston together are getting close to
Silicon Valley size. The center of gravity is shifting away from Bay Area.
New York city (113)
Greater Boston Region (61)
Greater Los Angeles (54)
Seattle (28)
Chicago (21)
Austin (16)
Salt Lake City (16)
New Jersey (15)
New York City (219)
Greater Boston Region (195)
San Diego (68)
Greater Los Angeles (66)
Austin (36)
Washington DC (31)
Seattle (30)
Atlanta (29)
Chicago(29)
Denver (28)
1.2x
1.7x
594
461
1,000
392
Bay Area
Rest of USA
Bay Area
Rest of USA
Top-3 cities are
already as large as Bay
Area. New York and
Boston cluster cover
roughly same travel
area as Bay Area.
Future unicorns *
Unicorns and $1B+ exits *
Page / 34
Source: Dealroom.co | * number of startups founded since 1990 that reached $1B+ valuation or $250M-$1B for future unicorns.
15.4%
10.4%
8.6%
8.1%
6.5%
-9.6%
-9.7%
-17.2%
-18.2%
-35.8%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale
Houston
Dallas-Fort Worth
Philadelphia
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Denver, Colorado
Chicago
Austin
Washington D.C. / Baltimore
Boston
Seattle
New York City
San Francisco Bay Area
0.5%
Market area
Year-over-year percent change
Page / 35
2.9%
-5.1%
Analysis comparing metro areas’ inflow-outflow ratio based on LinkedIn users’ profile location changes from March
2020 - February 2021 vs. March 2019 - February 2020 (via Axios)
"It used to be that you waited until 10 to 15 years
into your career and then you could make a choice
about where you wanted to live. Now it's like, oh
yeah, I came to California for a year, now I can go
be where I want to be. (Joseph Woodbury)”
“Pandemic moves are redistributing coveted tech
workers more evenly across the country after
being so heavily concentrated in just a handful of
cities for years.
“This is also expected to help spread wealth, job
opportunities and startup creation in new places.”
Kim Hart
Axios article “COVID-19 scatters tech
hubs for young talent”
Believe the hype? Miami and Houston are
the US metros with largest migration
changes for software and IT workers.
-8.0%
Austin
Miami
Atlanta
Greater Boston
New York City
Denver
Bay area
Greater Los angeles
Seattle
Columbus
Salt Lake City
Santa barbara
San Diego
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns
since 2015
>300
unicorns
>100
>50
>10
>5
>2
1
Unicorn cities in the US
Salt Lake City, UT
New Jersey
San Diego, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Greater Los Angeles
16.0x
15.0x
14.0x
10.0x
6.8x
Greater Boston Region
Dallas, TX
Raleigh-Durham
Detroit, MI
New York City
6.1x
6.0x
6.0x
6.0x
5.4x
Chicago
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Washington DC
Houston
Charlotte
Raleigh-Durham
Density: number of unicorns per 1M
inhabitants
Bay Area
Austin, TX
New York City
Salt Lake City, UT
Greater Boston Region
50.3
16.0
13.6
13.3
13.3
Santa Barbara, CA
Seattle, WA
Raleigh-Durham
San Diego, CA
Denver, CO
8.0
7.0
4.3
4.2
3.4
Dallas
Detroit
Phoenix
Tampa
Minneapolis
Connecticut
Nashville
Columbia
Cleveland
St. Louis
Grand Rapids
Buffalo
Bend
Kansas City
Morehead
Orlando
Albuquerque
Pittsburgh
Portland
Lexington
Indianapolis
Page / 36
Source: Dealroom.co
Las Vegas
Utah is the fastest growing state in the US when it comes to Unicorn creation.
David Carlebach
Vice President
International Investment
World Trade Center Utah
“Utah's culture is its secret
sauce. Founded by bold,
principled, industrious, and
courageous pioneers, that spirit
lives on in our state.”
“Utah is one of the most entrepreneurial states
in the US, and this is a major factor in our
status as the fastest growing economy in the
US. Startups help us grow now and create
cornerstones of our economy in the future.
Qualtrics, Merit Medical, and Black Diamond
Equipment were once startups in Utah. Startups
from outside the state add to this growth engine,
and we welcome the talent, diversity, and capital
they are able to bring with them and to attract.”
“Utah has outstanding social cohesion. Our
government, community, and business leaders
compromise and collaborate and are kind and
civil. They believe in the One Utah Roadmap
where the state's success benefits everyone.”
Unicorns and $1B+ exits in Utah
201420
21
16x
1x
20
15
20
16
20
17
20
18
20
19
20
20
Page / 37
Source: Dealroom.co
“Atlanta’s competitive edge is its diversity”
21%
USA average
Atlanta
Percentage of tech workers
that are African American.
(source: Center for American Progress)
2%
Nathan Regan
Senior Vice President,
Economic Development
Invest Atlanta
Lexie Newhouse
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Program Manager
Invest Atlanta
“Atlanta’s , tech industry accounts for 12.5% of the
city’s economy. Announcements such as Microsoft and
Airbnb making the move to Atlanta continue to pop up
across the city with new offices and opportunities.
What continues to attract both homegrown startups
and transplants is access to capital, talent, programs
and corporations.
“With 22% of residents living below the poverty line,
access to capital for minority entrepreneurs is a
challenge, particularly due to a lack of generational
wealth among African American families. This is key
for startups, where many source their first rounds of
funding from friends and family. Atlanta continues to
prioritize access to capital for black and brown
communities through institutions like the Fearless
Fund and Zane Venture Fund, in addition to Invest
Atlanta’s low-interest loan programs.
“Talent from the city’s local universities and colleges
is another advantage in the ecosystem, especially
with the presence of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HCBUs) like Morehouse College, Spelman
College and Clark-Atlanta University. Programs like
Invest Atlanta’s Students2Startups, which provides
subsidized internships for college students to local
Atlanta startups, and efforts with the City’s workforce
development arm, WorkSource Atlanta, helps train up
tech talent and fuel these diverse tech talent pipelines.
“The city features many programs devoted to
supporting minority entrepreneurs. The Women’s
Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI), powered by Invest
Atlanta,
is believed to be the only city-funded
incubator for women in the nation. Other incubators,
accelerators and coworking spaces like the Russell
Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE),
Atlanta Tech Village (ATV), Advanced Technology
Development Center (ATDC) and The Gathering Spot
play a significant role in fostering community and
providing access to technical assistance and capital
across the city. Entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders
like Paul Judge of Pindrop, Jewel Burks Solomon of
Google for Startups and Joey Womack of Goodie
Nation truly power these programs and partnerships.
As many global tech hubs recognize, there must be a
collaborate effort and succinct vision across all facets
of the ecosystem.
“Atlanta’s entrepreneurial tech ecosystem reaches
far beyond the city. Through partnerships among
Invest Atlanta, The Mayor’s Office of International
Affairs, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Georgia
Department of Economic Development and others,
Atlanta continues to compete and collaborate with
neighboring tech hubs. Most recently, Atlanta was
officially named a ‘La French Tech’ Hub by France’s
Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, for
instance.”
Sherry Gutch
VP Innovation
Orlando Economic Partnership
Susan Davenport
Chief Economic Development Officer
Greater Houston Partnership
“We are America’s most diverse city with one in four
Houstonians born outside the U.S. Because of this global
spirit and entrepreneurial outlook, we’re not a place
where folks will get in your way, but rather understand
that as each Houston company, start-up, etc. succeeds,
we all get a little bit better.”
Notable tech companies:
“Orlando’s innovation economy launched with the country’s
space race and has not slowed down since man landed on the
moon. From simulation and defense to autonomous vehicle
technology, the diverse industries that make up Orlando’s
collaborative businesses community foster an innovation-driven
environment helps the region lead the nation emerging
technologies and experiential entertainment.”
Notable tech companies:
Orlando
Houston
Page / 39
Source: Dealroom.co
Fastest growing hubs in the US.
Growth (2021E vs. 2016)
Page / 40
Source: Dealroom.co
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns
since 2015
10.5x
5.5x
4.5x
4.3x
4.0x
Paris
Munich
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Madrid
Unicorn cities in Europe
70+
18-21
10+
5+
Fastest growing new Unicorn Cities,
2015-2021
+7
+4
+4
+4
+3
Zurich (Metro)
Copenhagen
Oslo
Hamburg
Malmö
3.8x
Berlin
+3
Vienna
+3
Dublin
+3
Lausanne
+3
Milan
Manchester
5.0x
1-5
London Amsterdam
Stockholm
Berlin
Munich
Zurich
Paris
Page / 41
Source: Dealroom.co
Milan
Barcelona
Madrid
Grenoble
Basel
Saint
Petersburg
Lausanne
Mosc
Vienna
Prague
Poznań Warsaw
Hamburg
Dublin
Münster
Stuttgart
Luxembourg
Oslo
Mo i Rana
Nedre Vats
Helsinki
Tallinn
Riga
Vilnius
Edinburgh
Manchester
Glasgow
Peterborough
Malmö
Copenhagen
Borås
Page / 42
“The City of Amsterdam, along with private stakeholders, is actively
engaged in creating a local ecosystem that facilitates the rapid growth of
startups and increases the business sector’s commitment to social
responsibility and inclusiveness. Startups are attracted to the city
because it’s a city with a large talent pool, great infrastructure, ease of
doing business and a high quality of life. Amsterdam is a pocket-sized
world city, providing the best of both worlds: a buzzing business culture
and a high level of connectedness. Everybody is just one bike-ride away.”
Amsterdam
€1.5B
€1.0B
€0.5B
€2.5B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€200B
€150B
€100B
€50B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€2.3B
+13.6x
65K
2019
2017
77K*
Number startup jobs
_ Home grown
_ Foriegn
€2.0B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€208B
Joël Dori
Startup Liaison
StartupAmsterdam
» Explore Amsterdam’s Startup Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co | *Startup jobs in Amsterdam - 2020
Page / 42
Page / 43
Madrid
€0.3B
€0.2B
€0.1B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€15B
€5B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€0.4B
+4.1x
€0.4B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€14.5B
€10B
“In few years the Madrid Region has become a consolidated
ecosystem and one of the largest startup centers in Europe, thanks to
its intrinsic capacity to unite the action of investors, companies,
facilitators, university and research centers, renowned business
schools, ... with a diverse business vision, led by many national and
international young talents. Madrid exports talent and cooperates
with other places, but also attracts many entrepreneurs from other
parts of the world.”
“The coming years will be vital for the world and the Madrid Region
trusts startups as innovation driver to achieve the objectives and
challenges related to sustainable development, digitization, health,
the sharing economy, … but also the recovery of sectors such as
tourism or transport. Technologies, i.e. artificial intelligence, medtech,
big data, ... and Madrid strong and diverse startup ecosystem has
much to offer in this context.”
Eduardo Díaz Sánchez
Head of Unit
Fundación madrid
» Explore the Madrid Startup Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 43
Page / 44
London
€6B
€4B
€2B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€300B
€100B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€9.2B
+2.2x
€8B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€438B
€200B
”London has the “finance” of New York, the “tech” of Silicon Valley and
the policymakers of Washington, all within a 15 minute journey by tube.
These factors make London one of the world’s most connected global tech
hubs in the world, with all the necessary ingredients for startups to
succeed, from investors to world-class universities and talent to
policymakers – this is our secret sauce.”
“London is an outward looking, diverse global city that continues to build
strong relationships with tech hubs across Europe and around the world. It
is fundamental for global tech hubs to work together, to share expertise
and knowledge, and to drive forward progress and innovation. Working in
collaboration with cities in Europe allows Europe to continue to compete on
the global stage, with the likes of the US and China. Europe had a record
year for VC investment last year, and global investors are increasingly
interested in what is going on across the pond from the traditional tech hub
in Silicon Valley. There is a lot that European tech is bringing to the table
and we are very excited for the future of London and Europe’s thriving tech
scene.”
Janet Coyle
Managing Director Business Growth
London & Partners
€10B
€400B
» Explore the UK Startup Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 4
Page / 45
Berlin
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€150B
€50B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€4.1B
+4.4x
2014
2016
2018
2020
€145B
€100B
“Looking at automotive and Mittelstand you will find well
performing regions outside of Berlin. However, looking at e.g. the
overall unemployment rate there is room for additional progress.
This is where the innovative startup ecosystem was and still is
playing an important role to make Berlin shine and move ahead.”
“There are so many ingredients in the Berlin secret sauce, two
important ones are: Berlin is epicentre and melting pot for
innovators and creatives from all over the world. They come and join
the Berlin movement because Berlin is a lovable, diverse and always
changing environment. Also, Berlin has a startup history, beginning
with Alando, StudiVZ, gate5 and others. The former founders grew
to now be established as important players, educators and investors
in today's ecosystem.”
Norbert Herrmann
Startup Affairs
Berliner Senatsverwaltung für
Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe
€3B
€2B
€1B
€4B
» Explore the Berlin Ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 45
Page / 46
Paris
€3B
€2B
€1B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
€3.2B
+2.1x
2014
2016
2018
2020
€99B
“Innovative start-ups actively contribute to the economic and
sustainable development of the territory. Through their concrete
solutions, they respond to major urban challenges: improving the
daily lives of citizens, solving the needs of businesses, communities,
or public services. Also creating jobs, they are helping to transform a
more inclusive and resilient city!”
“It is a combination of public and private investments to reduce risks
at launch and then guarantee a good take-off ramp, combining real
estate, capital, engineering, visibility. All addressed by a significant
number of private and public operators engaged in the development
of these startups. An effective mix of practical tools, skills and
business opportunity creation that leads to a sustainability rate of
80% at 5 years of the companies supported, vs 50% at the national
level.”
Anne Gousset
Deputy Director General
Paris&Co
€60B
€20B
€40B
€100B
€80B
» Explore France’s Tech ecosystem
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 46
Page / 47
Cologne
Porto
Switzerland
“Cologne needs startups if it wants to continue
its path of economic growth. Startups are a big
economic driver and will secure a big portion of
jobs in the future. It also ensures there is always
innovation coming into various markets and
companies are able to develop as well as to keep
the markets lively.
We have a massive industry over here and the so
called “Mittelstand” but they can’t find all the
solutions themselves and need help with their
digitization efforts. Last, startups are also a good
example how to deal with failure or bad decision
by trying again and looking for solutions rather
than giving up.”
“Startups bring dynamism and innovation to the city
and the region. They also address the big challenges
our society faces. Even if a big amount of startups
that survive are unable to scale their growth, the
small portion that does, the scaleups, tends to make
a very relevant contribution to competitiveness in
the region. Once startups become scaleups, they
tend to make a very relevant contribution to
innovation, economy and they have a big impact in
society. The
integration of scaleups
in an
entrepreneurial ecosystem promotes a set of
positive effects, direct and
indirect.
These
companies
generate
high
qualified
jobs,
competitiveness, which has a consequence in
aggregate
productivity,
leading
to
more
opportunities that result in a better quality of live
for all.”
“For Switzerland's future competitiveness, it is
important to bring forth
innovations and
successfully master digital transformation. The
true value of startups, and this does not only
apply to Switzerland, lies in doing just that, in
driving technological and digital
innovation,
rethinking markets and existing business
patterns, and finding new solutions to "old"
problems.
Successful
startups
not
only
strengthen a country's innovative power, but also
create jobs. They also serve as role models for
others and encourage them to set up ventures.
Switzerland is home to one of the most modern,
most developed and fastest growing startup
ecosystems in the world.”
Gil Baxpehler
Startup Unit Cologne
KölnBusiness
Daniela Monteiro
Head of Entrepreneurship
Porto Digital
Nicolas Bürer
Managing Director
digitalswitzerland
» Cologne Startup Ecosystem
» Porto Startup Ecosystem
» Swiss Startup Ecosystem
Growth: increase in number of Unicorns
since 2015
Density: number of unicorns per 1M
inhabitants
Unicorn cities in Asia
100+
15+
10+
5+
1-4
Hong Kong
Guangzhou
Tokyo
Mumbai
Jakarta
8.0x
7.0x
7.0x
5.0x
5.0x
Suzhou
Beijing
Shanghai
Bengaluru
Singapore
4.9x
4.8x
4.8x
4.7x
4.5x
Beijing
Shanghai
Hangzhou
Shenzhen
Hong Kong
5.3
2.4
2.0
1.7
1.1
Dubai
Tokyo
Jakarta
Suzhou
Guangzhou
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
Singapore
3.0
Beijing
Shanghai
Shenzhen
Singapore
Seoul
New Delhi
Bengaluru
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Mumbai
Jakarta
Tokyo
Taipei
Manilla
Changsha
Qingdao
Chennai
Pune
Thane
Almaty
Wuhan
Zhengzhou
Ningde
Guiyang
Chengdu
Guangyuan
Nanjing
10.0x
Seoul
6.5x
Seoul
1.3
Bengaluru
1.7
Page / 48
Source: Dealroom.co
Bangkok
Singapore: a tech ecosystem that has the best of all worlds doesn’t exi…
Unicorns per 1m inhabitants
Yong Cong CHOY
Regional Vice President (Europe)
Singapore Economic Development
Board
As a small nation with no natural resources,
Singapore has always strived to remain open and
collaborative. Even before the rise of digital tech,
Singapore had established
links with other
innovation hubs in the world. Tech has “shrunk” the
world. Therefore, it is imperative for Singapore to be
well-connected with other global tech hubs and be
a key node in that network.
3.0
2.1
Sweden
Singapore
1.5
Switzerland
3.8
Israel
1.2
Hong Kong
1.1
Netherlands
China
0.9
United States
United Kingdom
0.2
0.1
0.8
Australia
Singapore has benefited tremendously from
startups. Startups inject new ideas and ways of
working into cities, offer exciting careers and help to
make cities more liveable. From embedding tech
into spaces and turning them into smart homes and
offices to using autonomous robots to deliver
groceries.
The Nongsa D-Town is an example of how
collaboration
and
competition
can
coexist.
Nicknamed “the Digital Bridge between Singapore
and Indonesia”, D-Town allows Singapore-based
companies to hire Indonesia’s pool of young tech
talent and access the Indonesian market.
Scale-ups looking to internationalise often look to
Singapore as a “scale-up launchpad” where they
can tap into Southeast Asia’s huge market and
access talent. Companies like Zoom, Endava, Palo IT
and Bytedance are leveraging Singapore’s tech
ecosystem to grow their business. Revolut
amassed 77,000 customers in less than two years
after establishing their SEA business in Singapore.
Page / 49
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 50
Melbourne, Victoria
Sydney, NSW
Xero
€1.5B
€1.0B
€0.5B
€2.0B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€150B
€100B
€200B
€50B
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
Australia & New Zealand
€1.7B
+1.5x
€1.1B
2021
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
€185B
Page / 50
Source: Dealroom.co
Wellington, NZ
201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021“In 2020 the Victorian Government invested
$110.5 million via LaunchVic to activate
early-stage startup
investments; support
programs that grow more scaleups; and drive
awareness and advocacy for the local startup
sector. The work that is underway in Victoria
with regard to early-stage investment is
foundational and will dramatically alter the
startup ecosystem in the next 5 to 10 years.
“As Victoria’s startup agency, LaunchVic’s
experience of the sector is one that harbours a
culture of giving back and knowledge sharing.
“Many of the 18 unicorns and their founders
that have been created in Melbourne,
Australia in the last 10 years are generous
with their time and experience. This culture of
collaboration and a united vision for success is
undoubtedly making our startup ecosystem
stronger.”
$45B
$29B
Combined enterprise value of startups created
since 1990 in Victoria (incl Melbourne)
$15B
$10B
$6B
$3B
$2B
$1B
$825M
$641M
$654M
$367M
» Explore Victoria’s Tech ecosystem
Page / 51
“Startups play a valuable role in
Victoria’s economy by creating
jobs and helping to drive Victoria’s
economy forward. Job growth in
the startup sector was 11% in
comparison to Victoria’s economy
as a whole at 3.1% over the last 3
years, Dealroom.co’s report
showed.”
Dr Kate Cornick
CEO
LaunchVic
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 52
Latin America
€6B
€4B
€2B
€8B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€200B
€150B
€100B
€250B
€50B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
Mexico City / Mexico
Bogotá / Colombia
São Paulo / Brazil
Belo Horizonte / Brazil
Curitiba / Brazil
Montevideo / Uruguay
€7.7B
+5.5x
€1.4B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€246B
Page / 52
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 53
Middle East and North Africa
Israel / Tel-Aviv
Egypt / Cairo
Turkey /
Istanbul
Saudi Arabia / Riyadh
€6B
€4B
€2B
€8B
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€200B
€100B
€300B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
UAE / Dubai
€7B
+2.6x
€3B
2014
2016
2018
2020
€275B
Source: Dealroom.co
Page / 54
Ghana
Nigeria
South Africa
€600M
€400M
€200M
€800M
H1
2012
H1
2013
H1
2014
H1
2015
H1
2016
H1
2017
H1
2018
H1
2019
H1
2020
H1
2021
€20B
€15B
€10B
€25B
€5B
2021
2010
Enterprise value (companies founded after 1990)
VC investment
2012
Sub-saharan Africa
€785M
+3.2x
€245M
2014
2016
2018
2020
Page / 54
Source: Dealroom.co
€21B
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