1
Copyright © 2020 Startup Genome LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Global Startup
Ecosystem Report
GSER 2020
The New Normal for the Global Startup
Economy and the Impact of COVID-19
Learn more and get connected at startupgenome.com
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Table of Contents
3 About Startup Genome and Global
Entrepreneurship Network
4 Our Global Network
5 About Our Global Partners
12 Startup Genome Advisory Board
14 State of the Global Startup
Economy
26 Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking
(Top 30 + Runners-up)
42 Top 100 Emerging Ecosystem
Ranking
49 Save Your Startups: Using Policy to
Kickstart the Post-Crisis Economy
57 The Meteoric Rise of Seoul’s
Startup Ecosystem
59 Understanding Your Startup Eco-
system Lifecycle
67 Ecosystem Deep Dives by Lifecycle
68 Activation Phase

70 Atlantic Canada, CA

72 Bahrain, BH

74 Belgrade and Novi Sad, RS

76 Busan, KR

78 Cairo, EG

80 Calgary, CA

82 Curitiba, BR

84 Edmonton, CA

86 Frankfurt, DE

88 Georgia, GE

90 Ireland Mid-East Region, IE

92 Kampala, UG

94 Manila, PH

96 New Zealand, NZ

98 Nur-Sultan, KZ

100 Québec City, CA

102 Sharjah, AE

104 Sri Lanka, SR

106 Taipei City, TW

108 Telangana, IN

110 Western Denmark, DK
112 Early-Globalization Phase

115 Copenhagen, DK

117 Greater Helsinki, FI

119 Kuala Lumpur, MY

121 Melbourne, AU

123 Montréal, CA

125 Rhineland, DE
127 Late-Globalization Phase

128 Austin, US

130 Chicago, US

132 Miami, US

134 Toronto-Waterloo, CA

136 Washington, D.C., US
138 Attraction and Integration Phase

140 Amsterdam-Delta, NL

142 Beijing, CN
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or written authorization of Startup Genome. This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as professional advice. June 2020, version 1.0
This report cannot be offered for download on any website other than startupgenome.com

144 Berlin, DE

146 Los Angeles, US

148 Paris, FR

150 Seattle, US

152 Seoul, KR

154 Shanghai, CN

156 Singapore, SG

158 Stockholm, SE

160 Tel Aviv, IL

162 Tokyo, JP

164 Boston, US

166 London, UK

168 New York City, US

170 Silicon Valley, US
173 Methodology, Framework,

and Acknowledgments
174 Methodology
184 References
202 Acknowledgments and Partners
3
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Learn more and get connected at startupgenome.com
Startup Genome is the world-leading policy advisory and research organiza-
tion for governments and public-private partnerships committed to accel-
erating the success of their startup ecosystem. We have advised more than
100 clients across 38 countries.
Startup Genome’s mission is to accelerate startup success and ecosystem
performance everywhere, working together with global thought leaders to
define and execute robust policies and programs that drive lasting change.
Our impact is rooted in over a decade of independent research with data on
over a million companies across 150 cities.
Working side-by-side with more than 300 partner organizations, our frame-
works and methodologies have become instrumental in building foundations
for startups to grow. Our efforts earned us the Research Champions award
at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2019.
Many of the world’s leading governments and innovation-focused organiza-
tions have joined our knowledge network to cut through the complexities of
startup ecosystem development and fuel sustained economic growth. Con-
sidered the new science of startup ecosystem assessment, we point to key
gaps in startup ecosystems and prioritize actions to take in addressing them.
Join us and boost startup success, economic growth, and job creation in your
region. Follow our work at startupgenome.com, and follow the company on
LinkedIn and Twitter.
The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) operates a platform of proj-
ects and programs in 170 countries aimed at making it easier for anyone,
anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross-border
collaboration and initiatives between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers,
policymakers, and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel
healthier start-and-scale ecosystems that create more jobs, educate individ-
uals, accelerate innovation, and strengthen economic growth.
Our extensive footprint of national operations and global verticals in policy,
research, and programs ensures members have uncommon access to the
most relevant knowledge, networks, communities, and programs relative to
size of economy, maturity of ecosystem, language, culture, geography, and
more. We help celebrate, understand, support, and connect entrepreneurs
and those who champion them.
Stay up-to-date on news and updates at genglobal.org.
About
Startup Genome
About the Global
Entrepreneurship Network
4
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Copyright © 2020 Startup Genome LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Existing Members
New Members
SEBRAE Paraná
T-Hub Foundation
International Trade
Centre, United Nations
Georgia Innovation and
Technology Agency (GITA)
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
Information and
Communication
Technology Agency
of Sri Lanka
Abu Dhabi
Global Market
Information
Technology
Industry
Development
Agency, Cairo
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center
Tel Aviv Global
Tech
Nation
Tokyo Metropolitan
Government
Taiwan Tech Arena
Enterprise Singapore
Seoul Business Agency, Seoul
Metropolitan Government
North-Rhine Westphalia
State Government
Quebec International
Ministry of
Business,
Innovation and
Employment,
New Zealand
NYC Economic Development
Corporation; Tech:NYC
Ville de Montreal;
OSMO; ETS; Real
Ventures; Montreal Inc.
Meath Enterprise,
Mid-East Region
Ireland
Knight Foundation, Miami
LaunchVic,
Melbourne
Department of Trade and
Industry, Philippines
Jerusalem Development Authority
Houston Exponential
Helsinki Business Hub
TechQuartier,
Frankfurt
Edmonton Economic
Development
Corporation
Digital Hub Denmark
Platform Calgary; Calgary
Economic Development
Busan Center for Creative
Economy and Innovation
Digital Serbia
Initiative,
Cabinet of the
Minister for
Innovation
and
Technological
Development
Tamkeen, Bahrain
Innovacorp,
Atlantic Canada
JSC “Zerde” National
infocommunication
holding”
Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Climate Policy, Techleap
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Our Global Network
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Copyright © 2020 Startup Genome LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
About Our Global Partners
TNW is a global brand that informs, inspires, and connects people who love tech through media, events, and spaces. TNW has a track record
of attracting startups and talent, as well as helping ecosystems become more visible to the tech world via its custom-made programs.
Provides actionable advice on private capital challenges. Combining rigorous academic approaches with real world industry expertise, our
expert team focuses on complex, customized projects that require thorough analysis, whether quantitative or qualitative in nature, to help
our clients assess or design strategies, improve performance, and chart winning strategies for the future.
Crunchbase is the leading platform for professionals to discover innovative companies, connect with the people behind them, and pursue
new opportunities.
Provides data-driven intelligence on high-growth companies.
A global non-profit organization on a mission to unlock the potential of deep technologies to solve the world’s toughest challenges by high-
lighting, empowering and connecting the most promising deeptech entrepreneurs across the globe with the right enablers.
Learn more and get connected at startupgenome.com
Tech Nation (formerly Tech City UK) empowers ambitious tech entrepreneurs through growth programmes, digital entrepreneurship skills,
a visa scheme for exceptional talent and by championing the UK digital sector through data, stories and media campaigns.
6
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Note from a Founder
A few months ago, we all woke up to a new reality as
COVID-19 changed everything. Personally, I shut down
one of my startups while one of my portfolio’s startups
boomed and a close friend — who had closed a large
Series B in January — fired a third of her employees.
Then I saw community members rise to the occasion,
taking action to help others, and governments acting
faster than ever to enact bold and effective policy.
Clearly, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. It’s in
our hands as a global community to shape how this
will play out.
During the first week of lockdown, the Startup Genome
Advisory Board (now called the Global Senior Policy-
maker Forum) — with leaders from NYC, London, Singa-
pore, Africa, South America — met to discuss the crisis,
and to share and learn from each other. We realized
that while we enacted policy at an accelerated speed
locally, we were going to do much better if we learned
from each other — our global peers — and candidly
discussed what policy worked and what was failing.
Startup Genome sprung to action by launching new
global research to quantify the impact on startups
(here), collecting global policies enacted across more
than 50 countries (here), developing in-depth policy
recommendations with clear arguments based on a
practical analysis of the 2008 crisis (here), and contin-
uing research to show what policies have had the most
impact vs. what had failed.
Since 2011, if there’s one thing we learned as we went
from the largest global startup research firm to becom-
ing the world’s leading startup policy advisors, it is that
most startup policies fail. They fail to have an impact
despite the deep expertise and drive of the local public
and private leaders. They fail because when we don’t
7
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Copyright © 2020 Startup Genome LLC. All Rights Reserved.
learn from others, we repeat the mistakes of others
and waste literally millions of dollars.
It has been central to the mission of Startup Genome
to build a global knowledge platform for you to learn
from others, where we discuss real outcomes — includ-
ing policies that failed and why they failed — behind
closed doors.
From research to policy we have now created a global
movement, working with The Global Entrepreneurship
Network, The World Economic Forum, The World Bank,
and other like-minded teams.
This movement provides an offer to help you, and it is
also an offer for you to help and to spread the benefits
of the global startup revolution to more countries. It
will have an increasing impact on our economies and
our lives. The COVID-19 crisis has only accelerated the
transition to a digital economy and, like every crisis,
has called entrepreneurs to innovate faster and in new
ways.
But as I wrote in last year’s GSER, the global startup
revolution is not without problems. As a community
we need to step up to our responsibilities, as we have
become a driving force in nearly every aspect of life. We
create wealth but also produce disparity rather than
shared benefits. Our platforms can support democracy
in countries while hurting it in others. We can only solve
these issues by working together.
I also know that entrepreneurship and innovation can
provide and have been providing solutions to many
problems. And it is unstoppable. The economic recov-
ery of 2009 was built not in small part upon technology
entrepreneurship. In 2020, most political leaders know
the recovery depends on our startups, as much as solu-
tions to the climate crisis do.
Join our global knowledge platform to learn the proven
policies and programs that will accelerate the growth
of your ecosystem, produce scaleups and be an engine
of economic recovery and growth for your population
for the next decade. It is time to invest in the right way.
To coincide with our launch of the GSER 2020, on June
25, 2020, we are bringing together the leading policy-
makers and ecosystem leaders in the world to talk and
share during the Ecosystems Couch Conference we
produced with The Financial Times, The Next Web and
FDI Intelligence.
Next, we will be organizing a set of policy workshops
that will go deeper, where a global community of poli-
cymakers and ecosystem leaders will discuss policy and
JF Gauthier
Founder and CEO of Startup Genome
learn from one another. Reach out to join us and your
peers, and let’s work to achieve a much bigger impact
together.
8
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Foreword
In the first half of 2020 we have witnessed how fragile
and exposed our global systems and structures are to a
major global crisis. As we come to terms with the global
pandemic and look to the future, we have an oppor-
tunity for a global reset — to build a better, greener,
and more resilient and inclusive future. Innovation,
new technologies, and scientific discoveries are critical
components in this reset.
If we want to take advantage of this opportunity, we
need to make sure advanced technologies produced
through innovation form not only the cornerstones of
national economic competitiveness, but also embody
the social shift toward digital and entrepreneurial life-
styles. They create a wealth of possibilities, inspiring
generations, enhancing growth and providing critical
solutions to pressing issues from healthcare to climate
change. At the same time, innovation ecosystems, like
any ecosystem, needs support to flourish and grow.
The regulatory environment, access to resources, true
multi-stakeholder involvement, public-private collabo-
ration, and mentorship networks that nourish innova-
tors are all key to a healthy innovation ecosystem.
The World Economic Forum, as the International Or-
ganization for Public Private Collaboration, is commit-
ted to improving the state of the world by providing
the platform for multi-stakeholder engagement and
impactful action that shapes global agendas for a sus-
tainable and responsible future. In the midst of the
pandemic we launched a COVID-19 action platform,
and we created Industry and Regional Action groups to
support the agenda for a global reset which can pave
the way for a better future.
The World Economic Forum continues to support inno-
vation ecosystems across the globe, through initiatives
like Digital ASEAN, Digital Europe, and the Schwab Social
Entrepreneurs community. Digital Europe, for example,
promotes a pan-European approach to innovation,
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
The continued
urgency for
public-private
collaboration
9
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Martina Larkin
Head of Regional Strategies, Europe
and Eurasia; Member of the Executive
Committee, World Economic Forum
building bridges between founders, investors, and ac-
ademics as well as policymakers and corporate execu-
tives, enabling hubs to thrive from Berlin to Bratislava.
Europe hosts ecosystems of varying maturity, with
some of the world’s most advanced locations just a
short flight from those still catching up on develop-
ment. This creates a unique opportunity to observe
ever-changing dynamics and to promote both local and
global connectedness, which Startup Genome research
shows as critical to success.
Now is the time to support such development. In
the months following COVID-19 lockdowns, Startup
Genome research showed that only 28% of startups
have seen their funding proceed as normal, and over
74% have had to terminate full-time staff. These effects
are even more palpable where connectedness is lower,
and government support not be as readily available
and accessible.
Public sector support, in close alignment with private
investment, will be critical to restoring the vitality of
startup ecosystems around the globe, as seen by the
hefty stimulus packages already announced by some
governments. In Europe, the unwavering commitment
of the European Commission under President Von der
Leyen to both the digital and green agenda has aimed
to preserve the flourishing innovation which the 2019
Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) praised for
growth prior to the pandemic. But there is also hope
— no crisis comes without opportunity, and over half
of today’s Fortune 500 companies were created during
a bear market, with 50 tech unicorns founded between
2007-2009.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) provides
an important barometer of development across 100+
cities globally, which, for the first time, are all facing
the common challenge of rebuilding as strict lockdown
measures subside. Some of these hubs will see new
digital companies coming out on top, with sectors pre-
viously in decline, like gaming and online education,
resuming unparalleled growth. Others may struggle,
and realise they need to take decisive action to avoid
being left behind as the whirlwind of change sweeps
away antiquated and analog routines.
Above all, it is critical that each hub and its startups,
regardless of where they may fall in the ranking, remain
connected, vibrant communities that can play a critical
role in this reset.
As startups are a main driver of job creation and in-
novation, their survival will be essential to both the
social and economic COVID recovery. The World Eco-
nomic Forum is pleased to support the work of Startup
Genome in ensuring that startups continue to create
prosperity and employment, contribute to sustainabili-
ty, and, with their talent for innovation and inspiration,
build a more resilient world.
10
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A Word from GEN
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Our mission at the Global Entrepreneurship Network
(GEN) has always been to build — through program-
ming in 170 countries and 80 GEN affiliate national
operations — one global entrepreneurial ecosystem
that makes it possible for anyone anywhere to start or
scale a business. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis
this work has never been more important.
The pandemic was a global crisis tailor-made for a
global response. Astoundingly, it never got one. When
it comes to rebuilding our economies in the wake of
this crisis, we must work collectively rather than in iso-
lation. You may not hear it very often from our elected
leaders, but all boats rise, or sink, together. We’ve all
seen national borders are porous to viruses. They are
equally porous to innovation.
Most net new jobs come from firms less than five years
old. Regenerating jobs after COVID-19 depends on
eliminating structural barriers that make it harder for
more entrepreneurs to iterate ideas and figure out
better ways of doing things. As governments focus on
economic recovery, they are looking to ecosystems
around the world for models and guidance.
Entrepreneurs are the leaders. The rest of us — gov-
ernments, universities, corporations, investors, accel-
erators, nonprofits — are here to support them. To do
that effectively, we must understand what entrepre-
neurs really need from us and what interventions are
effective. That’s why as one example GEN is building the
Startup Nations Atlas of Policies (SNAP), a knowledge
portal that gathers next generation policies govern-
ments are deploying to unleash their entrepreneurial
capacity. It’s also why the 2020 Global Startup Ecosys-
tem Report (GSER), which illuminates what levers to pull
and what trends to act on, is so vital.
11
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Make no mistake, we’ve had a massive shake up not
just to the global economy, but to the structure of life.
There will be winners and losers. Tough adjustments
will need to be made. Some business models will no
longer be viable. But this crisis has also shown systemic
change is possible. Changes that once seemed impos-
sible due to politics or inertia now look possible in a
matter of weeks. That disruption isn’t to be feared. It’s
to be embraced.
I thank Startup Genome and all our report partners
for helping us learn and improve together at a time
when the performance of the global entrepreneurial
ecosystem has never been more vital to the future of
all citizens around the world.
Jonathan Ortmans
President, Global Entrepreneurship
Network (GEN)
12
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Startup Genome Advisory Board
North America
• Cheryll Watson, YEG Innovation Leader, Former Head
of Innovate Edmonton, Edmonton, Canada
• Dan Herman, Co-founder MyJupiter Inc. and former
Head of Strategy, Innovation Canada, Toronto,
Canada
• Justin Kreamer, Senior Vice President, New York
City Economic Development Corporation, New York,
United States
• Patrick Gagné, CEO, OSMO & Co-Founder, Bonjour
Startup Montréal, Montreal, Canada
• Raul Moas, Director, Knight Foundation, Miami,
United States
LATAM
• Felipe Matos, Founding Board Member, Dínamo-Bra-
zilian startup advocacy group, São Paulo, Brazil
UK & Europe
• Gerard Grech, CEO, Tech Nation (fka Tech City UK),
United Kingdom
• Ruben Nieuwenhuis, Co-Founder, StartupAmster-
dam, The Netherlands
• Santtu von Bruun, Vice-Director of Economic Devel-
opment, City of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
The Advisory Board is made up of leading ecosystem development experts from our Members across the world, with a mix of
officials from different levels of government and leaders of public/private innovation and ecosystem development agencies.
Africa & Middle East
• Eytan Schwartz, CEO, Tel Aviv Global, Tel Aviv, Israel
• Fabian Vandenreydt, Advisor to the Chairman, Abu
Dhabi Global Market, Abu Dhabi
• Jean Phil Nsengimana, CEO Idex Africa Former Min-
ister of ICT, Rwanda
• Karim Sy, President, Digital Africa, Senegal
• Yogavelli Nambiar, CEO, Allan Gray Orbis Founda-
tion, South Africa
Asia-Pacific Region
• Edwin Chow, Asst. CEO & Director, Enterprise Singa-
pore, Singapore
• Kate Cornick, CEO, LaunchVic, Melbourne, Australia
• Surina Shukri, CEO, Malaysia Digital Economy Cor-
poration, Malaysia
13
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
State of the Global Startup Economy
1. 2017 to first half of 2019
2. https://news.crunchbase.com/news/the-q4-eoy-2019-global-vc-re-
port-a-strong-end-to-a-good-but-not-fantastic-year/
3. https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-startup-ecosystem-re-
port-2019
4. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-18/the-uni-
corns-fell-into-a-ditch
The global startup economy remains large, creating
nearly $3 trillion in value, a figure on par with the GDP
of a G7 economy.1 Seven out of the top 10 largest com-
panies in the world are in technology — the highest
concentration of any industry sector among the top
global companies — and 2019 saw close to $300 billion
in venture capital investments around the world.2
Nonetheless, even at the end of 2019, not all was well.
Inclusion remained a fundamental challenge for tech
ecosystems, with only 14.1% of founders globally being
female, as our Startup Genome research shows.3 Value
creation by ecosystems remains concentrated, with
about 74% of all value produced being concentrated in
the top 10 performing cities globally. Tech giants like
WeWork and the stable of unicorns funded by Softbank
began to falter — ranging from major crises, as in the
case of WeWork; to a capital crunch for others.4
But despite these challenges, we did not expect the
major threat of the COVID-19 crisis to global ecosys-
tems. Since the crisis hit:
• Layoffs among startups are rampant, with just over
a third of startups globally not laying off staff nor
cutting hours, and with the typical startup with full-
time layoffs letting go an average 33% of the staff;
and
• Startups are facing a double whammy with a drop in
consumer demand at the same time VC investments
are dropping, leading to a crunch for capital. In fact,
15
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four out of every 10 startups have 3 months or fewer
of capital runway, meaning they will die if they do
not raise additional money and their revenue and
expenses remain the same.
While we see early signs of a rebound in Asian ecosys-
tems — nothing like a return to normal, but a slowdown
of the drop — the startup economy is going through a
major transition.
In 2020, the State of the Global Startup Economy can
be seen through two main angles: the calm before the
storm, up to Dec. 2019, and the consequences of the
COVID-19-triggered crisis.
5. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unicorn.asp#:~:text=Uni-
corn%20is%20the%20term%20used,by%20venture%20capitalist%20
Aileen%20Lee
6. https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/
7. https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-startup-ecosystem-re-
port-2019
8. https://hbr.org/2018/03/what-breaking-the-4-minute-mile-taught-
usabout-the-limits-of-conventional-thinking
The $4 Billion Barrier
In 1964, Roger Bannister became famous as the
first person to ever run a 4-minute mile — break-
ing a barrier that had stood for decades and many
thought humanly impossible to reach.7 Once he
showed it could be done, the same barrier was
broken by John Landy, an Australian runner, only
46 days later. And as Bill Taylor relates in a Harvard
Business Review article, just a year later three
runners broke the barrier in the same race.8
Once Bannister showed the possibility, that level of
performance that had never been done for decades
became achievable. Since then, over 1,000 runners
have completed a 4-minute mile.
As more cities around the globe become viable
startup ecosystems, we think a similar thing might
be happening, as we wrote in the 2019 Global
Startup Ecosystem Report.
As of 2020, we have identified and studied nearly
The Calm Before the Storm
In the lead up to the crisis, the dominating trend for
ecosystems globally has been the growing democrati-
zation of tech across geographies.
Democratizing the Tech Economy
Despite the concentration of value in tech ecosystems,
access to the tech economy is increasingly democra-
tized.
In 2013, tech unicorns became a phenomenon, with the
term popularized by Aileen Lee from CowboyVC.5 6 The
name alludes to the rare and nearly mythical quality
of these companies. But
while still powerful they
are not so rare anymore.
When we analyzed com-
panies in the billion-dol-
lar club — exits or private
companies in technology
with over $1 billion in val-
uation — in 2013-2019 we
see that in 2013 only four
ecosystems produced
unicorns or billion-dollar
exits. Today, a cumula-
tive 80+ ecosystems have
done so, astoundingly.
16
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70 ecosystems creating over $4 billion dollars in
Ecosystem Value — a measure capturing the value
of startups funded and exited in an ecosystem over
two and a half years (2017 to first half of 2019).9
This is 48% more ecosystems than we identified last
year, and nearly double what we identified three
years ago.
While historical data on this is tricky, it is hard to
imagine more than a few startup ecosystems cre-
ating that level of Ecosystem Value in the 1990s.
As Pitchbook data shows, Boston had about $900
million in VC investments in 1998, New York City
had $800 million, and both Seattle and London
had only about $200 million in investments in the
same year.10
In 2019 we predicted that 100 cities would cross the
$4 billion threshold in Ecosystem Value by 2029. It
looks like we might hit that milestone even earlier.
There Will Be No “Next Silicon Valley.”
There Will Be 30
“Instead of one new center or two new centers (of
entrepreneurship, besides Silicon Valley), there will
be 30, and there will be clusters in different places
that don’t quite get to the density of the Bay Area but
get beyond critical mass.”
Sam Altman, Y Combinator and OpenAI
In the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report we wrote
about our belief that in the future, there will be no “Next
Silicon Valley,” but instead at least 30 global centers of
entrepreneurship that are either: regional (e.g., Sao
Paulo in South America or Jakarta in Southeast Asia) or
sub-sector leaders (e.g., Shenzhen, with its world-class
performance in Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics).
In last year’s report, we published the ranking of the top
30 global ecosystems and also highlighted 12 Challeng-
er ecosystems: those ecosystems that were not part of
the Top 30 at the time but had the potential to become
so in the future.
Of the 12, seven (or 58%) are now part of the Top 30
Global Ecosystems and Runners-up lists, and three
(25%) are among the top five Emerging Global Ecosys-
Ranking 2020 Change from 2019 Change from 2017
Silicon Valley
1
0
0
New York City
2 (tie)
0
0
London
2 (tie)
0
0
Beijing
4
0
0
Boston
5
0
0
Tel Aviv
6 (tie)
0
-1
Los Angeles
6 (tie)
0
3
Shanghai
8
0
0
Seattle
9
3
1
Stockholm
10
1
4
Washington DC
11
8
NEW
Amsterdam
12
3
7
Paris
13
-4
-2
Chicago
14
3
4
Tokyo
15
NEW
NEW
Berlin
16
-6
-9
Singapore
17
-3
-5
Toronto-Waterloo
18
-5
-2
Austin
19
-3
-6
Seoul
20
NEW
NEW
San Diego
21
-1
NEW
Shenzhen
22
NEW
NEW
Atlanta
23
5
-1
Denver-Boulder
24
-3
-3
Vancouver
25
-1
-10
Bangalore
26
-8
-6
Sydney
27
-4
-10
Hangzhou
28
NEW
NEW
Hong Kong
29
-4
NEW
Sao Paulo
30
NEW
NEW
31-35 and 36-40 are alphabetical order
Bern-Geneva
-12
NEW
Dallas
NEW
NEW
Miami
-5
NEW
Munich
-5
NEW
Salt Lake-Provo
NEW
NEW
Copenhagen
NEW
NEW
Delhi
NEW
NEW
Dublin
-10
NEW
Melbourne
NEW
NEW
Montreal
NEW
NEW
31 (ties)
36 (ties)
Top 30 Global Startup
Ecosystems and Runners-Up
9. 68 ecosystems have hit this benchmark as of 2019
10. 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report
17
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tems — a new ranking Startup Genome is debuting
this year that includes 100 ecosystems in total — those
outside the top 30 and runners-up global that are none-
theless seeing impressive performance and growth.
The Rise of Asia-Pacific
A major beneficiary of this democratization of tech is
the Asia-Pacific region, which has gone from having
20% of top ecosystems in 2012 to 30% of them today.
18
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When it comes to the rise of Asia-Pacific, there are five
key findings to highlight:
1. Seoul and Tokyo have broken into the top 30 global
startup ecosystems, in no small part due to their
strength as R&D powerhourses. We cover more about
the story of Seoul and their massive investments of
$1.6 billion in the next three years in a special feature
on this report.
2. Melbourne joins the select group of top global eco-
systems as a runner-up, getting closer in perfor-
mance with Sydney over the years. While Sydney is
still ahead of Melbourne, in some key metrics Mel-
bourne is catching up. For example, Sydney was
the first city in Australia to have a unicorn, but now
Melbourne has two: Airwallex and Judo Capital (a
challenger bank).
3. Continental China has gone from having two of the
top 30 global startup ecosystems in 2017 to having
four of the top 30 in three years: Beijing, Shanghai,
Shenzhen (the robotics and advanced manufacturing
powerhouse), and Hangzhou (home to Alibaba).
4. Delhi joins Bangalore in the list of top ecosystems,
bringing the number of Indian cities represented up
to two.
5. Singapore and Hong Kong continue to perform well,
but now have more regional competitors than they
had before.
If we were publishing this report in December 2019, our
reporting on the state of the global startup economy
might have stopped there. But the COVID-19-triggered
economic crisis has hit — the worst global downturn
since 1929 — and the startup economy is being severely
affected by it.11
The Post-COVID-19 Crisis and the
Impact on Global Ecosystems
Risk of a Mass Extinction Event for
Startups
11. https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-eco-
nomic-downturn-since-the-great-depression/
12. The figures by continent exclude Sri Lanka from the Asian average,
which was an outlier in terms of survey responses
As the COVID-19 crisis hit
across the world, startups
have found themselves
in a double bind, being
hit hard from two main
shockwaves: capital shock
and demand.
Shockwave #1:
Capital
On the capital side of the
equation, there is a crunch
for capital across the
world. This capital crunch
manifests itself in three key statistics:
First, four out of every 10 startups today are in the
red zone: they have three months or fewer of capital
runway. This means that they will collapse if they do
not raise additional capital and their revenues and ex-
penses remain unchanged, risking a mass extinction
event for startups globally.12
19
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If we focus on startups on Series A+ only, we see that
35% of startups have 6 months or fewer of capital — a
troublesome figure given how long it takes to raise a
Series B or later round, especially in the current envi-
ronment.
Second, the fundraising process has been dramat-
ically disrupted. Even for startups that already had
term sheets from investors before the crisis, signed or
unsigned, three out of every four startups have had
the fundraising process disrupted. A dramatic 18% of
those startups with term sheets have had a funding
round canceled by the investor, and 54% have had their
funding round delayed or the lead investor become
unresponsive.
Third, total VC funding has dropped dramatically across
every single continent. Globally, it is down by 20% in
the three months of 2020. In some regions of the world
it dropped even more
sharply. China, the first
country hit by the crisis,
had funding drop by over
50% relative to the rest
of the world, as we have
written for the World Eco-
nomic Forum.13 While the
country is experiencing a
rebound in investments in
March, it still faces lower
activity than it had in De-
cember 2019.14
13. https://www.weforum.org/discom?bobulate=e%2B9TU9KHU-
xwgQdkVl69g64ckL4%2Bj9RblNs46g96WtfDYzGwDxELg-
J87Q9v2s%0A1U9CyK9N8n38QQWBcEbReLlP1g%3D%3D%0A
14. https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-funding-im-
pact-covid-19-startup-ecosystems
20
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Shockwave #2: Demand
The other side of the equation on the shocks affecting
startups is we have seen demand drop like a rock for
most companies.
About 72% of startups saw their revenue drop since
the beginning of the crisis, with the average startup
experiencing a decline of 32%. Shockingly, almost 40%
of companies of the companies saw their revenue drop
by 40% or more, and only about 12% are experiencing
significant growth.
The impact is uneven between different sectors and
regions, as we show below.
21
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The Downstream Effects of the Corona-
virus Crisis
The downstream results of these two shocks are dra-
matic:
Over 60% of startups have laid off employees or reduced
salaries. For startups reducing FTEs, an average of 33%
of jobs were cut, as the Startup Genome COVID-19
Impact Insights survey shows.
This is also reflected in crowdsourced data about startup
layoffs globally, with the number of employees laid
off identified in these crowdsourced lists growing 5x
between March and May 2020.
Some of the types of job cuts are exactly what you would
expect given drop in demand and even operational
availability of selling: jobs in Direct Sales (36% of com-
panies with job cuts) and in Marketing (29%). But a sig-
nificant number of jobs cut are particularly troublesome
because they hurt a company’s long-term innovation
capacity. Roughly 31% have cut jobs in R&D, and 32%
have cut jobs in Product (e.g., software engineers). This
is a major problem not only for the post-crisis prospects
of startups, but also for their ecosystems. As tech talent
is laid off, they might be absorbed by large corporates,
leaving the startup ecosystem altogether. And for tech
hubs that are less mature, such as the ones we cover in
our Emerging Ecosystems Ranking, these scientists and
Cost-Cutting and Expectations
Relatedly, 71% of startups have reduced their expenses,
for an average cost cutting off 22%.
When we look at what founders expect for their com-
panies in the next two months, 31% expect they will
have to do salary cuts, and 13% of startups expect
they will have to terminate more employees. In terms
of revenue, only 10% of startups expect their revenue
will grow a lot. 40% expect it will stay about the same
or grow a little, and a dramatic 28% think their revenue
will still drop a lot further.
The combination of drop in expenditures, salary cuts,
and layoffs have downstream effects for the rest of
society, not just today but also tomorrow’s potential
for economic growth and innovation capacity.
When startups suffer, the whole economy suffers.
Tech Economy Will Be Crucial for the
Recovery
The unstoppable march of the economy becoming in-
creasingly reliant on digital and technology products got
accelerated by the crisis triggered by COVID-19.15 This
means that, even more than in the previous crisis, the
tech economy will be fundamental for recovery.
engineers might end up
leaving the city altogeth-
er for the more robust
startup labor markets in
places like Silicon Valley,
London, and New York.
15. https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-startup-ecosystem-re-
port-2019
22
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First, as about a decade of research has shown, most of
the net job creation in the economy comes from new
young companies, especially those that scale.16 17
Second, when we compare dollar for dollar, startup jobs
are cheaper to save than traditional small business jobs
by government programs — about 41% cheaper, as we
cover in a recent funding policy paper.18 Some govern-
ments even believe these investments can generate
positive returns on taxpayer money, as does Israel now.
Third, in addition to creating most of the net new jobs,
tech companies have impressive job multipliers. The
best estimates we have suggest that for every high-tech-
nology job, five other jobs are created in the economy.19
16. https://www.kauffman.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/state_of_
entrepreneurship_address_report_2017.pdf
17. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/
rise-fall-startups-creation-destruction-revenue-jobs-young-compa-
nies
18. https://startupgenome.com/reports/well_designed_funding_policy_
crisis
19. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-multiplier-effect-of-innova-
tion-jobs/
20. https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-startup-ecosystem-re-
port-2017
This is not only because these jobs pay high wages, but
also because they create new products, innovations,
and are such big exporters for the economy.20 Notice
that the tech jobs are cheaper to save through govern-
ment action even without taking into consideration the
employment multipliers and the higher average wages
(and contribution to tax base) of tech jobs.
Fourth, in the wake of the Great Recession, startups
contributed strongly to the economic recovery. By 2011,
employment in the “Computer Systems Design and
Related Services” industry was growing by 2.6% per
year, while in job creation the overall economy was neg-
ative, at -1.2%. In fact, between 2007-2011, job growth in
Computer Systems (a subset of the larger “Professional
Services” sector) was larger than job growth in all major
sectors of the economy, including Healthcare.
23
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New Normal for Economic
Development
As the Financial Times’ fDi wrote based on Startup
Genome’s policy advisory, governments need to act
to support startups and bail them out in the same
way they are doing for traditional industries and small
businesses.21 We need a new normal for economic de-
velopment, where we are supporting the technology
economy just as much as we were supporting tradi-
tional small businesses and traditional industries like
airlines.
This is especially true for ecosystems that are not at the
very top and do not have the decades of experience,
talent, and capital to draw upon during times of crisis.
One of the reasons acting now is particularly critical
is that startup ecosystems have increasing returns to
scale due especially to network effects. As the number
of startups in the ecosystem grows, the whole economic
community related to the ecosystem — talent, universi-
ties, startup support organizations — produces more
value. An ecosystem that is 3x larger creates about 5x
more economic value. This also means that if you lose
about 20% of startups, you can expect to lose about
27% in value. If you lose 40% of them, which is the figure
for startups in the red zone globally, and you’re risking
shaving off over 50% of economic value produced by
your ecosystem.
*Computer Systems Design and Related Services classification (NAICS 5415) refers to “establishments pri-
marily engaged in planning and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software,
and communication technologies”. Numbers for the U.S. labor market
Economic Impact of Startup
Ecosystem Accelerates with
Ecosystem Size
Ecosystem Value by Number of Tech
Startups in Ecosystem
21. https://www.fdiintelligence.com/article/77701
22. https://startupgenome.com/reports/well_designed_funding_policy_
crisis
24
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Ecosystem Policy Is the New Industrial
Policy
The reality is that, once we are through with this crisis,
top startup ecosystems will remain high performing.
Places like Silicon Valley, New York, London, and Beijing
will continue to produce tremendous innovations and
create astounding value. They have depth of talent,
experience, and capital in the ecosystem; which might
retract but will remain there post-crisis. That is not the
case in emerging ecosystems, where failures now will
leave deep scars. Talent that gets laid-off might make
a permanent switch to working for big corporates or
move to another city altogether.23 The same is true for
founders who might have to close their businesses.
Ecosystems need to invest now to not lose the progress
made in the past 10 years.
The Next Great Generation of Compa-
nies and Ecosystems
Every crisis creates opportunities, and this crisis is no
different. For instance, over half of Fortune 500 compa-
nies started during a contraction, as our colleague Dane
Stangler has written, and over 50 unicorns were created
in the Great Recession alone, as Startup Genome data
shows. The list of companies funded during the Great
Recession is impressive. It includes Facebook, LinkedIn,
Palantir, and Dropbox — all of these based in the Bay
Area.
In the same way opportunities are unlocked for com-
panies, they are also unlocked for ecosystems. The
current crisis has accelerated the digitization of the
offline economy, making tech companies even more
important. The actions of ecosystems today will help
determine how they will be positioned in the global
stage tomorrow. At the same time, this is a unique op-
portunity for all of us to rebuild our economic commu-
nities with a lower negative impact on the environment
and a stronger focus on inclusion and fair access to the
amazing value that tech ecosystems create.
Just like the rise of both London and New York City came
at the heels of the 2007-2009 Great Recession — in their
attempt to diversify from reliance on their traditional
strengths in finances — the post-COVID-19 recovery
will see new ecosystems rising.
23. https://startupgenome.com/blog/prevent-disintegration-start-
up-ecosystem-talent-pool
25
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26
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2020
Key Findings
• The top five global startup ecosystems remain the
same, although with some movement within them.
Silicon Valley maintains its #1 position. New York
remains at #2, although now London is up and tied
with it. Beijing is at #4 and Boston is at #5. Among
the top five global startup ecosystems, only London
was not in the top five in the 2015 ranking. Tel Aviv
and Los Angeles follow, both tied at #6.
• The 2020 rankings have seen the growth of many
R&D powerhouses: those ecosystems growing largely
building upon their strengths on research and patent
production. Tokyo (#15) and Seoul (#20) are the prime
examples of this, with both ecosystems scoring the
max in the Knowledge Factor — a measure of R&D
activity. Shenzhen (#22) and Hangzhou (#28) also fit
this ecosystem archetype.
• The Rise of Asia is more visible this year, with 30%
The Most Comprehensive Research of
Startup Ecosystems Globally
Startup Genome’s coverage of ecosystems is growing.
Our analysis — which expanded from 60 ecosystems
in 2018 to 150 in 2019 and to nearly 300 today — has
allowed us to rank the top 40 global startup ecosys-
tems as well as 100 emerging startup ecosystems. In
the past, our ranking included only the top 30 startup
ecosystems.
We have expanded our list of ecosystems and it now
includes regions that have traditionally received less
coverage, including Central Asia, Middle East, Africa,
and South America. We have also expanded our list to
talk about the top 100 Emerging Ecosystems. Although
these ecosystems are outside the list of highest per-
forming ecosystems, their impact and importance is
significant in the global economy.
of the top ecosystems coming from the region, com-
pared to 20% in 2012. Of the 11 new ecosystems
that made it to the top ecosystems list, six are out
of Asia-Pacific.
• There are two new entrants in the top 20 global
startup ecosystems: Tokyo (#15) and Seoul (#20).
They displace Bangalore (which fell primarily due to
low levels of Funding) and San Diego.
• In addition to Tokyo and Seoul, new entrants among
the top 30 include Shenzhen (the advanced manu-
facturing hub, at #22), Hangzhou (home to Alibaba,
at #28), and São Paulo (#30, returning to the top
ecosystems list after falling off in 2017).
• Six ecosystems debuted in the list of runners-up of
top global ecosystems: Salt Lake-Provo and Dallas
(tied at #31 with other ecosystems); as well as Co-
penhagen, Melbourne, Montreal, and Delhi, tied at
#36 with Dublin.
27
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Ranking
Performance
Funding
Connectedness Market Reach
Knowledge
Talent
Growth Index
Silicon Valley
1
10
10
7
10
10
10
7
New York City
2 (tie)
10
10
10
9
5
10
7
London
2 (tie)
9
10
10
10
7
10
7
Beijing
4
10
9
1
10
10
10
9
Boston
5
9
9
9
9
5
9
7
Tel-Aviv - Jerusalem
6 (tie)
9
9
8
10
4
9
6
Los Angeles
6 (tie)
9
10
4
9
7
9
6
Shanghai
8
10
8
1
8
10
9
9
Seattle
9
8
6
9
8
7
8
6
Stockholm
10
8
5
5
8
3
7
4
Washington DC
11
5
7
7
7
1
8
6
Amsterdam
12
6
7
10
7
1
7
6
Paris
13
4
9
9
1
1
8
4
Chicago
14
5
6
6
6
1
8
7
Tokyo
15
7
8
1
3
9
7
8
Berlin
16
7
7
10
2
1
7
7
Singapore
17
4
8
7
8
1
4
7
Toronto-Waterloo
18
5
8
8
6
2
6
8
Austin
19
5
6
7
5
7
6
8
Seoul
20
7
3
1
9
10
5
4
San Diego
21
6
2
3
7
6
6
6
Shenzhen
22
7
6
1
1
9
5
9
Atlanta
23
4
1
4
6
1
6
6
Denver-Boulder
24
3
5
6
5
4
5
5
Vancouver
25
6
1
5
5
2
4
7
Bangalore
26
4
7
8
1
8
2
5
Sydney
27
3
3
8
1
1
5
6
Hangzhou
28
8
2
1
1
9
3
9
Hong Kong
29
3
4
1
7
1
1
6
Sao Paulo
30
6
1
4
2
1
1
9
Bern-Geneva
31 (tie)
2
1
1
3
1
1
6
Dallas
31 (tie)
1
1
1
4
3
1
3
Miami
31 (tie)
3
2
1
1
1
1
6
Munich
31 (tie)
2
4
6
1
3
1
8
Salt Lake-Provo
31 (tie)
8
1
1
5
1
1
7
Copenhagen
36 (tie)
1
1
2
4
1
2
5
Delhi
36 (tie)
1
5
1
1
1
1
4
Dublin
36 (tie)
1
3
5
1
1
4
5
Melbourne
36 (tie)
1
1
6
4
1
1
5
Montreal
36 (tie)
1
1
1
1
1
2
6
31-35 and 36-40 are alphabetical order
Global Startup Ecosystem
Ranking (Top 30 + Runners-up)
28
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Majors Hubs and Rising Ecosystems
Amsterdam and Stockholm have also demonstrated
strong improvement over the years. Amsterdam was
ranked #19 in 2015 ranking and since then it has con-
tinued to rise to #15 in 2019 to #12 in 2020. Amster-
dam ranks very high in Connectedness, gaining from
Netherlands’ logistical and social connectedness to the
world. The country was ranked #1 in DHL’s Global Con-
nectedness Index.1 2 In June 2018, payment processing
firm Adyen listed one of Europe’s largest tech IPOs in
recent times, with a value of $8 billion.3 On the first day
of trading, shares shot up 90% and the market value of
the firm was well over $30 billion in June 2020.4
Stockholm, which debuted in the 2017 report at #14,
climbed four places to #11 last year and managed to
break into top 10 in this year’s ranking. Stockholm’s
performance was driven by a high volume of substan-
tial exits. For the ranking time frame, Stockholm placed
second in Western Europe after London in terms of
exits greater than $50 million, including Spotify’s IPO
of $26.6 billion.5
Ecosystem Assessment and
Reporting
Developing ecosystems can be a fuzzy business.
Together with 300 partners, we made it a science.
Without reliable benchmarks or data, innovation
policies and programs often don’t result in expect-
ed economic impact. Our leading entrepreneurship
and startup ecosystem assessment methodologies
guide policy executives toward sound decisions to
develop more talent, startups, and scaleups.
Leaders
For a second year running, the top seven ecosystems
have remained the same. These ecosystems are in a
league of their own and command a combined Ecosys-
tem Value of $1.5 trillion, 1.7 times the remaining top
ecosystems. Silicon Valley maintains the status quo,
ranked at #1, a position it has held since 2012 when
we released our first rankings.
Within these top seven ecosystems, there has been
some movement, with London moving up to #2 (tying
with New York). Given an abundance of capital and in-
vestment, and being a magnet for global talent, London
has risen to its current position of #2 from #8 in 2012.
1. https://www.dhl.com/content/dam/dhl/global/core/documents/pdf/
g0-en-gci-2019-update-complete-study.pdf
2. https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/business/news-and-insights/
news/2019/the-netherlands-is-the-worlds-most-connected-country
3. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/13/adyen-ipo-shares-rise-on-first-
day-of-trade.html
4. https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/ADYEN:NA
5. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/3/17194208/spotify-ipo-nyse-mu-
sic-streaming-market-valuation
29
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Last year, we had showcased these two ecosystems
along with Shanghai as the Risers, ecosystems that
stand out for their growth over the last decade and
their rapid movement up the rankings.
Traditional tech centers improved significantly in this
year’s ranking. The Seattle ecosystem made its debut in
the top 10, rising two places from last year. Washington,
D.C. is another standout case, moving up eight places
in the ecosystem rankings to #11 due to its strong tech
talent pool (scoring 8 out of 10 on the Talent Factor)
and vibrant Life Sciences community.
Momentum
Through changes in the ranking and through the expan-
sion of our list, we see eleven ecosystems that appeared
in the top 30 and runners-up global ecosystem list for
the first time:
• Tokyo
• Seoul
• Shenzhen
• Hangzhou
• São Paulo
• Salt Lake-Provo
• Dallas
• Copenhagen
• Melbourne
• Delhi
• Montreal
For most of these ecosystems, the spurt in the ranking
is driven by billion-dollar club startups (unicorns and
companies with billion-dollar exit rounds). There are,
however, some differences in the underlying reasons
for these success stories.
Technology innovation centers in Asia — Tokyo, Seoul,
Shenzhen, and Hangzhou — made it to the top eco-
30
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system ranking for the first time. All four ecosystems
rank among the top 10 ecosystems in Knowledge, a key
driver for improvement in their ranking.
São Paulo, Salt Lake-Provo, and Montreal saw a sudden
jump in big-ticket deals in the past two years. In 2018
and 2019, eight billion-dollar club deals emerged out
of São Paulo compared to no such deals from 2012 to
2016. The Salt Lake-Provo ecosystem saw a jump in
billion-dollar club startups in the past two years with a
total of four such deals, including Nikola Motors’ $250
million Series D funding round that values the company
at more than $3 billion. For the Montreal startup eco-
system, 2019 was an exceptional year that witnessed
the emergence of two unicorns: Sonder and Nuvei, and
the listing of Lightspeed POS Inc., which became the
largest IPO by a tech firm in Canada.6
Delhi has produced a steady stream of billion-dollar
club startups with at least one such deal every year
since 2014. The ecosystem is buoyed by international
investors such as SoftBank, Sequoia, and Tiger Global,
all of which are actively investing in the market and push
it close to the top 20 ecosystems in terms of Funding.
Melbourne ranks very high in Connectedness and
Talent. It also boasts a high percentage of founders
and technical talent from overseas — almost 20% of
founders are from outside the ecosystem. The city pro-
duces more technology talent than any other Australian
city while Monash University and the University of Mel-
bourne are among the top three Australian universities
for engineering and technology according to the Times
Higher Education ranking.7
Dallas and Copenhagen’s push into the top global list is
assisted by their above-average Market Reach scores.
Copenhagen’s startups have been impressively able to
target markets beyond mainland Europe. Major players
like Zendesk, Trustpilot, and Tradeshift targeted global
markets from the onset and set up offices across the
globe.
Next 30
In the 2019 report, we discussed the Top 30 and
the Next 30 startup ecosystems. We predicted that
these Next 30 ecosystems would see continued
growth and could move among the top ecosystems
in the near future. We specifically highlighted Chal-
lenger Ecosystems, which we expected to break into
the rankings before others. In only one year, we
have seen as many as five of these Challengers —
namely, Tokyo, Seoul, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and
São Paulo — move to the Top 30 rankings.
In the near future, we should see more Challengers
competing with other ecosystems for a place in the
top 30. Also, as the dynamism of the startup eco-
systems across various regions continues to grow,
we should see more ecosystems become the next
set of Challengers.
6. https://www.pymnts.com/news/investment-tracker/2019/light-
speed-pos-ipo-canada/
7. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rank-
ings/2020/subject-ranking/engineering-and-IT#!/page/0/length/25/
locations/AU/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats
31
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Top 30 and Runners-up
As we expand our ranking to top 40 ecosystems, with
a top 30 and the runners-up (#31 to #40), we observe
more and more democratization of the startup economy
(as discussed in State of the Global Startup Economy).
The global startup ecosystem map now includes more
ecosystems and countries. Six countries have two or
more top startup ecosystems.
The runners-up (#31 to #40) include a mix of ecosys-
tems — a few that have fallen out of the top 30 rankings
such as Munich, Miami, and Bern-Geneva, and a few
that have moved up such as Dallas and Delhi. These
ecosystems have identifiable gaps like Connectedness,
Market Reach, and Knowledge that, if closed, along with
focusing on strengths, can help catapult them into the
top 30 startup ecosystems in the next few years.
Deep Tech Rising and R&D Powerhouse
Ecosystems
Our research and in-depth knowledge has allowed us
to classify ecosystems as Ecosystem Archetypes based
on their primary dimensions. One of the key trends this
year has been the accelerated growth of R&D power-
house ecosystems.
Especifically, we saw Tokyo and Seoul making it to our
Top 20, and Shenzhen and Hangzhou making it to the
top 30 startup ecosystem lists.
Tokyo, Seoul, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou all have few
things in common. These ecosystems have all had many
unicorns and billion-dollar exits emerge in the past two
32
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years, and they are innovation hubs with exceptionally
strong R&D and tangible IP generation.
In our last two global reports, we talked about the rise
of Deep Tech and how all the fastest-growing startup
sub-sectors, namely Artificial Intelligence & Big Data,
Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics, Agtech & New
Foods, and Blockchain, belonged to the Deep Tech field.
We had predicted that the next Silicon Valley will not be
like Silicon Valley but will instead grow from completely
different innovations and Deep Tech would be a key to
that.
During the time frame 2010-2011 to 2017-2018, Deep
Tech-related sub-sectors saw stunning growth in the
number of startups. The concentration of Deep Tech-re-
lated startups has increased to twice the share in the
said time period.
R&D-focused ecosystems have a unique opportunity
to leverage tangible IP strengths to grow startup eco-
systems. A new generation of ambidextrous ecosys-
tems is emerging which both focus and build on the
intersection of innovation industries to accelerate their
disruptive startup ecosystems. In particular, R&D pow-
erhouse ecosystems need to learn and combine their
IP with business-model innovations to create global
success stories.
Startup Genome’s Innovation Edge Framework
The Innovation Edge Framework assesses sub-sec-
tor areas that perform well both globally and locally.
Utilize the Innovation Edge Framework as guidance
to assess high-potential areas.
We have done the extensive research on the topic
and partnered with Prof. David Rigby at UCLA to
analyze technology production and IP networks
by studying over 1 million patents, tying them to
specific sub-sectors and ecosystems, calculating
the potential of each technology class and mea-
suring the knowledge space of each of our studied
ecosystems.
© 2019
Design a focused sub-sector strategy based on local and
competitive positioning
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Global PotentialEcosystem Potential
Moonshots
Experiment
Low Priority
Divest
Smart Specialization
Invest
Sustained Advantage
Maintain
Low
High
LowHigh• T
Fr
se
p
an
• U
Ed
as
ar
Leveraging their exceptional tech talent and knowledge
infrastructure, these startup ecosystems have managed
to power their way through to the top ecosystems.
However, to become truly globally-leading ecosystems
they need to integrate more thoroughly developing
their Connectedness and focus on business-model
innovation.
33
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© 2019
Adtech
AMR
Agtech & New Food
AI & BD
Blockchain
Cleantech
Cybersecurity
Edtech
Fintech
Gaming
Life Sciences
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Global PotentialEcosystem Potential
Build Smart Specialization around a sub-sector to create a focused
competitive advantage
44
Size of the bubble indicates local Startup
Output concentration vs Global Startup
Output Concentration
LowHighLow
High
Recommendations
• Create focused programs
around the Advanced
Manufacturing &
Robotics
• Other key sub-sectors
include the ones
highlighted in green and
gold
Smart Specialization and How Startup Genome Is Helping Seoul Identify
Key Opportunities for Their $1.6 Billion Plan to Improve the Ecosystem in
the Next 3 Years
Start Genome is helping the Seoul Metropolitan Government to invest in building a more robust startup
ecosystem for the city.8 The Seoul Metropolitan Government is actively investing in startups, especially in AI,
Fintech, and Life Sciences. Startup Genome, through an evidence-based data-driven approach, is working with
members to help them make decisions that address the right issues at the right time and prioritize vertical
strengths through action.
Case Example
Startup Genome recently helped
a member ecosystem to chart
out a Smart Specialization strat-
egy around sub-sectors to create
focused investments around
their competitive advantage.
Startup sub-sectors highlighted
in Blue followed by Green are
the sub-sectors with the most
opportunities for this particular
startup ecosystem.
Note: Size of the bubble indicates local
Startup Output concentration vs. Global
Startup Output concentration.
8. https://startupgenome.com/blog/seoul-metropolitan-govern-
ment-joins-forces-with-startup-genome
Asia-Pacific Ascending
Asia’s stature continues to rise among global startup
ecosystems. Initially driven primarily by Chinese eco-
systems, this year’s report saw new entrants among
the top global cities from Japan (Tokyo), South Korea
(Seoul), India (Delhi), and Australia (Melbourne). The
share of Asia-Pacific cities in top global ecosystems has
increased from 20% in 2012 to 30% in 2020.
Earlier, most successful startups and exits in the region
came from Chinese ecosystems, representing about
74% of the billion-dollar club deals — including both
unicorn valuations and exits — in the region in 2015.
However, in 2019, the share of Chinese billion-dollar
club deals i the Asia-Pacific region fell to about 46%
thanks to successful startups in places like Seoul, Tokyo,
Singapore, Taipei City, and Melbourne, among others.
However, despite the uptick, there is still some clear
untapped potential for Asia-Pacific as a region. Asia-Pa-
cific’s contribution to global Ecosystem Value has risen
to 33% in this year’s ranking, but it is still less than the
region’s contribution to global GDP, which stands at
38%.
34
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Understanding the Model: Why
You Should Care About Measuring
Your Startup Ecosystem
The underlying drive for the Global Startup Ecosystem
Report is to answer three key questions founders, in-
vestors, and policymakers have been asking all over
the globe:
• Where are the top-performing ecosystems in the
world? Put differently, where do early-stage startups
have the best shot at building global success?
• Why are some places on the rise while others are
falling behind?
• How can ecosystems increase their chances of
winning in the global startup revolution?
Since 2011 — starting as a research project with Steve
Blank, the father of the Lean Startup movement, and
Prof. Chuck Eesley at Stanford University — we have
been on a mission to codify and understand the Success
Factors of startup ecosystems so more places have a
chance of creating and capturing their fair share of
value created by the global startup revolution.
We have made tremendous progress since then and
continue to do so. What you are looking at is by far
the deepest, most comprehensive startup ecosystem
35
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Through our COVID-19 impact survey, the first ever
on the topic, we were able to draw numerous insights
that provided the first learnings about the crisis and
its impact on startups and startup ecosystems.
• Collected information on public policy actions
taken by governments to support startup ecosys-
tems during the COVID-19 crisis. Our audit of public
policy responses taken by the governments created
a knowledge base with 200+ COVID-19-related policy
measures.
Bringing it together, beyond the ranking, this means
Startup Genome’s broader Ecosystem Assessment
Framework includes more than 100 metrics, which
better capture the ecosystem factors that drive startup
performance.
For the 2020 rankings specifically, we measured a total
of seven Success Factors, listed below (see the Meth-
odology section for more details).
• Performance
• Funding
• Market Reach
• Talent
• Connectedness
• Knowledge
• Infrastructure
The three main questions we start this section with
unfold into many strategic questions Startup Genome’s
ecosystem assessment framework can help answer.
For example:
For founders and startup executives:
• Where should I create my tech startup to maximize
my chances of success?
• Where should I open a second office?
• Where can I get the most bang for buck in terms of
cost?
For investors:
• Where do startups have the best odds of raising ad-
ditional funding?
• Which high-performing ecosystems have a gap in
experienced local investors that I might be able to
benefit from?
For policymakers:
• How should I change local policies to support our
startup ecosystem during the current COVID-19
crisis?
• How should I measure the progress of our startup
ecosystem?
• What are the biggest gaps in our startup economy I
should focus on addressing first?
research ever done — by Startup Genome, the Global
Entrepreneurship Network, and our field in general.
Among other things, this year our research has:
• Nearly doubled the number of ecosystems studied
since our last published rankings — assessing over
270 ecosystems across over 100 countries to rank the
top 40 globally and produce the top 100 emerging
ecosystems rankings. By extensively expanding our
list of ecosystems covered, we made inroads in in-
creasing our coverage to cover more places in Africa
and South America as well.
• Published the top 100 emerging ecosystem rankings
for the first time. Emerging ecosystems are those
ecosystems following the top 40 global ecosystems in
performance. The factor weights used to rank these
ecosystems are slightly different from those used
with top ecosystems (detailed in our methodology
section) to reflect their emerging status and empha-
size the factors that influence more in ecosystems
that are just beginning to grow.
• Incorporated several real-time data sources to our
broader model, from Google Trends to track public
discourse on startups, to GitHub to identify active
programmers, to Meetup data for measuring local
tech events.
• Conducted in-depth research on how the COVID-19
crisis is impacting startups and startup ecosystems.
36
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Exit Ecosystem Value Startup SuccessSilicon Valley
10
10
9
New York City
10
10
5
London
10
9
2
Beijing
9
10
10
Boston
10
9
6
Tel Aviv
8
8
7
Los Angeles
9
9
6
Shanghai
9
10
10
Seattle
8
6
4
Stockholm
9
8
1
Washington DC
8
4
3
Amsterdam
7
5
6
Paris
3
7
3
Chicago
6
5
9
Tokyo
8
5
3
Berlin
7
7
4
Singapore
3
5
5
Toronto-Waterloo
8
3
2
Austin
5
3
8
Seoul
6
7
6
San Diego
7
7
2
Shenzhen
5
9
7
Atlanta
5
3
8
Denver-Boulder
4
3
5
Vancouver
6
6
7
Bangalore
1
9
9
Sydney
4
2
2
Hangzhou
5
8
8
Hong Kong
2
4
4
Sao Paulo
5
6
10
Bern-Geneva
2
2
9
Dallas
2
1
4
Miami
3
4
1
Munich
2
2
7
Salt Lake-Provo
6
5
10
Copenhagen
1
2
1
Delhi
1
6
8
Dublin
1
1
5
Melbourne
4
1
2
Montreal
3
1
4
Performance
Success Factor Highlights
Performance
Key Findings
• Silicon Valley remains the top performer in value cre-
ation and exits, with ecosystems like Boston, London,
New York City, and Beijing also performing strongly.
• Chinese ecosystems do exceptionally well in the mea-
surement of Startup Success, showing how Chinese
startups are able to move onto the next stage of funding
with relative ease — for instance, going from Series A
to B.
• São Paulo, Salt Lake-Provo, and Delhi punch above their
weight in translating successful startups into subse-
quent high valuation funding rounds.
The Performance Success Factor Assesses:
• Ecosystem Value — a measure of the economic impact
of the ecosystem, calculated as the total exit valuation
and startup valuations over a two-and-a-half-year time
period.
• Exits — the number of exits over $50 million and $1
billion, as well as the growth of exits.
• Startup Success — how much startups succeed in the
ecosystem. Measured in early-stage success (ratio of
Series B to Series A companies), late-stages success
(ratio of Series C to A companies and number of bil-
lion-dollar club startups), and speed to exit (both to IPO
and other exits).
Key Concepts
Ranking
The ranking is primarily driven by one question: In
which ecosystems will an early-stage startup have the
best chance of building global success?
Startup
Steve Blank defines a startup as a “temporary organi-
zation in search for a repeatable and scalable business
model.” We use this definition to look across sectors
and sub-sectors, including software, hardware, health,
energy, and others.
Ecosystem
Defined around the concept of a shared pool of re-
sources, generally located within a 60-mile (100-kilo-
meter) radius around a center point in a given region,
with a few exceptions based on local reality.
Ecosystem Success Factor Model
Our principal analytical tool, this measures different
dimensions of what supports the performance of local
startups. We look at nine factors for our rankings: one
measuring actual performance, with eight Success
Factors associated with performance, and each com-
prised of sub-factors and metrics. These factors are
highlighted in our Methodology section, as well as in
each rankings section.
37
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Funding
Key Findings
• San Diego, Sydney, and Hangzhou all stand out for
low quality of Funding, demonstrating the relatively
low number of local, experienced VCs when com-
pared to other top ecosystems.
• Paris, Singapore, and Bangalore all stand out for high
access as well as quality and activity of Funding.
• Seattle, Seoul, San Diego, and Atlanta all perform
worse in overall funding compared to thier rank.
The Funding Success Factor Assesses:
• Access — a function of early-stage funding volume
and funding growth.
• Quality and Activity — a combination of the number
of local investors, investors’ experience (average
years of experience and exit ratio), and investors’
activity (percentage of active investors in the first
quarter of 2020, and the number of new investors).
Access Quality & ActivitySilicon Valley
10
10
New York City
10
10
London
10
10
Beijing
9
9
Boston
9
10
Los Angeles
10
9
Tel Aviv
9
9
Shanghai
8
8
Seattle
6
7
Stockholm
5
6
Washington DC
7
7
Amsterdam
6
8
Paris
9
9
Chicago
6
7
Tokyo
8
8
Berlin
7
6
Singapore
8
8
Toronto-Waterloo
8
7
Austin
6
4
Seoul
3
5
San Diego
4
2
Shenzhen
7
6
Atlanta
3
3
Denver-Boulder
5
5
Vancouver
2
5
Bangalore
7
5
Sydney
5
1
Hangzhou
4
1
Hong Kong
4
5
Sao Paulo
2
1
Bern-Geneva
2
3
Dallas
1
2
Miami
4
3
Munich
3
6
Salt Lake-Provo
1
2
Copenhagen
2
2
Delhi
5
3
Dublin
3
4
Melbourne
1
1
Montreal
1
4
Funding
38
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Market Reach
Key Findings
• Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, and Stockholm all do well thanks
to their startups’ ability to tap global markets.
• Beijing and Shanghai have poor quality of global
market reach, showing that their startups typically
do better locally.
• Chicago, Austin, and Shenzhen don’t appear to create
globally leading companies, with more successes
focused locally.
The Market Reach Success Factor Assesses:
• Global Leading Companies — a function of scaleups
and unicorns in the ecosystem. Measured in the ratio
of companies valued over $1 billion (number of uni-
corns + $B exits to GDP), ratio of $B exits ($B exits
to GDP), and large exits to funding (exits over $50M
to Series A rounds).
• Local Reach — size of local markets, proxied as a
function of country GDP.
• IP Commercialization — indicator of how much the
policy environment encourages the commercializa-
tion of tangible IP, measured at the country level.
Local Market ReachGlobally Leading CompaniesQualitySilicon Valley
10
10
10
New York City
10
9
10
London
5
10
10
Beijing
7
10
2
Boston
10
8
10
Tel Aviv
1
10
10
Los Angeles
10
8
10
Shanghai
7
8
2
Seattle
10
6
10
Stockholm
2
9
4
Washington DC
10
5
10
Amsterdam
2
7
6
Paris
5
5
6
Chicago
10
3
10
Tokyo
6
4
6
Berlin
6
6
4
Singapore
1
8
6
Toronto-Waterloo
4
6
6
Austin
10
2
10
Seoul
3
9
3
San Diego
10
5
10
Shenzhen
7
1
2
Atlanta
10
5
10
Denver-Boulder
10
3
10
Vancouver
4
6
6
Bangalore
5
3
2
Sydney
3
3
10
Hangzhou
7
4
2
Hong Kong
1
9
2
Sao Paulo
4
7
2
Bern-Geneva
2
7
4
Dallas
10
2
10
Miami
10
1
10
Munich
6
1
4
Salt Lake-Provo
10
2
10
Copenhagen
2
7
4
Delhi
5
2
2
Dublin
2
1
6
Melbourne
3
5
10
Montreal
4
4
6
Market Reach
39
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Connectedness
Key Findings
• Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Shenzhen all rank quite
low on Local Connectedness, something that could
hurt long-term potential in these ecosystems.
• Beijing, Stockholm, Hangzhou, and Salt Lake-Provo
all rank low in Infrastructure for their rank, showing
a clear addressable gap area in their ecosystems.
• Compared to their rankings, Bern-Geneva and Co-
penhagen appear to do well in Local Connectedness
and Infrastructure, showing potential in the future.
The Connectedness Success Factor Assesses:
• Local Connectedness — a function of the number
of tech meetups in the ecosystem.
• Infrastructure — a Life Sciences-focused measure
of accelerators and incubators, research grants, and
R&D anchors in the ecosystem (e.g., top research
hospitals and R&D corporate labs).
Local ConnectednessInfrastructureSilicon Valley
6
9
New York City
10
10
London
10
10
Beijing
5
1
Boston
9
10
Tel Aviv
8
7
Los Angeles
5
8
Shanghai
1
5
Seattle
9
4
Stockholm
7
1
Washington DC
6
9
Amsterdam
10
8
Paris
9
9
Chicago
5
9
Tokyo
2
6
Berlin
10
7
Singapore
6
7
Toronto-Waterloo
8
5
Austin
8
3
Seoul
1
6
San Diego
4
8
Shenzhen
2
2
Atlanta
5
5
Denver-Boulder
7
3
Vancouver
5
6
Bangalore
9
4
Sydney
9
4
Hangzhou
1
1
Hong Kong
2
6
Sao Paulo
5
7
Bern-Geneva
2
10
Dallas
3
3
Miami
1
5
Munich
7
4
Salt Lake-Provo
3
1
Copenhagen
4
8
Delhi
3
2
Dublin
6
2
Melbourne
7
2
Montreal
3
3
Connectedness
40
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Talent
Key Findings
• Among ecosystems in the top 10, Silicon Valley and
Seattle are much more focused on tech than Life
Sciences versus the rest of the pack.
• Melbourne’s ecosystem does especially great in tech
and Life Sciences talent, followed by Dublin and Mon-
treal.
• Hong Kong, Seoul, and Toronto-Waterloo all lag in
scaling experience, mostly in technology.
The Talent Success Factor Assesses:

- Tech Talent
• Access — the percentage of engineers and growth
employees with at least 2 years of startup experi-
ence at the time of hiring.
• Quality — a function of the number and density of
top developers on GitHub, English proficiency, and
historical exits, as well as a proxy for experienced
scaled teams in the ecosystem.
• Cost — average software engineer salaries,
whereas more expensive salaries lead to lower
scores.

- Life Sciences Talent
• Access — a count of STEM students and graduates,
number of Life Sciences universities, and degree
programs in an ecosystem.
• Quality — a function of Life Sciences quality at
local universities and their programs.

- Experience
• Scaling Experience — the cumulative number
of significant exits (over $50 million and over $1
billion) over 10 years for startups founded in the
ecosystem.
• Startup Experience — the cumulative number of
early-stage companies started and funded in the
ecosystem at Series A stages.
Cost Quality & Access STEM Access LS Access LS Quality Scaling Experience in Ecosystem Startup Experience in EcosystemSilicon Valley
6
10
3
5
10
10
10
London
6
10
10
9
9
9
10
New York City
5
10
10
10
5
10
10
Beijing
9
9
10
10
6
10
10
Boston
5
9
5
10
8
10
10
Los Angeles
4
9
7
7
9
9
10
Tel Aviv
7
9
7
8
2
9
9
Shanghai
9
9
10
9
5
9
8
Seattle
3
10
2
1
10
8
8
Stockholm
2
6
4
6
9
7
7
Washington DC
4
9
7
7
4
8
8
Amsterdam
3
7
5
10
9
8
6
Paris
7
8
10
9
3
5
9
Chicago
1
8
2
6
5
8
7
Tokyo
4
7
10
8
1
6
8
Berlin
8
6
6
6
8
6
7
Singapore
8
2
6
4
10
4
6
Toronto-Waterloo
7
6
10
8
7
2
7
Austin
5
7
2
1
4
7
7
Seoul
8
4
10
10
1
3
6
San Diego
5
7
4
2
7
6
5
Shenzhen
10
6
3
1
4
4
5
Atlanta
4
8
4
5
6
7
4
Denver-Boulder
2
5
2
4
3
3
5
Vancouver
6
4
6
3
6
5
2
Bangalore
10
1
1
1
2
4
5
Sydney
4
5
10
8
6
3
4
Hangzhou
10
1
4
4
4
7
3
Hong Kong
9
2
10
6
5
1
1
Sao Paulo
9
1
10
5
2
4
2
Munich
6
3
6
4
8
1
4
Salt Lake-Provo
2
3
1
2
2
6
2
Miami
1
2
3
2
1
3
3
Dallas
2
3
1
3
3
1
3
Bern-Geneva
1
2
3
8
8
2
1
Copenhagen
1
3
1
3
10
5
2
Melbourne
7
4
10
8
7
1
1
Delhi
10
1
7
2
1
2
3
Montreal
8
4
5
4
7
5
1
Dublin
3
5
5
5
3
2
4
Tech
Life Sciences
Experience
Talent
41
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Knowledge
Key Findings
• Dallas, Montreal, Munich, Miami, and Delhi all rank
high in Knowledge score despite relatively lower
ranks in the top 40.
• Tel Aviv, Beijing, and Shanghai all rank low in the
H-Index, which shows lower-than-average publica-
tions and research in Life Sciences.
• New York City, Washington D.C., Amsterdam, and
Chicago all rank low in Patents, showing a focus of
their founders on business model innovation rather
than leveraging tangible IP production.
The Knowledge Success Factor Assesses:
• Research — based on the H-Index, a measure of pub-
lication impact, this metric looks at the production of
Life Sciences research at the country level.
• Patents — the volume, complexity, and potential of
patents in Life Sciences created in the ecosystem.
Patents ResearchSilicon Valley
9
10
New York City
5
10
London
8
7
Beijing
10
4
Boston
5
10
Tel Aviv
8
2
Los Angeles
6
10
Shanghai
10
4
Seattle
7
10
Stockholm
8
4
Washington DC
3
10
Amsterdam
3
5
Paris
4
6
Chicago
2
10
Tokyo
9
6
Berlin
3
7
Singapore
6
2
Toronto-Waterloo
7
6
Austin
6
10
Seoul
10
2
San Diego
6
10
Shenzhen
9
4
Atlanta
2
10
Denver-Boulder
5
10
Vancouver
7
6
Bangalore
9
2
Sydney
2
4
Hangzhou
10
4
Hong Kong
1
1
Sao Paulo
1
1
Bern-Geneva
5
5
Dallas
4
10
Miami
2
10
Munich
7
7
Salt Lake-Provo
1
10
Copenhagen
3
3
Delhi
8
2
Dublin
5
1
Melbourne
1
4
Montreal
5
6
Knowledge
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Top 100 Emerging Ecosystem Ranking
Startup Genome has nearly doubled the number of
ecosystems studied since 2019 — assessing over 270
ecosystems across over 100 countries to rank the top
30 globally and runners-up. Our ranking this year goes
beyond the top ecosystems to include “Emerging Eco-
systems” — the next 100 ecosystems after the top
ones.
As startup culture and entrepreneurship spreads
across the world, different ecosystems are gaining rel-
evance and impacting economies in a meaningful way.
The factor weights used to rank these ecosystems are
slightly different from those used with top ecosystems
(detailed in our methodology section) to reflect their
emerging status and emphasize the factors that influ-
ence more in ecosystems that are just beginning to
grow.
Key Findings
• The top 10 Emerging Ecosystems are, in order:
#1 Mumbai, #2 Jakarta, #3 Zurich, #4 Helsinki, #5
Guangzhou, #6 (tie) Barcelona, #6 (tie) Madrid, #8
Philadelphia, #9 Manchester-Liverpool, and #10 Re-
search Triangle.
• Combined, the Emerging Ecosystems represent 49
countries and $348 billion
in Ecosystem Value.
• Europe is the leading con-
tinent for Emerging Eco-
systems, with 38 cities in
the list followed by North
America with 32 startup
ecosystems and Asia-Pacif-
ic is third with 22 ecosys-
tems.
Since 2010, these ecosystems
have combined to generate
115 billion-dollar club start-
ups. Nearly 60 of these start-
up ecosystems across over 20
countries have seen either a
unicorn or a billion-dollar exit.
Of these, 27 ecosystems have
seen at least two such deals. Startups have become a
top growth engine of the economy and policymakers
are putting more energy and focus into the develop-
ment of their startup ecosystems.
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Rank
Country
Continent
Performance
Funding
Market Reach
Talent
Mumbai
1
India
Asia-Pacific
10
10
10
10
Jakarta
2
Indonesia
Asia-Pacific
10
10
10
9
Zurich
3
Switzerland
Europe
9
10
10
8
Greater Helsinki
4
Finland
Europe
8
10
10
9
Guangzhou
5
China
Asia-Pacific
10
9
4
10
Barcelona
6 (tie)
Spain
Europe
9
10
5
10
Madrid
6 (tie)
Spain
Europe
9
10
9
10
Philadelphia
8
United States
North America
9
10
8
9
Manchester-Liverpool
9
United Kingdom
Europe
10
9
8
10
Research Triangle
10
United States
North America
10
9
5
10
Kuala Lumpur
11
Malaysia
Asia-Pacific
10
8
10
9
Lisbon
12
Portugal
Europe
7
6
10
4
Bristol
13
United Kingdom
Europe
9
8
9
9
Estonia
14
Estonia
Europe
5
9
10
1
Portland
15
United States
North America
10
7
9
7
Istanbul
16
Turkey
Asia-Pacific
7
9
8
9
Detroit
17
United States
North America
10
8
4
8
Dubai
18
United Arab Emirates Asia-Pacific
8
10
7
6
Minneapolis
19
United States
North America
8
7
9
8
Moscow
20
Russia
Europe
6
10
1
10
Taipei City
21-30
Taiwan
Asia-Pacific
8
8
3
10
Hamburg
21-30
Germany
Europe
8
8
9
6
Wuxi
21-30
China
Asia-Pacific
10
6
8
7
Tampa Bay
21-30
United States
North America
9
8
9
3
Brussels
21-30
Belgium
Europe
7
9
2
9
Hartford
21-30
United States
North America
9
4
9
7
Chengdu
21-30
China
Asia-Pacific
10
4
9
7
Pittsburgh
21-30
United States
North America
8
9
4
7
Phoenix
21-30
United States
North America
8
8
2
5
Milan
21-30
Italy
Europe
5
10
2
8
Manila
31-40
Philippines
Asia-Pacific
5
3
10
7
Houston
31-40
United States
North America
7
9
2
8
Mexico City
31-40
Mexico
South America
6
8
3
9
Lyon
31-40
France
Europe
7
6
5
9
Ecosystems classified in by scores from 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest)
Top 100 Emerging Ecosystem Ranking
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Rank
Country
Continent
Performance
Funding
Market Reach
Talent
Columbus
31-40
United States
North America
9
6
7
1
Charlotte
31-40
United States
North America
9
5
8
1
Nanjing
31-40
China
Asia-Pacific
9
4
1
8
Indianapolis
31-40
United States
North America
7
7
5
6
Xiamen
31-40
China
Asia-Pacific
8
2
6
10
Bogota
31-40
Colombia
South America
6
7
9
4
Rhineland
41-50
Germany
Europe
5
7
2
9
New Zealand
41-50
New Zealand
Asia-Pacific
4
7
2
8
Oslo
41-50
Norway
Europe
6
9
2
4
St. Louis
41-50
United States
North America
6
7
5
6
Edinburgh-Glasgow
41-50
United Kingdom
Europe
3
8
1
10
Vienna
41-50
Austria
Europe
4
8
5
4
Orlando
41-50
United States
North America
6
6
3
6
Las Vegas
41-50
United States
North America
7
5
3
4
Birmingham
41-50
United Kingdom
Europe
4
6
2
7
Nashville
41-50
United States
North America
5
5
7
4
Cairo
51-60
Egypt
Africa
3
7
1
7
Calgary
51-60
Canada
North America
3
5
3
3
Chennai
51-60
India
Asia-Pacific
4
3
4
8
Malmo
51-60
Sweden
Europe
5
7
3
3
Santa Barbara
51-60
United States
North America
8
1
8
5
Bangkok
51-60
Thailand
Asia-Pacific
3
5
3
8
Wuhan
51-60
China
Asia-Pacific
7
3
1
7
Gothenburg
51-60
Sweden
Europe
2
6
5
3
Cape Town
51-60
South Africa
Africa
3
4
8
6
Cincinnati
51-60
United States
North America
4
3
8
5
Frankfurt
61-70
Germany
Europe
4
4
3
5
Lagos
61-70
Nigeria
Africa
4
7
1
1
Ottawa
61-70
Canada
North America
6
3
1
8
Sacramento
61-70
United States
North America
6
2
6
1
Stuttgart
61-70
Germany
Europe
2
5
3
5
Nairobi
61-70
Kenya
Africa
2
6
1
5
Cleveland
61-70
United States
North America
4
2
8
4
Madison
61-70
United States
North America
5
3
4
2
Ecosystems classified in by scores from 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest)
Top 100 Emerging Ecosystem Ranking (contd.)
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Rank
Country
Continent
Performance
Funding
Market Reach
Talent
Warsaw
61-70
Poland
Europe
2
5
1
5
Kansas City
61-70
United States
North America
5
4
1
4
Hyderabad
71-80
India
Asia-Pacific
1
5
1
6
Budapest
71-80
Hungary
Europe
1
9
1
2
Richmond
71-80
United States
North America
4
3
4
1
Rome
71-80
Italy
Europe
1
5
4
2
Malta
71-80
Malta
Europe
4
1
9
1
Buenos Aires
71-80
Argentina
South America
1
4
1
7
Brisbane
71-80
Australia
Asia-Pacific
1
4
1
6
Ho Chi Minh City
71-80
Vietnam
Asia-Pacific
2
1
7
3
Pune
71-80
India
Asia-Pacific
3
4
1
1
Durham
71-80
United Kingdom
Europe
5
2
1
1
Western Denmark
81-90
Denmark
Europe
2
3
2
1
Lithuania
81-90
Lithuania
Europe
1
6
1
1
Abu Dhabi
81-90
United Arab Emirates Asia-Pacific
5
1
10
1
San Bernardino
81-90
United States
North America
2
1
5
1
Jacksonville
81-90
United States
North America
3
1
5
3
Reno
81-90
United States
North America
3
2
8
1
Burlington
81-90
United States
North America
6
1
8
1
Valencia
81-90
Spain
Europe
1
6
1
2
Bucharest
81-90
Romania
Europe
8
1
1
1
Santiago
81-90
Chile
South America
1
5
1
4
Belgrade and Novi Sad
91-100
Serbia
Europe
1
1
8
5
Curitiba
91-100
Brazil
South America
7
1
2
1
Ljubljana
91-100
Slovenia
Europe
2
1
7
3
Wilmington
91-100
United States
North America
1
4
4
1
Antwerp
91-100
Belgium
Europe
1
2
4
1
Marseille
91-100
France
Europe
1
2
1
3
Osaka
91-100
Japan
Asia-Pacific
1
1
3
2
Prague
91-100
Czechia
Europe
1
3
1
2
Buffalo
91-100
United States
North America
7
1
1
1
Reykjavik
91-100
Iceland
Europe
1
1
7
1
Luxembourg
91-100
Luxembourg
Europe
3
2
1
1
Ecosystems classified in by scores from 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest)
Top 100 Emerging Ecosystem Ranking (contd.)
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Emerging Leaders
A few startup ecosystems stand out from the 100
emerging startup ecosystems based across some key
factors.
Top 10 Ecosystems by Ecosystem Value:
Ecosystems
Country
Ecosystem Value ($B)
Jakarta
Indonesia
26.3
Guangzhou
China
19.2
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
15.3
Mumbai
India
15
Nanjing
China
10
Research Triangle
United States
9.7
Manchester-Liverpool
United Kingdom
9.2
Detroit
United States
9
Zurich
Switzerland
9
Portland
United States
7.1
Ecosystem with 4 or More $B Club in the Last 10
Years:
Ecosystems
Country
$B club since 2010
Guangzhou
China
9
Mumbai
India
5
Jakarta
Indonesia
5
Research Triangle
United States
4
Zurich
Switzerland
4
Detroit
United States
4
Moscow
Russia
4
Taipei City
Taiwan
4
Ecosystems
Country
ESF (2017-2018, $M)
Jakarta
Indonesia
845.9
Barcelona
Spain
472.7
Guangzhou
China
413.8
Mumbai
India
371.9
Taipei City
Taiwan
339.3
Brussels
Belgium
310.3
Houston
United States
280.5
Philadelphia
United States
276.7
Phoenix
United States
263.3
Greater Helsinki
Finland
256.2
Top Ecosystems with Total Early-Stage Funding
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Europe Leads the Way
Europe leads in terms of constituents in the Emerging
Ecosystems list with 38 startup ecosystems. Eight of
these are from Eastern Europe. It is followed by North
America with 32 startup ecosystems and Asia-Pacific is
third with 22 ecosystems.
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Ecosystem Archetypes
As these ecosystems expand and startups compete
globally, ecosystem builders will have to play an im-
portant role in forging the path ahead. These growing
ecosystems can learn from leader startup ecosystems
to leverage their strengths and accordingly focus their
efforts and resources. Startup Genome’s years of re-
search and insights have helped us to identify five key
Ecosystem Archetypes, based on the primary dimen-
sion of the ecosystem, potential, challenges, success
strategy and roadmap.
Five Ecosystem Archetypes:
Founders of Tech
• Primary Dimension: First and Early movers, Globally
or Regionally
• Examples: SIlicon Valley, Boston, Seattle
Global Business Hubs
• Primary Dimension: Global Business and Financial
Center
• Examples: London, New York City, Singapore
R&D Powerhouses
• Primary Dimension: Technology Production
• Examples: Tel Aviv, Stockholm
Large Protected Markets
• Primary Dimension: Protected Market Reach
• Examples: Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta
Cosmopolitan Creatives
• Primary Dimension: Openness and Quality of Life
• Examples: Berlin, Melbourne
Not on the list?
If your ecosystem is not on this list and you want
to know where you stand, please reach out to us
(Adam Bregu: adam@startupgenome.com). Start-
up Genome has assessed nearly 300 ecosystems
globally, although not all of them are published
here.
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Save Your Startups: Using Policy to Kickstart
the Post-Crisis Economy
Global economic crises often become extinction
events for startups. The COVID-19 crisis has been no
exception, and many startups across the globe remain
perilously close to the edge of closing up shop. Young
companies and founders remain on edge, knowing
that things can change in their communities seeming-
ly in an instant.
Policymakers should be aware that startups contrib-
ute meaningfully to both local communities and to
the global startup economy as a whole. With that in
mind, they should be laser focused on helping startup
companies and the wider ecosystem get through the
COVID-19 crisis intact.
There will of course be a time down the road where
COVID-19 is no longer a threat to our health and our
economy. The famous adage, “This too shall pass”
comes to mind. When the threat subsides, many fac-
ets of life we’ve come to know will likely return, includ-
ing in our economy.
But what if startups don’t survive the turmoil? We be-
lieve there is much to be done by government agencies
and organizations in order to save startups and keep
them humming along until things go back to “normal.”
Why Policymakers and Leaders
Must Act Now
With so much happening around the world, it can be
difficult to track the impact of COVID-19 on startups.
But the data, of which we have been collecting since
March through our COVID-19 impact survey, is clear —
startups need help now and if policymakers don’t work
to support them, the economic effects will be dire.
Startups in Serious Trouble
While big-name startups may have lots of cash on
hand or have been in the press for “pivoting success-
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fully” during the COVID-19 crisis, many startups are
struggling. Global venture capital funding has dropped
roughly 20% since the onset of the pandemic in De-
cember 2019, creating ripple effects throughout start-
up ecosystems.
According to our COVID-19 Survey, as of mid-2020,
more than 40% of startups globally are in the “red
zone” when it comes to cash, meaning they have three
months or fewer of runway. Basically, if these compa-
nies do not change their cash flow situation and are
unable to raise additional funds soon, they will fold.
When it comes to funded startups that have raised Se-
ries A or later rounds, a third have less than six months
worth of cash, creating a danger zone because fund-
raising is simply more challenging now.
Startups Can Improve the Economic
Recovery
Policymakers may wonder if it’s OK to not intervene at
all and let these startups in the red zone perish, follow-
ing the theory of letting the strong companies survive
and letting the weak business fall off. While this may
be attractive in some circles, it’s a short-sided gambit
that underestimates the value of startups and threat-
ens the future.
For many years, startup ecosystems around the globe
have proven to drive productivity. This is because start-
ups not only are a good engine for jobs, but without
startups, there’s less innovation at larger corporations
and at small- and medium- sized businesses (SMBs)
as well. Startups also play a role in pushing the public
sector forward by providing huge efficiency gains in
governmental organizations and public services, and
by helping establish competitive regulatory environ-
ments.
Many governments have already assisted in the cre-
ation of knowledge economies, so in many ways they
also need to protect existing ecosystems in which
they’ve already invested. Governments must act now
to help startups affected by COVID-19, and they have
good reason for saving jobs and businesses.
As we argued in our recent white paper, governments
actually stand to make money by injecting at least six
months worth of cash into technology startups. Even
with a negative 10% return on equity, the cost per job
saved is 41% lower for startups than for SMBs, respec-
tively costing $14,766 or $24,928 per job saved. It sim-
ply costs less to save a job in a startup than elsewhere.
Technology startups offer a higher job multiplier be-
cause they often pay high wages, they export more
frequently, and attract foreign direct investment (FDI)
from international investors. Startup jobs are also
more “future-proof” as the economy transitions to
more digital services, as people working these jobs will
have more in-demand skills down the road.
Startup Ecosystem Size Matters for
Growth
Outside of protecting startups, what other incentives
do policymakers have to protect the innovation eco-
systems impacted by COVID-19? As academic Michael
Porter has postulated for traditional industries and
Startup Genome has demonstrated for startup eco-
systems, the size of an industry cluster greatly mat-
ters for its overall performance. Because of network
effects, the economic impact of each additional start-
up grows as the ecosystem grows. As Startup Genome
research shows, the larger the ecosystem, the higher
the performance and average value of each startup.
For instance, in an ecosystem with 1,000 startups (ap-
proximately the size of the Montreal ecosystem), each
startup adds on average $5.1 million in economic val-
ue while at 2,000 startups, each startup adds an av-
erage of $6.9 million. For 3,000 startups, the figure
hits $8.7 million per company, and at 4,000 startups
(approximately the size of the Boston ecosystem), val-
ue per startup jumps to $10.6 million on average. An-
other way to look at this: an ecosystem that is three
times larger (1,000 vs. 3,000 startups) produces five
times more economic value. And indeed the opposite
applies. Reducing the number of startups would slash
the value of an ecosystem exponentially.
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As such, preserving the number of startups in an eco-
system helps protect overall economic value. Policy-
makers should never forget this.
Startups Help Post-Crisis Economies
Remain Competitive
Global crises always accelerate the adoption curve
of new technologies. COVID-19 has wildly increased
adoption of relatively young companies such as Zoom,
Slack, and Shopify. All three were startups not long ago
that went public and now they play an important role
in keeping companies connected and relevant in the
age of COVID-19.
Startups provide competition to entrenched players in
virtually every industry. Without startups, technology,
finance, healthcare, and other fields would be stag-
nant. Who wants to live in a world where the banking
system is only dominated by only a few players and
businesses and consumers don’t have ample choice of
how they manage their money?
And when startups do bloom and become important
industry players, that adds more prestige and value to
the ecosystem in which it operates. What would Seat-
tle’s startup ecosystem be like if Microsoft and Ama-
zon were founded in different cities?
Learning from the 2008 Economic
Crisis
If policymakers are still skeptical about why they
should invest in startups affected by COVID-19, then
they should look at the 2008 economic crisis and the
following recession to further understand its impor-
tance.
Startups funded during recessions, including those
2008, fare better than funded during normal times, on
average. For example, several successful gig economy
startups were funded during that time and have later
grown into large entities, including Uber, which had its
seed round in 2008 and its Series A funding in 2011.
Venture capitalists and local economies that worked
to save promising startups in 2000 and 2008 reaped
incredible benefits in the next economic cycle. Look at
the businesses that raised VC money in 2008 and it’s
an impressive list: Facebook, LinkedIn, Dropbox, and
Palantir. The fact that these companies were able to
raise money during a recession is obviously not the
cause of their success. But the strong returns of their
cohort of recession-funded startups suggest that oth-
er would-be innovators were never realized because
of the restricted capital environment.
Unfortunately, despite the success of companies cre-
ated during economic contractions, venture invest-
ments in tech startups usually drops significantly
Additionally, startups are
better structured to reap
the benefits of sudden
behavioral changes while
large corporations often
have to focus a lot of time
on restructuring existing
operations. Simply put,
startups can pivot and
make changes much fast-
er, and this is seen today
with some startups in the
COVID-19 era.
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during these periods. In the crisis between 2007 and
2009 — which might well prove to be a milder period
than the one we have just entered — venture capital
investment deals dropped 30% for Series A round in
software in the U.S. The drop in Series B investments
was even sharper at 48%.
In addition, the recent dramatic drop of venture in-
vestments in China can tell us a lot about what might
happen in the U.S., Europe, and the rest of the world.
China’s Series A+ investments initially dropped 74%
from December 2019 to February 2020, a shocking
drop in itself. But unlike the global stock markets,
Series A+ investment in China saw tepid recovery in
March and April — still showing a 34% decrease com-
pared to pre-crisis levels. This could be in store in 2020
for startups elsewhere if policymakers don’t respond
accordingly.
What Ecosystem Leaders Should
Do Now
While it’s clear policymakers and ecosystem leaders
need to act, there’s bound to be some disagreements
about the best approaches to take. Let’s shed some
light on what governments and business leaders
should be doing now to help startup ecosystems.
Governments Are Not Taking the Right
Actions
Governments around the world are taking actions
to help businesses during COVID-19, but they aren’t
doing enough to assist startups. Government relief
programs typically have strict eligibility rules and em-
phasize companies with revenue, profitability, and col-
lateral. But this leaves a lot of startups out in the cold.
As a result, Startup Genome’s data shows that 39% of
startups globally are not receiving assistance and/or
do not expect to be helped by national or local govern-
ment relief measures. Additionally, 16% said they are
not currently receiving help but expect to be helped by
a policy measure soon, as of June 2020.
More work must be done to enact policies that will
help startups with policy measures, which will in turn
prepare economies for growth, steady jobs, competi-
tion, and innovation.
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Funding First
Among the actions that policymakers can take now,
funding startups should be the top priority. Without
providing funding, many jobs and innovations will be
lost.
The first goal should be to inject capital quickly to save
at least 80% of startups that are at risk of folding in
2020. The second goal should be to inject capital to
increase the rate of new seed and Series A invest-
ments over the next two years, to ensure these types
of investments do not drop as dramatically as they did
during the 2008 recession and to ensure we don’t lose
an entire generation of founders. Achieving both of
these goals will lead to startups having the opportu-
nity to close their next round of funding when things
stabilize.
Designing Effective Funding Vehicles
Startup Genome asked founders in our global COVID-19
survey about what type of support policies they would
find most helpful. By far the greatest number, 31%,
reported that they would like to see grants to support
company liquidity, while instruments to boost invest-
ments (17%) and support for employees (15%) were
the two other most popular policy measures.
However, we generally do not believe that grants are
effective or desirable ways of helping startups. Typi-
cally, government grant schemes are complicated and
slow. They are unlikely to help startups in time, and
taxpayers do not receive value for the money — since
they bear all the risk and none of the gain.
Governments should instead use existing equity fund-
ing instruments, such as convertible notes, and guar-
antees for equity investors, to inject new capital that
directly benefits existing VC funds. Additional capital
invested can be offered to investors at a fraction of
each fund’s original investment. The amounts invest-
ed should be enough to provide at least six months of
runway to about half of startups that are in need of
funds.
ple of a well structured government equity support
fund in 2020 is the U.K.’s Coronavirus Future Fund.
It specifically targets U.K.-based pre-revenue and
pre-profit companies that rely on equity investment
and provides government convertible loans ranging
from roughly $150,000 (£125,000) to $6 million (£5 mil-
lion). Future Fund loans are subject to at least an equal
match in funding from private equity investors. Ger-
many announced similar ambitions, but the details of
the funding vehicle have not yet been fully announced.
By only providing a cash
runway to half of start-
ups, investors will then
be forced to concentrate
capital to save top start-
ups and future returns,
and will use their own
capital if more is need-
ed. This type of program
does not work as well for
seed-stage and pre-seed
startups, so consider add-
ing investor tax credits to
complement it.
Currently the only exam-
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Funding Best and Worst Practices
Policymakers hoping to implement new funding pro-
grams to help startups should follow a few best prac-
tices while avoiding a few worst practices.
Best Practices
• Promote risk sharing between public and private in-
vestors, with the public acting in a way to share risk
and leverage private money.
• Align incentives through equity or convertible debt
to equity.
• Consider a big increase in the investment ratio, such
as 5 to 1. Signal that this is a good startup and re-
member it costs less than saving a large corporation
for the same number of long-term jobs saved.
• Allow different types of investors (including angels
and VCs) to inject capital to save the best startups
and scaleups.
• Allow investments in new ventures that can help
address problems created by the COVID-19 crisis,
including healthcare, ecommerce, and online ser-
vices, which also seeds the sub-sectors that can be
successful in a post-pandemic world.
Worst Practices
• Do not encumber investors and startups with a new
instrument, such as a convertible note when start-
ups already have a preferred-share structure. If a
government wants to offer the option to reimburse
the investment, offer a redemption clause. And if a
government wants to add an interest rate, then add
it to the redemption clause.
• Don’t change the instrument completely. Strictly in-
vest in the same exact instrument and preferably at
the same conditions as the last round, so nothing
needs to be negotiated. Keeping it the same ensures
speed, prevents gaming the system, and keeps it
easy for startups and investors.
• Finally, do not create a task force — whether gov-
ernment-led or privately led — to decide which
startups to save. Even if a so-called task force is full
of experts, this is a costly process and it’s unlikely
they will achieve better results than established in-
vestors can.
Preserve Talent
Policymakers and ecosystem leaders also have the gar-
gantuan task of both preventing existing talent from
leaving and attracting new talent while the threat of
COVID-19 disruptions persist. Considering the many
years and resources spent building a startup-experi-
enced talent pool, it is important to preserve this tal-
ent and to keep attracting non-local talent.
On a domestic level, recessions typically cause signif-
icant delays on employment for new graduates and
they cause subsequent long-term impacts on lifetime
earnings, savings, and socio-economic advancements.
Policymakers must counter these effects with targeted
actions to keep talent from moving to other startups
in nearby ecosystems that offer more benefits. They
also should be working to extend visas so foreign tal-
ent does not immediately leave if they are furloughed
or laid off due to disruptions. They also should try to
avoid startup talent from being snapped up by large
corporations because this can add “brain-drain” to the
ecosystem.
A few examples of smart talent retention actions in-
clude:
1. United Arab Emirates — The UAE took the bold step
of automatically renewing residency visas and IDs
that expired on March 1st, 2020 without additional
fees, to ensure foreign talent could stay during the
crisis.
2. Germany — The German program Kurzarbeit allows
employers to furlough employees part-time, with
workers agreeing to a reduction in working time
and pay, and the government covering up to 67% of
an employee’s lost wages for up to 12 months.
3. Sweden — The government offers a “short term
leave subsidy,” which allows employers to receive
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more than 90% of employees’ salaries who have to
take short-term leave due to COVID-19.
Additionally, policymakers and ecosystem leaders
should be aware that this is a good time to attract
affordable talent as well. If the average cost of living
drops in major startup hubs, then make sure to bring
more cost-averse talent into the fold at that time. It’s
also an opportunity to fish for talent from promising
startups and SSOPs who have folded.
Specialization Should Be Protected
Another reason policymakers and ecosystem leaders
should be shielding startups from collapse is that ex-
isting sub-sector strengths that already exist should
be protected. For example, an ecosystem that has a vi-
brant Fintech community must do what it can to fund
promising Fintech startups. This will help keep these
specialized clusters of companies, which compete and
collaborate with each other, intact.
Startup Genome research shows that specialization
is key to the development of deep-tech focused eco-
systems. Our research shows that any deep-tech-fo-
cused cluster requires a vibrant startup community to
ensure that patent creation and R&D make their way
efficiently into commercial use.
These ecosystems, which excel in sub-sectors such as
Artificial Intelligence & Big Data, Advanced Manufac-
turing & Robotics, and Blockchain, have a lot to lose if
their promising startups don’t survive 2020. The 2020
GSER rankings have revealed the emergence of new
tech innovation centers or R&D powerhouses, and it
would be a shame to lose these gains.
Procurement Programs for Startups
With startups struggling to generate demand they had
before the COVID-19 crisis, policymakers can step into
help with the development of government-led inno-
vation procurement programs. The overall objective
of these programs would be to replace domestic and
global demand temporarily. For governments, this also
offers the opportunity to drive ingenuity and produc-
tivity in public services, with the aid of tech founders
that are more available with private market opportu-
nities declining.
The most effective model is demand-driven, with start-
ups and SMEs responding to governmental depart-
ment requests. A supply-driven or proposal model
may be more appropriate in regions where technolo-
gy is not as in-demand.
While COVID-19 disruptions and fears persist, policy-
makers, VCs, and angel groups can help identify more
scaleups and startups that are well positioned to help
with specific problems stemming from coronavirus.
Startup specialties that can help during the crisis in-
clude:
• Healthcare — Startups can aid in the provision of
testing, sanitation, and contact tracing.
• Social services — Startups can provide non-health
related care and food delivery for the immunocom-
promised and elderly.
• Online services — Startups can help with online
platforms for education at all levels and services for
businesses.
Keep Working on Startup Programs
Finally, the last important piece of the policy puzzle to
assist startups is to save support programs such as ac-
celerators and mentorships. While switching to a virtu-
al model in the near term may help organizations like
these keep moving forward, they typically still need
some financial support.
Conclusion
Policymakers have a lot of their plates now to sustain
their economies, but startups simply can’t be forgot-
ten. At the very least, they can provide short-term
measures to “keep the lights on” and attempt to min-
imize the disruption of existing startup ecosystems.
The most effective measure they can take is to use ex-
isting funding structures to quickly deploy capital us-
ing equity-based instruments.
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We recognize that this is a short-term view of the cur-
rent situation and the effects of the COVID-19 crisis
will be long lasting. Indeed, our analysis of the preva-
lence of different policy instruments around the globe
shows that, as of April 2020, business loans were by
far the most popular measure used by governments.
Equity-based funding and demand generation were
the least popular — demonstrating that policy instru-
ments are not yet aligned to the needs of a longer term
recession environment.
As this develops further, it will be vital for policies to
adapt from short-term firefighting to building long-
term foundations. We recommend a shift to equity
investment, guarantees for equity investors, and de-
mand generation programs to future proof our eco-
systems.
In the medium to long term, we are facing both a re-
cession and an accelerated move to a digital economy.
Thankfully, the tech and digital-focused startups can
play a role in coming back from the recession, like they
did in 2008.
During this time, there will be a greater role for the
government to play when it comes to industrial policy
and working with startups. Without this public sector
involvement, startup clusters and ecosystems will be
harmed and the economies they belong to will lose
the benefits startups provide. Those governments
that unlock new demand generation for their startups
will facilitate not only startup ecosystems but also the
wider economic recovery.
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
The Meteoric Rise of Seoul’s
Startup Ecosystem
Seoul may be known as the home of corporate giants
like Samsung and Hyundai, but over the last several
years the Asian metropolis has been striving to add
dynamism to its economy by cultivating a vibrant, lo-
cal startup ecosystem. These efforts have resulted in
the city being ranked as one of the world’s top 20 eco-
systems this year.
With a highly educated population of nearly 10 million,
Seoul ranks third in the world for knowledge and pres-
ents startups with a wealth of talent to draw from. In
addition to a deep pool of skills and expertise, gov-
ernment bodies as well as local investors provide po-
tential founders excellent opportunities to secure the
funding necessary to grow their companies.
Seoul has made some of the more impressive invest-
ments in its startup ecosystem worldwide. The Seoul
Metropolitan Government (SMG) has committed to
spending $1.6 billion to develop its ecosystem over
the next three years along with the national govern-
ment and private investors, for instance. The $1.6 bil-
lion includes the $1 billion Seoul Future Innovation
Fund, which SMG contributes about 15% of the total
fund formed. General Partners forming funds are at-
tracting money from both the national government
and private investors. This activity is reflected in the
fact Seoul scored 9 out of 10 on our investor activity
index this year.
In addition to funding, Seoul has a thriving network
of organizations that provide startups with mentor-
ing, office space, and other support. The Seoul Start-
up Hub is the city’s biggest business incubator nurtur-
ing startup talent. The Korea Startup Forum, started
by Woowa Brothers founder Bongjin Kim, and the
Asan Nanum Foundation, created in honor of Hyun-
dai Group’s founder Asan Ju-yung Chung, acts as an
trade association to that works closely with the nation-
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al government for legislative reform. Seoul is famous
for its generous supply of public working spaces for
early-stage startups and SMG’s Techspace1000 proj-
ect provides an additional 1,000 early-stage startups
with office space.
South Korea is also the fifth highest investor in R&D
spending globally at around $73 billion. The govern-
ment’s Technology Incubation Program (TIPS) offers
R&D grants of $800,000 per startup to support R&D.
Local biotech startups in particular have reaped the
rewards of this investment and the sector is a partic-
ular strength of the Seoul ecosystem. The number of
new startups in the sector doubled between 2015 and
2018, while D&D Pharmatech raised a $137.1 million
round in 2019 to fight Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and
other diseases.
The availability of both support and capital is reflect-
ed in the rising number of unicorns growing out of
the Seoul ecosystem. As of today, ten Seoul-based
startups have billion dollar valuations, including Viva
Republica, the Fintech success story founded by SG
Lee, Bluehole, a fantasy game developer, and Woowa
Brothers, a food delivery app that was acquired by De-
livery Hero for $4 billion in late 2019.
Like other ecosystems, Seoul is facing a major challenge
to these gains with COVID-19, but the government has
taken strong steps to support startups during the cri-
sis. Its three-pronged response focuses on the labor
force, growth and funding. Policies include the alloca-
tion of $42 million to help startups retain up to 10,000
technical employees during the initial five months of
the crisis, $8.3 million to support the growth of prom-
ising startups working in biotech and on remote col-
laboration tools, and an additional $96 million in fund-
ing for other startups from early-stage to Series B and
beyond.
And while the pandemic has slowed investment activ-
ity globally, deals are continuing to get done in Seoul.
Market Kurly, a fast-growing grocery delivery startup
founded by Sophie Kim, just raised $164.3 million in
Series E funding from a group of global investors in
May, for instance.
“While conglomerates and multinational compa-
nies dominated the global economy in the past, the
post-corona era should be a ‘startup Renaissance.’ For
the last eight years, steady investment has upgraded
Seoul’s startup ecosystem to a global level, and it is
unfortunate that the pandemic hit just when the world
started to pay attention to Seoul’s startup ecosystem.
Undaunted by the pandemic, however, we will further
strengthen and expand support to turn this crisis into
an opportunity. No effort will be spared to cultivate
globally competitive unicorns while striving to ad-
vance Seoul into one of the top five startup cities in
the world,” commented Seoul mayor Wonsoon Park.
With the quick rise of its startup ecosystem from mod-
est player to top global performer, as well the city’s
resilience in the face of a global crisis, Seoul should
serve as an example to other cities looking to grow
their ecosystems with a robust, data-driven program
of investment and support for local startups.
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Understanding Your Startup Ecosystem Lifecycle
With the rapid growth of the global startup revolution,
more and more regional and national governments are
investing to try to accelerate the growth of their startup
ecosystem. Startup Genome has developed the science
of startup ecosystems and uses it to advise more than
40 governments to increase startup success.
How can policymakers prioritize to achieve maximum
impact on a startup ecosystem, the most complex type
of industry cluster? Over the years, extensive research
and data from our global surveys with almost 100,000
founders (to date) across more than 30 countries have
given us the data needed to comprehend this complex
system. The Ecosystem Lifecycle Model is an objective
model that helps governments measure where their
ecosystem is at, prioritize its gaps, and define focused
action plans that maximize impact rather than disperse
their limited resources. We call it focusing policy and
program resources on the right issues at the right time.
Lifecycle Phases
Startup ecosystems develop through four phases, each
with a different set of characteristics, challenges, and
objectives.
In general, Startup Experience (which includes scaleup
experience) increases and drive 1) the growth of the
ecosystem’s Startup Output (number of startups) and
2) its resources, and only after it achieves the larger
size characteristics of Globalization Phase ecosystems,
a predictable and increasing performance at creating
scaleups and economic impact.
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1. Activation Phase
a. Characteristics:
i. Limited Startup Experience (founder know-how,
experienced investors, advisors and mentors,
and community behaviors that support startup
success)
ii. Low Startup Output of around 1,000 or fewer
startups
iii. Challenges: lack of Startup Experience and re-
source leakages to later-stage ecosystems make
it difficult to grow
b. Objective: Focus on increasing the Startup Output
and Early-Stage Funding. Activate entrepreneur-
ial-minded people and grow a more connected
local community that helps each other. Pick one
or two startup subsectors (e.g. AgTech) that build
on local economic strengths and develop focused
programs to accelerate ecosystem growth and
develop pockets of success leading to sizable exits.
2. Globalization Phase
a. Characteristics:
i. Trigger to this Phase: increased Startup Experi-
ence led to the production of a series of region-
ally impressive “Triggers”, usually above $100
million (higher in leading nations)
ii. Output of 800 to 1,200 startups (depending on
population)
iii. Series of exits Trigger National (or Regional)
Resource Attraction (startups, entrepreneurs,
talent, investors) from earlier-Phase ecosys-
tems, but still leaks resources to top ecosystems
globally
b. Objective: Focus on increasing Global Connected-
ness with founders of top ecosystems, the Success
Factor that defines an ecosystem’s scaleup po-
tential, and supporting startups to increase their
early Global Market Reach, which realizes an eco-
system’s scaleup potential. Urgently address re-
maining Success Factors gaps.
Startup Experience
Size & ResourcesPerformanceRate of
Unicorns
Rate of
Exits
Rate of
Early-Stage
Success
Glo
ba
l A
mb
itio
n
& C
on
ne
cte
dn
ess
Resource AttractionEcosystem Lifecycle Model
Activation
Globalization
Attraction
Integration
GlobalNationalLeakagesImmigration Constraints
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3. Attraction Phase
a. Characteristics:
i. Usually more than 2,000 startups (depending
on population)
ii. Trigger to this Phase: a series of globally impres-
sive “Triggers”, usually unicorns and exits above
$1 billion (higher in leading nations)
iii. Billion-dollar Triggers produce Global Resource
Attraction
iv. Very few Success Factor gaps remain
b. Objective: use Global Resource Attraction to sig-
nificantly expand the size of the ecosystem and fill
remaining gaps, removing barriers to immigration
and directing attraction through well-designed
policies programs
4. Integration Phase
a. Characteristics:
i. More than 3,000 startups
ii. Global Resource Attraction produces a high and
self-sustainable degree of Global Connected-
ness and flow of knowledge into the ecosystem
that sustainably keep its startups integrated
in the global fabric of knowledge and able to
produce leading-edge business models and the
skills necessary to achieve high Global Market
Reach
b. Objective: Integrate the ecosystem within the
global, national, and local flows of resources and
knowledge inside and outside of the startup eco-
system, optimizing laws and policies to sustain
its competitiveness and growth, and spreading
its benefits (e.g. culture, source of competitive-
ness, capital, innovation) to other sectors of the
economy and parts of the nation.
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Ecosystem Lifecycle Trends
1. High-Growth Ecosystems
Asia-Pacific leads in the number of top growing eco-
systems across phases. Interestingly, most of the high
growth ecosystems are outside of the U.S.
PHASE
RANK
ECOSYSTEM
Activation
#1
Sharjah
Activation
#2
Nur-Sultan
Activation
#3
Cairo
Activation
#4
Ireland Mid East Region
Activation
#5
Bahrain
Globalization
#1
Shenzhen
Globalization
#2
Hangzhou
Globalization
#3
Sao Paulo
Globalization
#4
Toronto-Waterloo
Globalization
#5
Austin
Attraction
#1
Beijing
Attraction
#2
Shanghai
Attraction
#3
Tokyo
Attraction
#4
Berlin
Attraction
#5
Singapore
Activation Phase
Globalization Phase
Attraction Phase
Cairo
Sharjah
Sao Paulo
Shenzhen
Hangzhou
Tokyo
Berlin
Beijing
Shanghai
Toronto-Waterloo
Austin
Singapore
Ireland Mid-East Region
Bahrain
Nur-Sultan
*Based on growth in funding and exit
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2. Early-Stage Startup Funding Across Phases
Phase
CAGR
Activation
22%
Attraction
37%
Globalization
30%
Integration
20%
Total Early-Stage Funding
Globalization and Attraction phase ecosystems lead
growth in early-stage funding experiencing more than
25% annual growth from 2012-13 to 2017-18.
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Median Funding Round Size
• Median Seed Funding Round
• Median Series A Funding Round
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3. Startup Exits Across Phases
Globalization and Attraction phase ecosystems lead
Activation and Integration phase ecosystems in terms
of number of exits ($50 million+)
Number of Exits (>$50M)
Phase
CAGR
(2012-2013 to 2017-2018)
Activation
15%
Globalization
24%
Attraction
21%
Integration
9.1%
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Share of Large Exits ($100 million+)
Non-Integration phase ecosystems are catching up in
terms of share of large exits and reducing the gap.
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Ecosystem Deep Dives
by Lifecycle
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Activation Phase
70
Atlantic Canada, CA
72
Bahrain, BH
74
Belgrade and Novi Sad, RS
76
Busan, KR
78
Cairo, EG
80
Calgary, CA
82
Curitiba, BR
84
Edmonton, CA
86
Frankfurt, DE
88
Georgia, GE
90
Ireland Mid East Region, IG
92
Kampala, UG
94 Manila, PH
96
New Zealand, NZ
98
Nur-Sultan, KZ
100 Québec City, CA
102
Sharjah, AE
104
Sri Lanka, SR
106
Taipei City, TW
108
Telangana, IN
110 Western Denmark, DK
Ecosystem Deep Dives
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Activation Phase Ecosystems
Median Seed Funding Rounds
Ecosystem Growth
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Canada
Atlantic Canada
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Innovacorp
In my 20-year career in the biotechnology industry, I’ve
worked with a lot of companies and in many jurisdictions.
Something special is happening here. I’ve never seen so much
momentum, collaboration, talent, and innovation as I do today
in Atlantic Canada’s life sciences industry.
Kevin Sullivan
former CEO of Appili Therapeutics
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Life Sciences
Atlantic Canada’s life sciences ecosystem is thriving, from
Halifax’s $70 million Life Sciences Research Institute, an
integrated facility for research and entrepreneurship, to
Charlottetown’s $30 million BioCommons Research Park.
According to Financial Times’ fDi Benchmark, Halifax is
the third most cost-effective location for operating a life
sciences research center in North America. Landmark
deals recently returned over $750 million (CAD $1 billion)
in exits and attracted significant investments such as ABK
Biomedical’s $30 million Series B round in 2019.
Marine Tech
Atlantic Canada is home to Canada’s Ocean Supercluster,
featuring more than $300 million in R&D spending from
the private and public sectors. The Supercluster and six
regional organizations are collaborating to double the
number of ocean technology startups in the region.
Atlantic Canada boasts the Centre for Ocean Ventures and
Entrepreneurship, a world-class space for ocean-related
innovation, the Ocean Frontier Institute and the Marine
Institute’s Holyrood Marine Base.
Why you should invest in Atlantic Canada
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$51 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$401 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#2 North American Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
Top 10 North American Ecosystem
Bang for Buck
1
1
9
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Atlantic Canada
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$674 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.1 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$45 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Innovation Tax Credits
Individual and corporate investors can apply for the
innovation equity tax credit on investments of up
to $500,000, with credits ranging from 15% to 45%
for investments in ocean technology and life
sciences ventures.
Access to Funding
The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is the Canadian
government’s funding program that provides
support for large-scale technology development
and productivity-boosting projects in Canada,
having contributed $2 billion so far across 65
projects.
COVID-19 Policy
The Canadian Government announced $192 million
under the COVID-19 stream of its Strategic
Innovation Fund to deliver direct support to
Canadian life sciences companies to enable them
to prepare and drive solutions to treat and manage
COVID-19.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Innovacorp
Established in 1995 and based in Halifax,
Innovacorp is Nova Scotia's early stage
venture capital organization. Target
industries include information technology,
clean technology, life sciences, and ocean
technology.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
New Brunswick Innovation Foundation / Startup Zone
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Bahrain
Bahrain
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Tamkeen
Bahrain has within a short period of time established itself as
an innovative Fintech hub, building on its track record as a
financial centre, and adopting enabling regulations. Bahrain is
committed to nurturing new talent for this innovative sector.
Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi
CEO at Tamkeen
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
Thanks to its standards on crowdfunding and open
banking, Bahrain ranks first in the MENA region and
second globally in terms of Islamic finance regulation,
according to the Global Islamic Finance Report. Bahrain is
raising a new $100 million fund of funds that will invest in
private tech companies. The Bahraini government has
reduced capital startup requirements from $50,000 to
$100 for some businesses and introduced a regulatory
“sandbox” for Fintech. In 2018, Waqfe, a fintech solutions
provider, launched a digital banking platform, raising $2
million from investors. Presently, there are over 90 active
and diverse Fintech companies in Bahrain, which marks a
35% increase since 2018.
Why you should invest in Bahrain
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$164 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 AME Ecosystem
Funding
5
1
9
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Bahrain
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$70 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$34 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Wage Subsidy
Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) offers wage
subsidies to support the employment of Bahraini
graduate job seekers in the private sector. The
program also supports salaries of Bahraini private
sector employees by subsidizing a percentage of
the increment given by an enterprise to the
employees.
Liberal Tax Regime
Bahrain offers 0% corporate and personal tax,
making it the most liberal tax regime in the Gulf.
COVID-19 Policy
The Bahraini government’s $11.3 billion COVID-19
stimulus package included financial support to
insured private sector employees and a doubling of
the Liquidity Support Fund to $530 million. It also
allowed loan deferrals as well as utility and rent
exemptions and fee waivers.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Tamkeen
Tamkeen is a semi-autonomous
government agency in Bahrain. It was
founded in 2006 to provide assistance and
training to private-sector businesses and
individuals, and to promote development of
that sector.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Bahrain Fintech Bay / 500 Startups / Al Doseri Investments / Bahrain Development Bank / Bahrain Fashion Incubator / Brinc
/ C5 Capital & C5 Accelerate
/ Corporate Hub /
Economic Development Board / Environment Arabia
/ Flat6Labs Bahrain / Kickstart Bahrain / Level Z / Nest Accelerator / Osool / Rowad Program / Social Media Club / Startup MGZN /
StartupBahrain / Tenmou - The Bahrain Business Angels Company
/ UNIDO - Bahrain / Yo Startups
74
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Serbia
Belgrade and Novi Sad
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Digital Serbia Initiative / Cabinet of the Minister for Innovation and Technological Development
I believe that our experience in bootstrapping successful
startups will prove very useful after the pandemic. In addition,
our strong focus on gaming and our ability to create cost-
efficient solutions to global issues could further improve our
future prospects.
Branko Milutinović
Nordeus Co-Founder and Digital Serbia Initiative Board President
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Blockchain
Serbia is one of the top five countries in the world for
blockchain developers and has many product-oriented
blockchain startups. The biggest initial coin offerings
(ICOs) in Serbia include those by MobileGo ($56 million)
and OriginTrail ($22 million). Other local stars are Blinking,
a blockchain-based digital ID solution that gives users
control over their data, MVP Workshop named the 2018 EY
Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year, and Tenderly, a smart
contract monitoring platform.
Gaming
The region’s gaming industry is expanding. Nordeus is a
Belgrade-based self-funded mobile games company
whose popular game Top Eleven has over 220 million
registered users. The gaming scene’s growth is also
visible through relevant acquisitions: 3Lateral, a leading
developer of digital animation and creative content, was
acquired by Epic Games in 2019, while the Novi Sad-
based gaming studio Eipix was acquired by Playrix, one of
the largest mobile game developers in the world.
Why you should invest in Belgrade and Novi Sad
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$502 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 European Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
1
5
75
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Belgrade and Novi Sad
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$100 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$3.3 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$17 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Tax Incentives for Startups
Founders of qualified startups or employees may
be partially or wholly exempt from salary tax and
disability insurance contributions for the
company’s first three years. Tech startups may
apply for a double deduction of R&D expenses and
the IP Box (effective 3%) tax regime.
Talented Workforce
Startups can access affordable, high-quality
engineering talent, which ranks among the top five
in the world.
COVID-19 Policy
In April 2020, the government's COVID-19 aid
package introduced a three-month salary subsidy
at the statutory net minimum wage for SMEs and
50% of that amount for employees on paid leave
in large companies. The package includes a three-
month deferral of an employee’s salary taxes and
social contributions, as well as state guaranteed
bank loans.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Digital Serbia Initiative
Digital Serbia Initiative is a non-
governmental, non-profit organisation
advocating transformation of Serbia into a
digital society. In a digital Serbia each
individual will be able to realise their full
potential and present their talent and
innovative skills on the global market.
MEMBER
Cabinet of the Minister for Innovation
and Technological Development
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Business Technology Incubator (BITF) / Business Incubator Novi Sad / ICT Hub / Innovation Fund Serbia / SC Ventures
/ Science Technology Park Belgrade / Serbian Blockchain Initiative /
Serbian Games Association
/ Startit
/ The Office of the Minister without Portfolio Responsible for Innovation and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia
/ UNICEF Innovation Fund /
Vojvodina ICT Cluster
76
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South Korea
Busan
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation / Busan Metropolitan City
Busan aims to become an innovative startup city global talent
and investors flock to. We are also pursuing qualitative growth
by expanding startup infrastructure, programs and funds. As an
open city and home to global talent, Busan welcomes startups
and future entrepreneurs.
Sung-hoon Park
Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Smart Cities
Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Center for
Creative Economy and Innovation are operating the Busan
Smart City Living Lab, which attracts global smart city
startups. By 2024, the city will also see a cluster for five
innovation projects which will be located in the Busan Eco
Delta City spread over 2.8 square kilometers. This will
create a model of an innovative industrial ecosystem that
can implement creative business models related to big
data, IoT, AI and robots.
Marine Tech
Broader Busan is home to 90% of South Korea’s
shipbuilding companies, including Hyundai Heavy
Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and STX. STEM
Village, a proposed marine science and technology
industry innovation center, will house an incubation
center, marine equipment, a sensor inspection and
calibration center, a STEM fusion research center and
marine tech startups. Just over half of the country’s
marine companies are based in Busan.
Why you should invest in Busan
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
<$100 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 APAC Ecosystem
Knowledge
1
1
9
77
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Busan
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$271 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.1 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$39 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Tax Incentives
High-tech companies with foreign investors
receive a 100% exemption from corporate income
tax for 5 years. Tax credits are available for some
startup investments and merger or acquisition of
innovative SMEs.
Strong Infrastructure
Busan is home to 61 startup incubators, 12 venture
capital firms, 13 accelerators, 12 angel groups, 27
funds worth ~$465 million, Busan Startup Week
and the Startup Conference BOUNCE.
COVID-19 Policy
South Korea introduced a $9.8 billion stimulus
package in order to cushion the impact of COVID-
19, including subsidies to help affected SMEs pay
employees. Busan City is providing a total of $150
million in public welfare subsidies to small business
owners suffering from the COVID-19 crisis in the
region. Also, the Busan Credit Guarantee
Foundation allocated special funds to support small
business owners.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Busan Center for Creative Economy
and Innovation
It is a space of communication and
exchanges for Busan’s creative economy. It
functions as an ‘agit’ for aspiring
entrepreneurs who dream of staring a

business and a ‘stepping stone’ to make
imagination into reality.
MEMBER
Busan Metropolitan City
Busan, a bustling city of approximately 3.5

million residents, is located on the
southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula.
The size of Busan is 770.07km² which is
only 0.8% of the whole landmass of the
Korean Peninsula. The natural environment
of Busan is a harmonious relationship of
mountains, rivers, and sea.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Busan Office) / Busan Economic Promotion Agency
/ Busan Techno Park / Design Council Busan / Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency
/
Busan Institute for Talent & Lifelong Education / Busan Business Incubation Centers / Busan United Holdings
78
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Egypt
Cairo
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Information Technology Industry Development Agency
On the road to building ‘Digital Egypt’, we invest in local talent
to spearhead our startup ecosystem to drive impact innovation,
create value and compete globally.
H.E. Dr. Amr Talaat
Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Egypt
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
According to Magnitt, Cairo attracted the largest number
of investment deals in MENA in 2019, with Fintech the top
sector. Egypt hash 95 million mobile users, the highest
penetration in EMEA, 14 million e-wallets, a young
population, and several government initiatives aimed at
financial inclusion. In 2019, Fawry, a local e-payment
provider, filed for an IPO after processing 1 billion
transactions worth $3 billion. Cairo has several fintech
accelerators and funds, including the Central Bank of
Egypt’s $58 million fund and Disruptech’s $25 million
fund.
Transport
Cairo saw the highest growth in transport startup
investments in 2019 across MENA. In 2019, Cairo’s first on-
demand bus service, SWVL, raised $42 million in Series C
funding to expand to Africa and Asia. Following SWVL’s
success, Uber and Careem have chosen Cairo to launch
their first bus service. Demand for transport, logistics and
supply chain optimization services fueled investments in
startups like Halan ($20 million), Maxab ($6.2 million) and
Trella.
Why you should invest in Cairo
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$72 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$1.2 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
Top 10 AME Ecosystem
Funding
5
5
9
79
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Cairo
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$100 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$0.87 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$6 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Large Customer Market
With a young population of 20 million tech-savvy
consumers, Cairo provides a perfect test bed for
innovation and an attractive market for scalability,
such as expansions of Amazon’s Souq and Uber’s
Careem.
Abundant Resources
Entrepreneurs can draw talent from over 150
universities and institutes producing 500,000
annual graduates, access a network of over 40
incubators/accelerators and 80 co-working spaces,
and tap ITIDA’s support to exhibit at international
events.
COVID-19 Policy
Egypt is supporting businesses through tax
exemptions, additional social spending and
business support policies such as tax and loan
payment deferrals. In the tech sector, ITIDA
expedited its export rebate payouts. Its center,
TIEC, organized the largest local hackathon in
partnership with MNCs. Local VCs/angels
announced multi-million dollar support funds.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Information Technology Industry
Development Agency
Since its establishment, ITIDA’s core
ideology was: “Spearheading the
development of Egypt`s ICT industry to
increase its global competitiveness, which
will make it a key contributor to the
country economic growth”.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
500 Startups / A15 / AUC Venture Lab / Algebra Ventures
/ EdVentures / Endure / FEPS Business Incubator / Falak Startups / Flat6 Labs Cairo / HIM angel / Ideavelopers / Innoventures /
Kamelezer / Sawari Ventures
/ Seedstars / Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) / The Cairo Angels
80
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Canada
Calgary
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Calgary Technologies (Platform Calgary) / Calgary Economic Development
Calgary has an abundance of entrepreneurial ingenuity, talent,
and community connectedness to harness innovation and
transform our industrial capacity as we become a leader in the
New Economy.
Alice Reimer
Ecosystem Leader | Co-Founder, The 51 | CEO, Fillip | Site Lead, Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Cleantech
Calgary, the corporate headquarters of Canada’s energy
sector, is home to 118 of the nation’s largest companies,
many acting as first customers to startups and partners in
technology development. The Clean Resource Innovation
Network secured $100 million in government funding to
leverage private investment. The Creative Destruction Lab
(CDL) accelerator has a dedicated stream for energy
startups. The 16 recent CDL graduates raised $23 million
in seed funding. Foresight and Platform recently launched
a new cleantech venture accelerator in Calgary.
Life Sciences
Calgary is home to more than 110 Life Sciences
companies, with leading facilities and health services,
including the international microbiome lab, UCalgary’s
Life Sciences Innovation Hub for research and
commercialization, and soon the largest cancer hospital in
Canada. In 2019, Calgary-based Parvus Therapeutics
signed a $1 billion deal to develop and commercialize
revolutionary new drugs for autoimmune disease.
Why you should invest in Calgary
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$104 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$1.2 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 North American Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
Top 20 North American Ecosystem
Bang for Buck
1
3
8
81
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Calgary
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$600 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$58 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Livable and Tech-Savvy
In 2019, Calgary was named the most livable city in
North America and the 5th most livable in the
world by EIU. Calgary is investing in digital
transformation via a $30 million school for
advanced technology at SAIT. Calgary is the ideal
place for ambitious startups embracing open
immigration with a special Startup Visa Stream that
offers fast-track processing.
COVID-19 Policy
All three levels of government are supporting
Calgary Startups and SMEs via payroll support,
property tax deferrals, and commercial lease
payment relief. Federal funding of $250 million was
directed to tech companies via the Innovation
Assistance Program, and additional credit or cash
flow financing options. A direct government
procurement platform allows SMEs to pivot
operations to COVID response.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Calgary Technologies (Platform
Calgary)
We’re building shared prosperity by
working to engage, activate and globalize
Calgary’s innovation ecosystem - building
upon our city’s potential to become a
global hub for startups and innovation.
MEMBER
Calgary Economic Development
Calgary Economic Development works with
business, government and community
partners to position Calgary as the location
of choice for the purpose of attracting
business investment, fostering trade and
growing Calgary’s workforce.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
A100 / Alberta Enterprise Corporation / Alberta Innovation Corridor / Bow Valley College
/ Calgary Innovation Coalition / Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies / Innovate Calgary /
Mount Royal University, Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship / National Angel Capital Organization
/ Rainforest Alberta
/ Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
/ Startup Calgary /
University of Calgary, Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking
/ Venture Capital Association of Alberta
82
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Brazil
Curitiba
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
SEBRAE
Pinhão Valley has put Curitiba among the 6 smartest cities in
the world and included it in the Smart21, the index of most
intelligent communities. Innovation moves us forward.
Rafael Greca
Mayor of Curitiba
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
Curitiba is home to Brazil’s youngest unicorn, EBANX, a
Fintech startup providing a platform for end-to-end
localized payments. Launched in 2012, EBANX has
facilitated almost $2 billion in payments and has enabled
international companies like AirBnb and AliExpress to
process payments and expand operations in Latin America.
Another success story is Contabilizei, an accounting and
tax filing software startup that raised a $20 million a
Series C round in 2019. Other Fintechs in the city
attracting investor interest include payment management
solutions provider Juno and cryptocurrency exchange
platform Wuzu.
Cleantech
Curitiba’s annual SmartCity Expo attracts more than 6,500
people to debate the future of cities in light of
technological change and sustainability. The portfolio of
Founder Institute (the world’s largest pre-seed
accelerator) includes Fohat, a Brazilian energy intelligence
software provider founded in Curitiba in 2017. The
company received grant funding of $1.4 million in 2018,
and its solutions are being used by international
companies such as Bosch and Volvo.
Why you should invest in Curitiba
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$141 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$2.2 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#2 Latin American Ecosystem
Performance
5
1
5
83
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Curitiba
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$250 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$0.8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$17 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Government Initiatives
In 2017, the government of Curitiba launched Vale
do Pinhão, a program intended to drive business
growth and employment in the region. A $2.8
million innovation fund under this program
financially supports local startups and enables
them to scale via research and development.
Breadth of Startups
Startups in Curitiba span a broad range of sub-
sectors, including Edtech, Life Sciences, Adtech,
Fintech, and Cleantech.
COVID-19 Policy
Brazil announced an Emergency Employment and
Income Maintenance Program to preserve jobs in
the country. Under the program, the government
pays an emergency benefit for the duration of the
proportional reduction in the working day with the
use of unemployment insurance.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
SEBRAE
Sebrae means “Brazilian Support Service
for Micro and Small Enterprises”, that is, it
aims to foster entrepreneurship in Brazil by
assisting small companies and individual
Micro entrepreneurs.
MEMBER
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Canada
Edmonton
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Innovate Edmonton, a division of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation
The conversion from potential to prosperity entails a bold
commitment to an economy that nurtures and supports our
strengths noted in this report. Through collaboration and shared
aspiration, it is our job to showcase what we can create using
our local, organic and differentiating assets.
Cheryll Watson
Edmonton Innovation Leader, Former Vice President Innovate Edmonton
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute is one of three
institutes granted a combined $125 million as part of a
Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. Drivewyze, a leader in
connected truck services, which operates in North
America’s largest weigh station bypass service, raised
$15.9 million in a venture funding round in 2018. Social
Asset Management (SAM), which analyzes open and
connected data sources to spot early signals of emerging
risks and potentially threatening situations, raised ~$2.5
million in 2020. Innovate and Startup Edmonton work with
some of the city's most promising AI companies: in 2019
client members raised $72 million.
Life Sciences
Edmonton has a long history of leading in life sciences
research and innovation, including creation of the
Edmonton Protocol, a treatment for Type 1 diabetes
developed at the University of Alberta. Building on
successes like this, TEC Edmonton, Health City, The
Institute for Health Economics, and the DynaLIFE, Merck
Invention, and University of Alberta Health Accelerators all
work with researchers and entrepreneurs to identify
clinical needs and commercialize solutions. Examples of
recent deals include Canadian Metabolomic Technologies
($4.2 million Series A), Pacylex ($3.9 million angel
investment), and Tevosol ($1.5 million seed financing).
Why you should invest in Edmonton
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$191 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 North American Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
1
7
85
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Edmonton
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$300 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.3 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$56 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Affordability and Access to
Talent
Edmonton boasts an exceptionally affordable
quality of life. Five post-secondary institutions
make it a talent and academic powerhouse turning
out thousands of talented graduates each year.
Favorable Tax Environment
Local companies benefit from the absence of a
provincial retail sales tax. Research-intensive
startups can claim a 40% tax credit on R&D
expenses.
COVID-19 Policy
The government of Canada declared an emergency
wage subsidy to cover 75% of salaries for
qualifying businesses, for up to 3 months,
retroactive to March 15, 2020. Employers of all
sizes and across all sectors of the economy who
see a drop of at least 15% in their revenue in
March 2020 and 30% in the following months are
eligible.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Innovate Edmonton, a division of
Edmonton Economic Development
Corporation
The Innovate Edmonton division
contributes to Edmonton’s economic
growth and diversification through the
creation of new tech-enabled businesses,
by helping high potential businesses scale
up, and by inspiring action to fuel growth in
our city’s innovation and technology
business community.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Edmonton Research Park / TEC Edmonton / Startup Edmonton / Innovate Edmonton / University of Alberta Health Accelerator
/ Startup TNT
/ Valhalla Private Capital / Advanced Technology Centre
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Germany
Frankfurt
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
TechQuartier
Startups contribute considerably to the future wealth and well-
being of our societies. By developing a powerful and - at the
same time - sustainable startup ecosystem in the
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main-region, we feel well prepared for their
demands and future challenges.
Dr. Philipp Nimmermann
State Secretary, Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Housing - State of Hessen
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Cybersecurity
More than 450 researchers in Darmstadt, a city near
Frankfurt, are focused on cybersecurity and their
activities are aggregated within the Center for Research in
Security and Privacy. Embold, a startup minimizing code
errors and task prioritization, raised $2.7 million in a
Series A round in 2018.
Fintech
As the home of the European Central Bank (ECB),
Frankfurt is the financial capital of the Eurozone. It has
both Fintech talent and corporate demand for innovation.
Many German and international banks in the city have
Fintech programs, including Deutsche Bank’s Digitalfabrik
and Helaba Digital. Over 50% of local VC investment went
into Fintech startups between 2012 and 2017 and the
largest German Fintech exit of all time took place in
Frankfurt when Forex trading company 360T was acquired
by Deutsche Börse for $800 million in 2015.
Why you should invest in Frankfurt
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$120 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$1.4 b
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 European Ecosystem
Knowledge
Top 30 European Ecosystem
Funding
5
8
5
87
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Frankfurt
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$660 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$59 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Abundant Resources
There are over 3,500+ angel investors in Frankfurt.
Startups in Frankfurt enjoy a supportive
environment that includes 32 incubators, 28
coworking spaces, and 10 accelerators.
Access to Talent
Frankfurt boasts talent from top universities like
Technische Universität Darmstadt and Goethe
University.
COVID-19 Policy
The German Government will provide 100%
guarantee to all loans up to a maximum amount of
$540,000 for small businesses with fewer than 50
employees and $868,000 for larger ones.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
TechQuartier
Located in the heart of Frankfurt,
TechQuartier provides access to a valuable
network of startups, corporates, investors,
talents and mentors. TQ not only offers an
inspiring place to work and collaborate, but
also represents a large community of
forward-thinking professionals eager to
connect and learn.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Frankfurt Economic Development
/ Goethe University Frankfurt
/ Hessen Trade & Invest (HTAI) / Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing / HIGHEST TU Darmstadt
/ ING-DiBa /
Station FRM / WIBank
88
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Georgia
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Georgia Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA)
Among all the opportunities that arise from the 4th Industrial
Revolution, is access to knowledge. Intellectual resource
capitalization is the future of Georgia. The revolution happens
in an independent country inside a comprehensive ecosystem. I
am proud to look at the results of the young startup ecosystem
of Georgia!
Ms Natia Turnava
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
“
Ecosystem Strengths
Access to Funding
Startups in Georgia benefit from a robust grants program
offered by Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency
(GITA). Over 70 startups have received a total of ~$2.1
million in funding through the Startup Matching Grant
program, while ~10 startups have raised a similar
combined funding through the Innovation Matching Grant
program. These startups span sub-sectors such as AI,
Gaming, Fintech, and Life Sciences among others. One of
the strongest startups in AI is Pulsar, which has received
$1.2 million in investments from Silicon Valley venture
funds and other private investors. Additionally, Georgia is
home to Optio.ai, a finance chatbot applying AI and data
analytics. It is a beneficiary of one of the biggest grants
and in 2019 received a further$32,000 grant from GITA
and the World Bank, 2 years after raising a $30,000 seed
round.
Innovation Infrastructure
Georgian startups are also supported by a diverse
innovation infrastructure, including technological parks,
innovative centers and laboratories, university incubators
and platforms. 500 Startups launched in Georgia in
partnership with GITA and the Bank of Georgia to
accelerate local talent and help companies scale faster. A
series of bootcamps have been launched for high school
students to learn about technology and entrepreneurship.
Why you should invest in Georgia
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
Top 30 European Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
1
1
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
<$100 m

GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
89
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Reasons to move your startup to
Georgia
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$37 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.1 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$15 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Ease of Doing Business
Georgia ranks 1st in Europe and Central Asia in the
World Bank's ease of doing business 2019 report
and allows businesses to open in 1 day. The
country has no restrictions regarding foreign
ownership of companies.
ICT Training Program to
Strengthen the Labor Market
GITA is supporting ICT development within the
ecosystem, including capacity building of 3,000 ICT
professionals over the next 3 years.
COVID-19 Policy
GITA announced a Small Grants Program for
entrepreneurs to tackle problems caused by
COVID-19. The program allows entrepreneurs to
create and/or test a prototype of a solution
addressing social, health, e-education, e-
commerce, e-service or other challenges caused
by the spread of the virus. GITA also ran
hackathons to promote medtech, agtech,
monitoring and edtech solutions.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Georgia Innovation and Technology
Agency (GITA)
Georgia's Innovation and Technology
Agency’s mission is a formation of an
ecosystem which improves all kinds of
innovations and technologies in our
country, to promote a commercialization of
knowledge and innovations, to stimulate
using them in all fields of economy, to
create an environment for the growth of
innovations and high-tech products and
developing high-speed internet
nationwide.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Startup factory by Georgian University / NASTA- National Startup Association of Georgia
/ Spark / Startup Grind Tbilisi / Impact Hub: Coworking space / Ilia State University Pre-Accelerator
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Ireland
Mid-East Region
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Meath Enterprise
The current COVID-19 crisis has brought into sharp focus the
importance of innovation and sustainable food production. As
we recover and begin to tackle climate change, the Mideast has
the companies, infrastructure, and brainpower to capitalize on
emerging opportunities.
Michael Brougham PhD
Regional Director at Enterprise Ireland
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Agtech & New Food
Ireland’s food industry is projected to be worth $21.6
billion by 2025 and currently represents 12.3% of the
country’s total export revenue. The Boyne Valley Food
Innovation District (BVFID), centered in the Mid-East
Region, acts as a base for some of Ireland’s leading
indigenous and high-growth food businesses including
Kerry Foods, Dawn Farms, Epicom, and Devenish Nutrition.
Devenish is developing its new Global Innovation Centre in
the Boyne Valley and has secured $130 million in R&D
funding. The landmark deal included a pioneering
investment of $44 million from the European Investment
Bank (EIB), the largest ever support for agri-businesses in
Ireland by the EIB. The BVFID also facilitates foreign direct
investments into the region and helps indigenous food and
smart agri-startups and SMEs to scale globally.
Why you should invest in Mid-East Region
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$224 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
Top 10 Activation Phase Ecosystem
Performance
5
1
8
$10.5 bn
91
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Mid-East Region
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$459 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.1 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$52 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
R&D Tax Credits
Research-intensive startups can take advantage of
a 25% tax credit for qualifying R&D costs.
Attractive Tax Rates
At 12.5%, Ireland’s corporate tax rate is one of the
lowest in Europe.
Low Cost
Cost savings continue with $52,281 as the average
salary of a software engineer in Ireland—lower
than in its Western Europe counterparts.
COVID-19 Policy
Ireland has declared a $226 million SBCI COVID-19
working capital scheme for eligible businesses
suffering liquidity issues. Under this program, the
state will provide loans from ~$28,000 up to ~$1.7
million with a maximum interest rate of 4%. For
loans of up to ~$566,000, no collateral is required.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Meath Enterprise
Meath Enterprise is a commercially
focused local government (Not-For-Profit)
enterprise development company with a
remit / mission to drive local, regional and
national enterprise development through
the provision of business incubation and
support services, collaboration, clustering
and creative thinking.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
EO Accelerator Ireland
/ Meath Enterprise Centre / Boyne Valley Food Hub / Arklow Enterprise Centre / Athy Enterprise Centre / Clane Project Centre / Kells Tech Hub / Maynooth Works
/
Wicklow Enterprise Centre / Kells Enterprise & Technology Centre / PFS Accelerator / Meath County Council
/ Wicklow Local Enterprise Office / Meath County Chamber /
Louth-Meath Education & Training Board / Maynooth University / Kildare Chamber of Commerce / Kildare County Council
/ Kildare Local Enterprise Office / Kildare-Wicklow Education & Training Board /
Wicklow Chamber of Commerce / Wicklow County Council
/ Meath Local Enterprise Office / Enterprise Ireland / Mid-East Regional Skills Forum / Mid-East Action Plan for Jobs Committee
/
Industrial Development Authority - IDA / Media Ireland
92
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Uganda
Kampala
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
International Trade Centre, United Nations Project Netherlands Trust Fund IV
The Government of Uganda has put in place a conducive
environment, allowing for the establishment of innovation hubs
designed to facilitate the creation of an ICT innovation
ecosystem and a marketplace for Ugandan digital products. We
believe that our youth will be able to deploy sustainable
solutions, creating employment for Ugandans.
Vincent Waiswa Bagiire
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of ICT and National Guidance
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
From 2016 to 2018 Uganda’s Fintech industry had an
average annual growth rate of 35%, with almost half of
the nation’s approximately 80 Fintech startups operating
in the payments sector. DusuPay, a leading B2B payment
gateway operating in 115 countries, integrates with mobile
payment platforms in many African countries to promote
intra-African trade. Xante and Eversend are other
examples of successful Fintechs that have raised pre-seed
funding rounds ($100,000 in 2018 and $120,000 in 2019,
respectively).
Why you should invest in Kampala
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
<$100 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 AME Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
1
2
93
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Kampala
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$100 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.1 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$10 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Market
As the population skews toward tech-savvy
Millennials with rising incomes, there's a large pool
of unmet needs, particularly in financial services.
Active Tech Hubs
Uganda's leading tech hubs are organised under
Startup Uganda. The country has over 16 tech
incubation hubs, including The Innovation Village,
Outbox Hub, Hive Colab, Design Hub, Makerere
Innovation and Incubation, The Tribe, among
others.
Government Initiatives
The government has funded around 4,450 projects
through a youth venture capital fund that supports
young individuals and groups.
COVID-19 Policy
Uganda’s Revenue Authority granted a 2-month
extension on corporate tax filing deadlines until
May 1, 2020 for taxpayers with accounting periods
ending in September. Uganda's pension fund, the
National Social Security Fund (NSSF), has granted
an amnesty to businesses, allowing them to defer
payment of benefits to a later time.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
International Trade Centre, United
Nations Project Netherlands Trust
Fund IV
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the
only development agency that is fully
dedicated to supporting the
internationalization of small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs).
MEMBER
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Philippines
Manila
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Department of Trade and Industry
Amidst the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Philippine startup ecosystem is vibrant and thriving. This year,
more than ever, we are leveraging our strength in Fintech to
promote the increased use of digital payments and e-
commerce as we move forward and adapt to a new normal.
Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba
Competitiveness and Innovation Group, Department of Trade and Industry
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
Fintech companies make up 15% of Manila’s startups. The
transaction value of the Fintech market in the Philippines
reached approximately $10 billion in 2019 and is expected
to grow by 24% in 2020, taking into account the expected
impact of COVID-19. Notable Philippine Fintech startups
include Coins.ph, a digital wallet and digital currency
exchange, which was acquired for $72 million, and First
Circle, an online financing platform for SMEs, which
raised $26 million in a Series A round in 2018. In 2019,
Paymongo, a modern payment infrastructure, raised $2.7
million in seed funding.
E-commerce
The Philippine E-commerce market is growing at a CAGR
of 26.4%, one of the fastest growth rates in Southeast
Asia. The government has developed the Philippines E-
commerce Roadmap 2022 with an aim to improve the
overall infrastructure landscape of logistics and e-
payments among other initiatives to help boost online
business activities. Startup success stories include
GoodWork, a service provider hiring platform that closed
a $1.6 million seed round in 2020, and online automotive
marketplace, AutoDeal, which was acquired for $16.7
million in 2019.
Why you should invest in Manila
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$102 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$1.6 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Bang for Buck
Top 30 Global Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
1
2
95
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Manila
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$360 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.3 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$8 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Experienced Tech Talent and
Young Workforce
The country’s well-established outsourcing
industry, built around talent from Philippine
universities and strong English-language skills,
gives founders an experienced pool of employees
to draw from.
Startup Support
The Philippine Innovation Act and the Innovative
Startup Act provide funding and other forms of
support for startup, micro, small and medium
enterprises, as well as removing barriers to doing
business.
COVID-19 Policy
The government announced a “Small Business
Wage Subsidy Program” to help businesses retain
their employees during the quarantine period by
providing wage subsidies of up to $160 per eligible
employee for 2 months. A $20 million Enterprise
Rehabilitation Financing facility has been
established to provide loans to qualified micro and
small businesses. Other forms of support include
subsidies for startup incubation and acceleration.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Department of Trade and Industry
The Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) is responsible for realizing the
country's goal of developing globally
competitive and innovative industry and
services sectors that contribute to
inclusive growth and employment
generation in the Philippines.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Department of Science and Technology
/ Department of Information and Communications Technology
/ Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines
/ Small Business Corporation /
National Development Company / Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. / QBO Innovation Hub / AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator / IdeaSpace Foundation / StartUp Village / Launchgarage /
Brainsparks / Philippine Fintech Association
/ Fintech Alliance of the Philippines
96
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New Zealand
New Zealand
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
New Zealand startups are increasingly targeting overseas
markets and nailing unique, but significant, global niches.
Critical focus points for our ecosystem are building more active
and diverse partnerships and boosting deep tech
commercialisation.
Vic Crone
Chief Executive at Callaghan Innovation
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Agtech & New Food
New Zealand is home to over 90 Agtech startups.
BioLumic, which uses applied agricultural science to
increase crop yields with UV devices, raised ~$15 million
over 6 rounds. Auckland’s Revolution Fibres raised ~$3
million in 2020 (Series A). New Zealand has been selected
as the first partner state for Farm 2050, an international
consortium of large agricultural and tech companies.
Life Sciences
The health tech sector in New Zealand has been growing
rapidly with revenues of $1.9 billion and sustained revenue
growth with a 5-year CAGR of 9.1%. The sector is
increasingly delivering effective solutions to big health
problems, including through deep-tech startups such as
HeartLab, a deep learning based solution for
echocardiography. Biomatters, a leading provider of DNA
data analysis solutions worldwide, was acquired in 2019 by
US company GraphPad. As a life science Technology
Incubator, Brandon Capital will curate and seed promising
life sciences research discoveries.
Why you should invest in New Zealand
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$192 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$1.5 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 APAC Ecosystem
Funding
Top 30 Emerging Ecosystem
Talent
5
5
3
97
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
New Zealand
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$535 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$49 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
A Collaborative Startup
Ecosystem
New Zealand has the highest per capita ratio of
angel investors in the world, 1,000 angels in a
nation of 5 million. The Scale Up NZ platform
allows businesses to form connections with
investors, incubators, regional advisors,
multinationals and other collaborators.
Funding Support
A refundable 15% R&D tax credit offers support to
pre-profit startups. The government of New
Zealand has launched a $300 million matching fund
for investment in early-stage startups. This fund
will be managed by NZ Growth Capital Partners.
New Zealand’s Tech Incubator program offers
support for deep tech startups.
COVID-19 Policy
New Zealand announced a comprehensive crisis
response support package, which included a wage
subsidy scheme to support businesses, including
pre-revenue companies, and approximately ~$4.1
billion Business Finance Guarantee Scheme and
insolvency support. The package also contained a
~$99 million loan scheme to support R&D firms.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment
'Grow' relates to economic performance.
To achieve the standard of living and
quality of life for today and for future
generations we need a well-performing
economy through productive and
sustainable use of resources across New
Zealand.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Angel HQ / Angel Association New Zealand
/ BizDojo / Blackbird Ventures
/ Brandon Capital Partners / Bridgewest Ventures
/ Callaghan Innovation / Creative HQ / COIN South /
Flux Accelerator / Lightning Lab / Enterprise Angels
/ Equitise / Flying Kiwi Angels
/ GD1 / Global Entrepreneurship Network / Icehouse Ventures
/ KiwiNet
/ Kōkiri / Ministry of Awesome /
Movac
/ New Zealand Trade and Enterprise / New Zealand Growth Capital Fund / Northland Inc
/ SODA Inc
/ Sprout
/ Startup Dunedin / St tupWeekend / Startup Quens own Lakes /
The Factory / ThincLab / TIN Network / WNT Ventures
/ ZeroPoint Ventures
98
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Kazakhstan
Nur-Sultan
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
JSC “Zerde” National infocommunication holding
With the emergence of GovTech in the world, Kazakhstan’s
high ranking in this field allows our startups and IT-companies
to leverage their expertise for expansion into Asian, African and
subsequently global markets.
Pavel Koktyshev
Deputy Chairman of JSC “Zerde” National Infocummunication holding
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
In 2018, the Astana International Financial Center
introduced the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox and visa-free
entry for citizens of 57 countries, including all OECD
countries. Invest Online, launched by the National Bank of
Kazakhstan, is a blockchain-based mobile securities
trading application that allows people to buy discount
bank notes. Senim, a smart wallet provider, raised
$120,000 in a Series A round in 2018.
Govtech
Kazakhstan’s E-Gov is ranked 39th in the world and is
among the top 10 in Asia according to the UN's E-
Government Survey 2018. More than 80% of public
services are available for more than 10.7 million users
annually, saving more than $21.5 million. In 2020, the
country’s E-Gov Portal initiated Smart Bridge, a platform-
simplifying integration process between state information
systems and the private sector. In 2019 Korkem Telecom
deployed nationwide solutions in IoT, ITS and AMR.
Korkem’s solution SERGEK in Nur-Sultan reduced lethal
traffic accidents by half.
Why you should invest in Nur-Sultan
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
<$100 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 30 APAC Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
1
10
99
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Nur-Sultan
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$300 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$120 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$16 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Ease of Doing Business
Kazakhstan has improved business regulations over
the past two years, and is ranked among the top
25 economies in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing
Business report.
Support to Startups
Nur-Sultan offers tax preferences, grant financing,
and a unique visa regime that allows foreign
partners to get a work visa for up to 5 years.
COVID-19 Policy
Monthly payments for those who are unemployed
as a result of COVID-19 are being processed
through the E-Gov Portal. Both the accrual and
payment of taxes and payroll social payments have
been canceled for 6 months for SMEs in the IT
industry and other affected sectors. Other
measures include deferred payments on loans,
reducing and unifying the loan rates, and an
increase in the volume of state guarantees.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
JSC “Zerde” National
infocommunication holding
Zerde National Infocommunication Holding
is the largest Kazakhstani state company,
created for the development of modern
infocommunication technologies. Holding
was established in July 2008 in accordance
with Governmental resolution of the
Republic of Kazakhstan.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
AIFC / Arkley VC / Astana Business Campus / Astana Hub - International Technopark of IT-startups / Astana IT University / Astana Medical University / Bridge Group / I2BF Global Ventures
/
MOST Business Incubator / Mua Incubator / Nazarbayev University / QazTechVentures / Verny Capital
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Canada
Québec City
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Québec International
The arrival of new international entrepreneurs and startups has
promoted dynamism and innovation in Québec City’s
economy. The Groupe des incubateurs-accélérateurs de
Québec, created in 2019, is helping to maximize the strengths
of all stakeholders in order to accelerate the growth of local
businesses.
ALAIN CHANDONNET
PH.D., President and CEO, INO
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
COVEO, an AI-powered search unicorn, announced a $227
million Series F round in 2019. The national government’s
$950 million Innovation Superclusters initiative supports
the SCALE.AI project, an important source of economic
growth and collective wealth for Canada, and for the
province of Québec and the Québec City region. The
SCALE.AI project is supported by OPTEL GROUP, COVEO
and Université Laval, as well as Bentley and other key
players from the business and innovation world of Québec
City.
Life Sciences
Québec City has expertise in biopharmaceuticals
(vaccines), medical technologies and cosmeceuticals. As a
recognized skills hub, it is home to 84 R&D centers, chairs
and research labs as well as various internationally
acclaimed researchers. The city has successfully
transformed research and innovation into powerful
growth drivers (CRI, CERVO). In 2018, Medicago began
construction on a new $245 million vaccine production
facility. Companies in Quebec City are working on the
development of a vaccine, developing diagnostic tests,
and working on solutions in response to the COVID crisis.
Why you should invest in Québec City
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$358 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 5 North American Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
Top 10 North American Ecosystem
Bang for Buck
1
1
8
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Reasons to move your startup to
Québec City
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$725 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.7 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$52 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Expertise + Innovation +
Funding Support
Quebec City is home to 68,000 workers with a
graduate degree in ICT and electronics, and is one
of the 5 cities to house the first pre-commercial
5G wireless network for open innovation in
Canada. In 2018, the ecosystem saw a 133%
growth in VC deals from 2017.
COVID-19 Policy
The Quebec government announced the
“concerted temporary action program for
businesses” (PACTE) to offer financial support to
affected businesses in the form of loan
guarantees for a minimum amount of $50,000.
Further support has been also made available
through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and
Business Credit Availability Program, amongst
others initiatives.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Québec International
Québec International is the economic
development agency for the Québec City
provincial capital region. We work everyday
to develop and showcase our local
businesses and professionals. We are here
to support you, whether you are an
entrepreneur, a professional or an investor.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
BDC / PwC Québec
/ ROBIC / Ville de Québec
/ Quebec City Group if incubators / Quantino / Entrepreneuriat Laval
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UAE
Sharjah
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center
Sharjah is catalyzing an inclusive dialogue where civil society,
academia, the public sector, and the private sector are coming
together to develop a world-class entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Najla Al Midfa
Chief Executive Officer, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa)
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Edtech
Education is a priority sector for Sharjah, from
establishing the first school in the UAE to developing
University City, which houses two of the top six
universities in the country. The nation’s education market
is expected to grow from $4.4 billion in 2017 to $7.1
billion by 2023, according to a 2018 report by Boston
Consulting Group. This is good news for Edtech startups
like Little Thinking Minds, who were recently awarded a
$100K equity-free grant from the Sharjah
Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), and work with over 25
private and public schools in Sharjah.
Digital Media
In 2019, Sharjah was crowned UNESCO World Book
Capital, and it has two dedicated freezones - Sharjah
Media City (Shams) and Sharjah Publishing City – that
provide a range of startup support programs and act as a
catalyst for creative and media businesses. The first
edition of Sheraa’s newly introduced program, Access
Sharjah, focused on book and digital content startups,
presenting them with an opportunity to benefit from
Sharjah’s legacy as a cultural hub.
Why you should invest in Sharjah
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
<$100 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 AME Ecosystem
Bang for Buck
Top 30 AME Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
5
2
10
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Sharjah
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$350 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.9 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$32 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
The University City
A 30,000-student campus and home to some of
the region’s finest higher education institutions,
University City attracts, educates, and produces
top technical talent.
Commitment to Research and
Innovation
The Sharjah Research, Technology, and Innovation
Park aims to develop and manage an innovation
ecosystem focused on collaboration between
science and commerce. Example projects include a
fully sustainable aquaponics farm and the ‘green
magic home'.
COVID-19 Policy
The Sharjah Executive Council announced a
stimulus package to support the emirate’s
economy, including rent exemptions for some
businesses and eviction-protection. Additionally,
The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) has
created a $1 million (Dh3.67m) solidarity fund to
assist startups struggling to cope with the
coronavirus pandemic. The money will be
distributed among entrepreneurs through equity-
free grants and commissioned projects.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center
At Sheraa, we believe in human potential.
We have faith in humanity’s ability to
generate positive change, and we are on a
mission to unleash a generation of
entrepreneurs who will build a better
future for our societies and beyond.
MEMBER
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Sri Lanka
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka
We, as the ‘Island Of Ingenuity,’ take pride in our product
engineering talent pool which has delivered world-class
products and gained investor confidence globally.
Jayantha De Silva
Chairman - Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka
“
Sub-sector Strengths
E-commerce
Sri Lanka has a burgeoning E-commerce industry with
annual domestic E-commerce sales and services
estimated at $40 million and expected to grow to $400
million by 2022. Wow.lk, acquired by Dialog Axiata Group
in 2015, has been instrumental in establishing Sri
Lanka’s E-commerce presence. A recent partnership
between Dialog Axiata Group and Alibaba’s Daraz will
help enable increased access to affordable E-commerce
in Sri Lanka. PickMe, a ride-hailing company, raised $2.5
million from International Finance Corporation in 2018.
Fintech
Sri Lanka’s central bank recently unveiled a new
regulatory sandbox. HatchX, Sri Lanka’s first Fintech
accelerator and the first virtual accelerator in South Asia,
was launched in April 2020, in partnership with Lankan
Angel Network (LAN). Notable startups across segments
include payment gateway Payhere which has the largest
customer base in the ecosystem with more than 1600
active merchants, and Helios, a peer-to-peer lending
platform which raised a second round of funding from the
John Keells X Accelerator in 2019.
Why you should invest in Sri Lanka
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
<$50 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$117 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#2 Global Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Bang for Buck
5
1
1
105
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Sri Lanka
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$120 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.7 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$3 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Focus on Tech
The Sri Lankan Government introduced 0% tax on
IT companies. Spiralation is a government-run
funding program that offers seed capital to early-
stage tech startups with 70 companies funded to
date. Orion City, the largest IT park in Sri Lanka,
houses tech startups alongside heavyweights such
as Virtusa and Pearson.
Ideal Mix of Growth and Talent
Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem value has more than
quadrupled from LKR 5.4 billion to LKR 21.8 billion
in the past two years. The country ranks #1 for
Affordable Talent in the Asia-Pacific region.
COVID-19 Policy
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka announced a LKR 50
billion refinancing facility for banks, enabling them
to expand their lending capacity by LKR 400 billion
and provide working capital loans to businesses at
a reduced rate of 4%.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Information and Communication
Technology Agency of Sri Lanka
The Information and Communication
Technology Agency is the lead agency in
Sri Lanka for implementation of
information and communications
technology initiatives by the Government
of Sri Lanka. It was established to develop
the economy of Sri Lanka through ICT.
MEMBER
106
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Taiwan
Taipei City
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Taiwan Tech Arena
Taiwan has played a vital role in the global high-tech
ecosystem for the past 30 years. We have elite startups from a
range of verticals including AI, smart technologies and
healthcare. We help our startups connect to the global tech
ecosystem in all key markets and applications.
Dr. Yu-Chin Hsu
Deputy Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
MoBagel, an AI-driven enterprise decision-making
technology startup, raised a $3 million seed round in 2017,
followed by a $5 million Series A round in 2019. Appier, an
AI-powered platform for brands and retailers, raised $80
million in a Series D round in 2019. Microsoft is spending
over $30 million to build an AI research and development
hub in Taipei, which will eventually house nearly 200
researchers.
Advanced Manufacturing &
Robotics
Taiwan makes 75% of personal computers, 50 percent of
LCD screens, 25% of semiconductors, and 20% of
smartphones globally. The island is home to Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the
world’s largest contract chipmaker. Computer and
hardware developers Acer and ASUS, electronics
manufacturer Foxconn, and mobile phone giant HTC are
all located in the Taipei City ecosystem. Success stories
include Touché Solutions, a robot sensor module
manufacturer, that raised $1 million in a seed round in
2017, followed by a $4 million Series A round in 2019.
Why you should invest in Taipei City
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$284 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$3.8 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Emerging Ecosystem
Talent
Top 30 Emerging Ecosystem
Funding
5
8
5
107
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Taipei City
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$500 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$31 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Innovation + Funding
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive
Report 2019 ranked Taiwan 4th globally for
innovation capability. The Taiwan Venture Capital
Association has a membership of ~200 VCl funds.
Taiwan’s National Development Fund allocated
NT$2 billion to its Business Angel Investment
Program.
COVID-19 Policy
Taiwan's National Development Council has invited
applications from startups majorly impacted by
COVID-19 to participate in a special investment
scheme. The NDC is offering 6 to 12 months of
funding in exchange for preferred stock under the
scheme.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Taiwan Tech Arena
Taiwan Tech Arena champions
entrepreneurship and innovation with the
goal of building a vibrant international
startup ecosystem in Taiwan.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
AppWorks / BE Accelerator / BE Capital / Business Incubator Center, NTUST
/ CDIB Accelerator / Center for Innovation Taipei / Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent Development Strategy (IAPS)
/
Center of Innovative Incubator, NTHU / Chung-Yuan Incubation Center (CYIC) / Digi Space / Garage+ / ITRI Open Lab & Incubator / InnoSquare / KAFNU Taipei /
NCU Innovation & Incubation Center / NTU Innovation Incubation Center / NTUT Innovation & Incubation Center / SOSV-MOX / SparkLabs Taipei / Star Rocket
/ Startup Lab at NCTU /
Taidah Entrepreneurship Center (TEC) / Taiwan Startup Stadium / Yang-Ming Incubation Center (YMIC)
108
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India
Telangana
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
T-Hub Foundation
Telangana has the potential to redesign the economy nationally
and globally through its innovation ecosystem. T-Hub is
engaging the top corporations, startups, research labs and VCs
to accomplish this.
Ravi Narayan
CEO, T-Hub
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Life Sciences
Known as the Pharma Capital of India, Telangana accounts
for ~30% of India’s pharma production and 1 out of 3
vaccines globally. With 800+ pharma, biotech and med-
tech companies, Telangana already has a combined
industry value of $50 billion and aims to double this
figure in 10 years. Genome valley, India’s first organized
cluster for life sciences R&D activities, has more than 150
life sciences companies, employing ~10,000 people.
HealthSignz, a health and wellness platform, raised $5
million in 2018.
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Telangana declared 2020 the year of AI and has signed 8
MoUs with 10 partners to promote AI research and
adoption. These include setting up a Centre for Research
in Applied AI (CRiAA) in association with Intel, IIIT
Hyderabad and PHFI, and a high-performance AI
computing center in association with Nvidia. Telangana is
one of the only Indian states to have sector specific
policies for AI and data analytics. Convosight, a
Hyderabad-based data analytics startup, raised $4 million
in seed funding in 2020.
Why you should invest in Telangana
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$65 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$759 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 30 Global Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
1
3
5
109
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Telangana
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$111 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$3.6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$9 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
An Innovation System
Telangana’s ecosystem includes T-Hub, India’s
largest innovation hub, enabling strong industry
connections, partnerships and fundraising, as well
as multiple state-sponsored incubators. These
include WeHub, a state-led incubator for women;
TSIC, supporting grassroots-level innovators; T-
Works, India’s largest prototyping center for
makers and innovators; Telangana Academy for Skill
and Knowledge (TASK), which supports and
enables students to become entrepreneurs; and
Emerging Technologies, which assists the
government in adopting emerging technologies.
COVID-19 Policy
Telangana innovation partners are actively
supporting entrepreneurs during the COVID crisis
through access to funding in the form of the
subsidisation or waiver of workspace rentals,
government and research grants, ACT grants, debt
funding and access to equity investors. Along with
these, continuous guidance through mentoring and
help in re-aligning business models to the new
normal is provided.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
T-Hub Foundation
T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation
ecosystem that powers next-generation
products and new business models. Since
its incorporation in 2015, it has provided
1,100+ national and international startups
access to better technology, talent,
mentors, customers, corporations,
investors and government agencies.
MEMBER
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Denmark
Western Denmark
ACTIVATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Digital Hub Denmark
Denmark is a great place for robotics startups to grow their
business. The highly entrepreneurial environment has a strong
track record of successfully bringing new, innovative
technologies to the global market.
Mikkel Christoffersen
Cluster Director at Odense Robotics
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Advanced Manufacturing &
Robotics
Denmark’s 300 robot, automation and drone companies
generate $2.8 billion in annual turnover. A cluster of
emerging robotics companies, primarily located in
Odense, employs more than 2,600 people, with more than
$900 million invested in the cluster since 2015. The Danish
Technological Institute’s Robot Technology is the leading
recipient of European Union funding for robot innovation.
One clear indication of success was the acquisition of
Universal Robots by the U.S.-based Teradyne in 2015 for
$285 million.
Life Sciences
In 2019, Stipe Therapeutics, a biotech company, raised
$22 million in a series A funding round. A software for
bioinformatics startup, CLC Bio, was acquired by
Dutch/German Qiagen Group for $75 million. The Novo
Nordisk Foundation will invest $150 million over the next
four years to support the Danish National Genome Center,
including one facility in Aarhus. Aarhus University and
Aalborg University are both home to research activities in
the fields of health science and technology.
Why you should invest in Western Denmark
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$110 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$1 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 30 European Ecosystem
Talent
5
4
1
111
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Western Denmark
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$515 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$67 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Operational Ease
Denmark is the #1 country in the EU and 4th
worldwide in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing
Business ranking. Among the EU nations, Denmark
was ranked #4 in the Digital Economy and Society
Index 2019, and #1 in Connectivity and Use of
Internet Services.
COVID-19 Policy
The Danish Government has announced direct
financial support for the self-employed and small
businesses with fewer than 10 employees facing a
loss of earnings of 30% or more. Under this
measure the state will pay 75% of employees’
salaries up to a maximum of 23,000 Danish crowns
($3,418) per month if the company pays the
remaining 25% for a three-month aid period lasting
until June 9, 2020.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Digital Hub Denmark
Digital Hub Denmark works to make
Denmark an even better digital playground.
The hub will support the digital ecosystem
in Denmark by matching private companies,
researchers, tech-entrepreneurs, and
students in the development of new digital
products, services and business models.
Digital Hub Denmark connects great ideas
with robust experience.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
AAU Incubator (SEA), Aalborg University
/ Agro Food Park Inkubator/Agro Business Park / AI Innovation House / Arsenalet
/ BrainsBusiness / Business Factory / AalborgSyndikatet
/
Center for Industrial Production / Danske Commodities (DC) Business Accelerator
/ Ecopark / Filmby Aarhus incl. Ideas Lab
/ Food ehub / Green Tech Center / Growing Investors / Ideas Lab /
Incuba Science Parks incl. Incuba Startup Lab / IT Forum / LYNfabrikken / Novi / Odense Robotics / Odense Robotics Startup Hub / Office Lab / Robo Cluster / Startup Factory - Navitas /
StartupWorks / TechBBQ / The city of Aarhus, Business Development
/ The Danish Growth Fund / UAS Denmark / VIA studentervæksthus Aarhus C
/ WeLoveStartups
112
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Early-Globalization Phase
115 Copenhagen, DK
117 Greater Helsinki, HI
119 Kuala Lumpur, MY
121 Melbourne, AU
123 Montreal, CA
125 Rhineland, DE
Ecosystem Deep Dives
113
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Globalization Phase Ecosystems
Median Seed Rounds
Median Series A Rounds
114
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Ecosystem Growth
115
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Denmark
Copenhagen
EARLY-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Digital Hub Denmark
In Denmark, we draw on the Nordic region’s rich design
tradition and renowned digital prowess to guide startups
toward sustainable, innovative, human-centric ideas and
technologies. And there’s no better place in Europe to do it.
Thomas Krogh Jensen
CEO of Copenhagen Fintech
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Edtech
Denmark is #1 in Scandinavia and #2 in the world in
education investments, according to the OECD. Recently,
the Danish Growth Fund made one of its largest
investments, $30 million, in Area9 Lyceum. Labster, a
startup that creates digital tools to help students, raised
$21 million in a Series B round in 2019. Lead investors
included the London-based venture capital firm,
Balderton Capital.
Fintech
Copenhagen Fintech is a vibrant community of Fintech
startups and corporate financial institutions. Danske Bank
has joined forces with Nykredit, Accelerace, and
Copenhagen Fintech to create Copenhagen Fintech
Accelerator that has secured funding from the Danish
Industry Foundation. Copenhagen has fostered high-
growth Fintech startups such as Tradeshift, a unicorn
(now based in San Francisco) that raised $240 million in a
Series F funding round in January 2020. Investments in
Danish fintech, excluding Tradeshift, rose from $80
million in 2018 to $210 million in 2019.
Why you should invest in Copenhagen
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$470 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$11 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 European Ecosystem
Funding
Top 10 European Ecosystem
Performance
6
8
4
116
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Copenhagen
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$458 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$71 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Widespread Experience
Copenhagen offers startups a deep well of
experienced startup talent, having produced
successful tech companies such as Trustpilot,
Siteimprove, LogPoint, and Zendesk.
Talent and Training
Denmark has been a world leader in
entrepreneurship education through the Danish
Foundation for Entrepreneurship. There is a strong
lineage of technical talent in the ecosystem, too:
Pascal, Realm, C#, C++, and Unity programming
languages were developed here. The innovative
Technical University of Denmark has catalyzed
approximately 2,200 businesses.
COVID-19 Policy
The Danish Government has announced direct
financial support for the self-employed and small
businesses with fewer than 10 employees facing a
loss of earnings of 30% or more. Under this
measure the state will pay 75% of employees’
salaries up to a maximum of $3,418 (23,000 Danish
crowns) per month if the company pays the
remaining 25% for a three-month aid period lasting
until June 9, 2020.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Digital Hub Denmark
Digital Hub Denmark works to make
Denmark an even better digital playground.
The hub will support the digital ecosystem
in Denmark by matching private companies,
researchers, tech-entrepreneurs, and
students in the development of new digital
products, services and business models.
Digital Hub Denmark connects great ideas
with robust experience.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
TechBBQ / #CPHFTW / Accelerace (and Symbion) / Copenhagen Fintech / DTU Skylab / InnoFounder / LEO Innovation Lab / PreSeed Venture / Talent Garden Rainmaking /
The Creators Community
/ The Danish Growth Fund / Thinkubator (and SingularityU) / Venture Cup
117
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Finland
Greater Helsinki
EARLY-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Helsinki Business Hub
Even in times of crisis, Helsinki continues to be a functional,
safe and sustainable city. We work with the local community to
help startups survive and rebound.
Jan Vapaavuori
Mayor of Helsinki
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Finland was the first EU country to publish a National AI
Strategy in June 2017. The free AI education program
offered by Reaktor and the University of Helsinki enrolled
nearly 90,000 students from 80 countries in its first 4
months, making ‘Elements of AI’ Finland's top online
course. The Finnish Centre for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI)
earmarked €8.3 million in funding for 2019–2022. Giosg,
an AI customer behavior tool, raised $5.3 million in
venture funding led by Varenne Investment. ZenRobotics,
which uses AI-powered robots to sort trash, raised $17
million.
Digital Health
Finland ranks among the strongest health technology
economies in the world, while Digital Health is its largest
high-tech export. Foreign exports of health technology
rose to a new record in 2019, amounting to $2.67 billion,
an increase of 5.7% from the previous year. Greater
Helsinki is focused on further advancing its Healthtech
ecosystem and launched the Health Incubator Helsinki in
2019 with the aim of driving health innovation and
research. Patient monitoring software provider Kaiku
Health was acquired for an undisclosed amount in May
2020.
Why you should invest in Greater Helsinki
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$511 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$5.8 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 Emerging Ecosystem
Talent
Top 5 Emerging Ecosystem
Funding
5
9
3
118
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Greater Helsinki
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$465 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.2 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$51 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Low Cost, High Quality
The Greater Helsinki startup ecosystem offers
entrepreneurs all the benefits of a Scandinavian
lifestyle at a lower cost of living than many other
tech hubs in the region. Startups have access to
excellent talent at reasonable salary levels, as well
as to various government funding actions. Finnish
startups receive the most venture capital per
capita in Europe. Helsinki is home to Artic15 and
Slush, leading startup and tech community events.
COVID-19 Policy
The City of Greater Helsinki, in its first phase of
measures to relieve the burden on businesses due
to COVID-19, announced a three-month
postponement of rent (interest-free) on city-
owned commercial properties leased by the city.
Additionally, Greater Helsinki granted a one-off
support facility to sole traders worth €2,000.
These measures are part of a wider package of
support offered at the municipal, regional and
national levels.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Helsinki Business Hub
Helsinki Business Hub, the regional
development agency for the Finnish capital
region, makes Helsinki the best place to
accelerate your business. We enable
foreign companies to establish their
businesses and innovation driven
companies to grow and develop in the
Helsinki region.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Espoo Innovation Garden / Helsinki Think Company
/ Nestholma / Maria01 / NewCo Helsinki / Butterfly Ventures
/ Arctic Startup / Business Finland / Helsinki Games Factory / xEdu Accelerator
119
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Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
EARLY-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
Our startup ecosystem is the personification of the Malaysia
Boleh spirit – a local slogan that epitomises courage, grit, and
tenacity – and uniquely positions Malaysia as the heart of
digital ASEAN.
Surina Shukri
CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Gaming
Nine universities and colleges in Kuala Lumpur offer
courses around game development and esports. This
includes the Asia Pacific University of Technology &
Innovation (APU), which partnered with eSports Malaysia
to launch the country’s first esports academy. Local game
developers Metronomik and Magnus Games are 2 key
players contributing greatly to the homegrown digital
gaming industry. Gaming incubator Level Up Inc, which
was founded in 2017, already has 10 portfolio companies.
Fintech
Malaysia has the largest Islamic Fintech market, with 26
Islamic Fintech service providers. Startups in this sector
benefit from the Malaysian government’s initiatives to
promote Fintech, such as establishing a regulatory
sandbox, launching a Fintech academy, and encouraging
the adoption of Open Data APIs. In the government’s 2020
budget, a one-time credit of RM 30 (~$7) was provided to
e-wallet users to spur adoption. In 2018, HelloGold, the
world’s first Shariah-compliant gold trading platform,
raised $4 million from 500 Startups, while Jirenxu, an FS
lifecycle management platform, received $21 million in
Series B funding.
Why you should invest in Kuala Lumpur
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$99 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$15 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Emerging Ecosystem
Performance
Top 20 Emerging Ecosystem
Talent
5
5
3
120
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Kuala Lumpur
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$187.4 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$12.7 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Lower Costs, High Quality
Along with its proximity to other large Southeast
Asian markets, Kuala Lumpur offers excellent local
talent at lower salaries and an affordable cost of
living.
Fast-Track Visas
The Malaysia Tech Entrepreneur program offers a
1-year visa to new entrepreneurs and a 5-year visa
to established entrepreneurs.
Funding
Government programs such as Cradle Investment
Programme 300 (CIP300) and DEQ800 offer direct
financial support to Malaysian tech startups.
COVID-19 Policy
Malaysia launched a $23 million Technology Startup
Funding Relief Facility (TSFRF) to provide low-
interest loans of up to $580,000 to help startups
alleviate cash flow constraints caused by the
economic setback of COVID-19.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
Established in 1996, the Malaysia Digital
Economy Corporation Sdn. Bhd. was the
Government’s response to the then new
concept of “Digital Economy”. Today, the
global Digital Economy is estimated to be
worth USD3 trillion, and MDEC continues
its role to organise and lead Malaysia’s
Digital Economy forward.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
1337 / 500 Startups / Captii Ventures
/ Endeavor / Found8 / MBAN / MaGIC GAP / Malaysia Digital Hub / Petronas CVC / Proficeo / RHL Ventures
/ Redbeat Ventures
/
Selangor Accelerator Programme by SITEC
/ Startup Mamak / Sunway iLabs Incubator & Accelerator
/ UNCDF / Unicroach / Worq
121
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Australia
Melbourne
EARLY-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
LaunchVic
We have seen the Victorian startup ecosystem rapidly mature in
the last four years. Having a dedicated startup agency,
LaunchVic, has been instrumental in helping to deliver the right
support services to entrepreneurs, investors and talent.
Dr Kate Cornick
CEO at LaunchVic
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Life Sciences
Melbourne has more than 180 life science organisations
equating to approximately US $12 billion in economic
activity. Home to at least two locally bred life science
success stories; Mesoblast, Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, it is
only one of three cities in the world to have two top 20
universities in the global biomedical rankings. Successes
like these highlight the role of the BioMelbourne Network
in fostering the Life Sciences sector, as well as the
national Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF), which, in 2017,
awarded a $5.7 million grant to SummatiX, a medical
informatics startup.
Fintech
While Fintech startups account for just 7% of Victorian
startups, they have emerged as some of Australia’s best
startup success stories. Unicorn Airwallex ($160 million
Series D in 2020), as well as scaleups Moula ($20 million
in Series D in 2019) and Afterpay all originated here. In the
last financial year, Victorian Fintech companies dominated
key funding rounds, accounting for almost 80 per cent of
the $2 billion allocated to Australian startups.
Why you should invest in Melbourne
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$363 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$4.8 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 APAC Ecosystem
Performance
Top 15 APAC Ecosystem
Talent
7
6
3
122
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Melbourne
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$541 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$56 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Strong Tech Presence
Startups have access to corporate customers such
as Alibaba, Google, and Amazon, which have local
offices. Global unicorns such as Square, Zendesk
and Stripe as well as local unicorn Airwallex call
Melbourne home.
Inclusion
One in three founders are women; one in three
founders are born overseas and 2% of founders
are from indigenous peoples (representing 1% of
the Victorian population).
COVID-19 Policy
The Victorian State Government has waived
2019/20 payroll tax for Victorian businesses with
annual taxable wages of up to $3 million to assist
them with their cash flow. The Federal
Government’s $130 billion JobKeeper program is
also assisting startups, subject to eligibility, to
remain connected with their highly skilled people
so they’re in a position to quickly restart
operations post COVID-19.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
LaunchVic
With the help of startup founders,
entrepreneurs and investors, corporates
and universities, we aim to build a startup
ecosystem that can strengthen the
economy, encourage more people to work
with and for startups, and represent all
Victorians.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Potential(x) / ygap First Gens Accelerator Program
/ ASTN HeadStart
/ Cyrise / SBE Australia, Springboard Tech
/ SBE Australia, Springboard Life Sciences
/ SBE Australia, E3 / Runway Hq /
ACMI X / BioMelbourne Network / Inspire9 / Rome2rio / Runway Geelong / Startup Bootcamp / Startup Victoria
/ York Butter Factory
123
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Canada
Montréal
EARLY-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Ville de Montréal / École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) / Real Investment Management Inc. / OSMO
Startups are at the heart of Montreal’s entrepreneurial sector.
They are a powerful lever for the economic development of our
metropolis.
Valérie Plante
Mayor of Montréal
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Life Sciences
Greater Montreal has 620 organizations, +150 research
centers, 11 post-secondary institutions, and 80
multinational subsidiaries, many of which collaborate via
open Innovation programs and AI-driven public-private
partnerships. Scientific and clinical research received $118
million in provincial funding, while NÉOMED Innovation
Center received a $25 million investment. Notable activity
includes the acquisition of Clementia Pharma for $1.3
billion(after its IPO in 2017), the IPO of Milestone
Pharmaceuticals’ ($468 million), and the $82.5 million
Series B round for Repare Therapeutics.
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Headquartered in Montreal are AI-powered supply chain
hub SCALE AI, the world’s largest academic research
center in deep learning MILA, and the Institute for Data
Valorization IVADO. Greater Montreal has seven AI
accelerators, nine research centers, and 17 corporate labs
(seven new last year). AI contributes to the strength of
Montreal’s Robotics, Advanced Manufacturing, Medtech,
and Mobility sectors. A new $250 million AI-fund was
created by CDPQ. Local startups Element.ai, Stradigi.ai,
Alaya Care, and Dialogue raised a combined $468 million.
Why you should invest in Montréal
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$525 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$8.7 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#5 North American Ecosystem
Affordable Talent
Top 20 North American Ecosystem
Talent
7
9
6
124
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Montréal
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$762 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$55 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
A Place to Be
Greater Montreal is the most affordable major city
in North America and the best-ranked student city
in the Americas.
Export Hub
Canada is the only country that has free trade
agreements with all G7 countries and 38% of local
startups export internationally.
Funding
There are seven new investment funds ($876
million total), $33 million for PME MTL, and $3.75
million for the ecosystem leader Bonjour Startup
Montreal. Montreal’s unicorn, Lightspeed POS Inc.,
IPO'd in March 2019 ($1.4 billion valuation).
COVID-19 Policy
The federal-funded IAP ($250 million grants) and
the BCAP interest-free loans (max $40,000) aimed
to support $10,000 early stage startups.
Provincially, the Quebec government launched
PACTE and PACME to access loans of min $50,000,
and to cover training expenses, respectively.
Montreal also unlocked an emergency fund for
retail businesses, social economy, creative and
cultural industries and tourism sectors.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Ville de Montréal
MEMBER
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
The École de technologie supérieure is a
constituent establishment of the
Université du Québec. ÉTS, which
specializes in engineering and
technological transfer education as well as
applied research, trains engineers and
researchers who are recognized for their
practical and innovative approach.
MEMBER
Real Investment Management Inc.
Real is a leading source of capital for
game-changing entrepreneurs and a driving
force behind emerging tech ecosystems.
MEMBER
OSMO
A sustainable and world class
entrepreneurial ecosystem powering the
knowledge economy and nurturing a
pipeline of high-growth companies to help
Montreal compete on the global stage.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Real Ventures & FounderFuel
/ Techstars AI / Tandemlaunch / Fondation Montréal Inc. / MT Lab / Centech / Ministère de l’économie et de l’innovation du Québec
/ Techno-Montréal /
Ivado et Montréal international / Bonjour Startup Montréal / District 3 / HEC Montréal / Notman House / PME MTL / Quartier de l’innovation / Réseau Capital / Startup Fest
/ MTL Newtech
125
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Germany
Rhineland
EARLY-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
North-Rhine Westphalia State Government
Rhineland’s startup community has significantly evolved in the
last 4 or 5 years. It feels like a true ecosystem with more
people, better knowledge, stronger connections, and a focus on
modernizing traditional German industries.
Dr. Lorenz Gräf
Founder at STARTPLATZ
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Advanced Manufacturing &
Robotics
Industrial IoT developer Cumulocity was acquired by
Software AG in 2017. Silexica, an industry software
company, raised $18 million in a Series B round in 2018. An
electric car factory was opened by e.go, one of the
numerous spin offs from the Laboratory for Machine
Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH
Aachen University, which focuses on research and
innovation in production engineering.
B2B, Enterprise Solutions
Most startups in Rhineland are targeting B2B Customers.
Rhineland is home to many multinational corporations,
such as Deutsche Telekom, Henkel, Metro, Bayer,
Deutsche Post DHL Group. Success stories include
LeanIX, offering a SaaS for enterprise architecture, which
raised $30 million in a Series C round in 2018. Instana,
founded in Rhineland, raised a $30 million Series C round
in 2018.
Why you should invest in Rhineland
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$255 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$2.9 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 European Ecosystem
Knowledge
Top 20 Emerging Ecosystem
Talent
1
8
3
126
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Rhineland
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$591 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$3.5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$61 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Capital
High-Tech-Gründerfonds, the largest seed fund in
Germany, has invested around $1.1 billion since
2005.
B2B Customer Density
20% of the DAX-listed companies are based in
Rhineland.
Research Institutions
The regional universities have 10 of the 57 German
clusters of excellence. There are many initiatives
for founders to tap into incubation, acceleration
and corporate collaboration opportunities.
COVID-19 Policy
Germany’s “Kurzarbeit” wage subsidy scheme
allows businesses to prevent layoffs in times of
economic downturn. Under this scheme, the
government covers 60% the difference of the
employee’s salary, thereby allowing staff to remain
on the job at reduced hours and salary.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
North-Rhine Westphalia State
Government
North Rhine-Westphalia is thrilling.
Nowhere else in Germany are industrial
and rural regions so close to each other.
There is hardly any other region on earth
with a similar concentration of museums,
theatres, opera houses and concert halls.
Discover the "diversity state".
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Digital Innovation Hub Düsseldorf/Rheinland GmbH / 1stMOVER / Agile Accelerator
/ Axa Startup Center / BLSW / Capnamic Ventures
/ Coparion / Founders Institute /
Future Champions Accelerator
/ Gateway Gründungsservice der Universität zu Köln / Getstarted, Bitkom / Gründerzentrum RWTH Aachen
/ HEADQUARTER[S] Cologne / High-Tech Gründerfonds /
Intelligent Venture Capital Management
/ MWIDE / NRW Bank Business Angel Initiative WIN
/ NRWalley / NUK – Neues Unternehmertum Rheinland / Pirate Summit / Jolly Rogers UG / Hub Aachen
/
S-UBG Group / STARTPLATZ / Startup Unit Düsseldorf
/ StartupDorf
/ Tengelmann Ventures
/ Vodafone Uplift
127
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Late-Globalization Phase
128 Austin, US
130 Chicago, US
132 Miami, US
134
Toronto-Waterloo, CA
136 Washington, D.C., US
Ecosystem Deep Dives
128
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United States
Austin #19
LATE-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
As the Austin startup ecosystem has matured, our work at Tech
Ranch has evolved to connect this ecosystem's future to the
world, especially around the areas that have developed in
Austin around impact innovation.
Kevin Koym
CEO and Founder of Tech Ranch Austin
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Cleantech
Austin is home to the University of Texas’ Clean Energy
Incubator, one of the longest-established energy and
cleantech incubators in the United States. Austin is also
home to successful companies like Energy Curb and
Banyan Water. A Local startup MTPV, which offers
semiconductor chips to convert waste heat to electricity
raised $17.9 million in 2018.
Cybersecurity
SailPoint, an identity and access management provider,
raised $240 million in an IPO valuing the company at more
than $1 billion. ClearDATA, a managed cloud provider,
raised $26 million in 2018. Spycloud, an ATO prevention
platform, raised $21 million in 2019. Austin was selected
as the site for the new U.S. Army Futures Command, which
will modernize the Army and invest in science, technology,
and engineering.
Why you should invest in Austin
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.7 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$17 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Knowledge
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Talent
10
9
6
129
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Austin
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$804 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$83 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Growth Market
Austin is one of the fastest growing cities and
offers startups a wide array of market
opportunities and access to capital. In Surge Cities
Index analysis, it ranked third in the U.S in
population growth, third in its density of high-
growth companies and sixth in its rate of job
creation.
COVID-19 Policy
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced
plans to offer designated states & territories low-
interest federal disaster loans at an interest rate of
3.75% for working capital to small businesses
suffering substantial economic setbacks as a result
of the COVID-19.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
3 Day Startup / Tech Ranch / Austin Technology Incubator / University of Texas Austin
/ BuiltIN / Central Texas Angel Network
/ St. Edward’s University / WeWork / Techstars Austin
/
Capital Factory
130
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United States
Chicago #14
LATE-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
In bringing entrepreneurs from around the world to Chicago,
we have found that this city has one of the most collaborative
and diverse entrepreneurial communities in the world.
Peggy Parfenoff
President of WorldChicago
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Chicago is home to 14,000 technology companies
employing roughly 340,000 people. In 2019, Tempus
raised $200 million in a Series F round, giving it a
valuation of $3.1 billion. Other startups to look out for
include Uptake, an industrial AI and IoT platform, which
raised $117 million in Series D funding and Instana, a
solution that monitors dynamic apps, which raised $30
million from Accel and Meritech Capital Partners in 2018.
Fintech
Chicago is the second-largest central business district in
the United States and home to the Chicago Stock
Exchange and eight Fortune 1000 financial services
companies. The City’s ChicagoNEXT program includes
initiatives like the Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurship
Challenge, ThinkChicago, and a new Fintech Committee.
Success stories include Avant, an online lending platform
which is valued close to $2 billion. In 2019, Snapsheet
raised $29 million from Tola Capital in Series E round.
Why you should invest in Chicago
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.2 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$21 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Talent
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Funding
9
10
5
131
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Chicago
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$695 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$3 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$81 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Women in Startups
Women own and run one third of the city’s
startups. WiSTEM, a program at Chicago's
Technology & Entrepreneurship Center, provides
additional resources to women-led startups.
University Programs
The Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern
University, and the University of Chicago each
operate startup incubators and offer programs in
entrepreneurship and computer science.
COVID-19 Policy
The City of Chicago established a $100 million
Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund to provide
small businesses with emergency cash flow in the
form of low interest loans. The loans are available
for a maximum period of five years to companies
with annual revenues of less than $3 million that
have suffered at least a 25% decrease in revenue
due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
1871 / Catapult Chicago / Matter Chicago / The Shift Chicago / University of Chicago / WorldChicago / mHUB
132
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United States
Miami
LATE-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Knight Foundation
Our sights are set on making Miami a community where
globally relevant innovations thrive. Rather than copying any
other city, we are charting a distinct, multicultural path toward
becoming a tech epicenter; one that is uniquely Miami.
Rebecca Danta
Managing Director, Miami Angels
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Life Sciences
The Cambridge Innovation Center houses 250 early and
mid-stage companies and a wet lab for early-stage
Biotech startups. Biscayne Neurotherapeutics, a clinical-
stage biotechnology company, was acquired for $185
million in 2018. Tissuetech, a pioneer of birth-tissue
regenerative medicine, raised $82.3 million in Series C
funding in 2019.
Edtech
Hero K12, based near Miami, builds applications to track
student behavior and received $150 million in 2017.
Nearpod, a mobile app that enables teachers to create and
share interactive multimedia presentations with their
students, raised $21 million in Series B funding in 2017.
Why you should invest in Miami
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$519 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$18 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 North American Ecosystem
Funding
Top 15 North American Ecosystem
Performance
6
8
6
133
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Miami
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$725 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$77 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Global Community
Startups can tap into one of the most diverse
talent pools in North America. Miami is the #4 city
in the U.S. in Latino entrepreneurship and has one
of the highest percentages of immigrant-owned
businesses. This diversity also allows companies to
test ideas across a wide range of potential
customers.
COVID-19 Policy
The state of Florida launched the Small Business
Emergency Bridge Loan Program to provide short-
term working capital support to small businesses
with up to 50 employees. Loans are interest-free
for one year; after that, the interest rate rises to
12%.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation
with strong local roots. We invest in
journalism, in the arts, and in the success
of cities where brothers John S. and James
L. Knight once published newspapers.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
500 Startups / Miami Angels
/ Endeavor Miami / eMerge Americas
/ Venture Cafe Miami / Refresh Miami / Venture for America
/ Florida International University / University of Miami /
LAB Miami / Babson WIN / Idea Center at Miami Dade College / CIC Miami / Code Fever / The Venture City
/ WeWork / WhereBy.Us
134
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Canada
Toronto-Waterloo #18
LATE-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
To meet Toronto’s talent demands, we’ve created an
ecosystem-wide peer support network for founders and teams,
where people are trained to help each other develop, retain,
and attract diverse talent.
Ben Baldwin
Founder, The Founder City Project
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
The province of Ontario has allocated $350 million to
focus on the development of AI, 5G, autonomous vehicles,
and other technologies. Corporations such as Google and
Uber have set up AI R&D centres in the region. CIFAR, the
Vector Institute, and Waterloo.ai drive local AI investment.
Kira Systems, an artificial intelligence-enabled contract
analytics software raised $50 million in 2018. Integrate.ai,
an applied AI enterprise software, raised $40 million in
2018.
Life Sciences
Ontario ranks seventh in Life Sciences employment in
North America, and approximately 30,000 professionals in
Toronto contribute around $2 billion to the local
economy. The MaRS Discovery District supports
commercialization with local hospitals and is home to the
JLABS incubator with 49 early-stage life science
companies. Synaptive Medical, developer of neurosurgical
technological products, raised $75 million in 2019.
Why you should invest in Toronto-Waterloo
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.6 b
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$17 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Talent
9
10
7
135
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Toronto-Waterloo
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$500 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$4.3 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$64 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Density of Corporations and
Talent
The Toronto-Waterloo corridor is the second
largest technology cluster in North America with
roughly 15,000 companies and 300,000 tech
workers.
Access to Funding
The Government of Canada has formed a $1.26
billion Strategic Innovation Fund to provide funding
to inventive startups and the Ontario Network of
Entrepreneurs supports around 130 nonprofits
across Ontario to help innovations.
COVID-19 Policy
The Government of Canada extended the
maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program
from 38 weeks to 78 weeks for the employers
affected by COVID-19. This program provides
income support to employees eligible for
Employment Insurance and who agree to reduce
their normal working hours because of
developments beyond the control of their
employers.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Brook eld Institute / Centre for Social Innovation / City of Toronto / Creative Destruction Lab / DMZ / Haltech / Innovation Factory / Invest Toronto / Next 36 / OneEleven / RIC Centre /
The Founder City Project
/ Venture Lab / World Canada
136
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United States
Washington, D.C. #11
LATE-GLOBALIZATION PHASE
Startups in Washington, D.C., have a refreshing focus on taking
on significant global challenges and bringing their unique
entrepreneurship lens to problems historically left to
governments.
Donna Harris
Cofounder, 1776 General Partner, 1776 Ventures
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Cybersecurity
As a share of its total, the region has 2.5x more
Cybersecurity startups than the global average, and these
companies can draw on a regional population of cyber-
related engineers three times larger than the rest of the
country combined. Tenable Network Security IPO’d in
2018 with a valuation of $2.1 billion. Washington. D.C.-
based Lavrock Ventures, announced a $25 million fund to
invest in enterprise software, cybersecurity and national
security early-stage startups.
Edtech
Numerous government agencies and influencers play a
role in Washington D.C.’s Edtech ecosystem including the
Office of Education Technology at the U.S. Department of
Education. The regional Edtech ecosystem is supported by
Novak Biddle Venture Partners, a supporter of Edtech
ventures with investments in 2U, Inc., Capital Education
Group, Inc., and Parchment. Ever Fi, an online course
provider has raised $251 million in total funding.
Why you should invest in Washington, D.C.
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.6 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$21 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Talent
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Funding
8
10
4
137
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Washington, D.C.
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$600 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$4.4 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$89 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Proximity to Government
It’s no accident that the nation’s capital has
developed a thriving tech ecosystem. Startups
have access to funding, contracts, customers, and
experienced talent. The region is home to four of
the top five 2018 research funders in Life
Sciences. In-Q-Tel is a nonprofit investor that
accelerates the development and delivery of
technology to the American intelligence
community.
COVID-19 Policy
The U.S. Small Business Administration is providing
an emergency grant of $10,000 to SBA Economic
Injury Disaster Loan applicants. Even if a business
is denied a loan, it can still access this grant, which
can be used to provide employee sick leave,
maintain payroll or meet other business needs.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
1863 Ventures
/ Acceleprise / Beacon DC / Conservation X Labs / DC Fashion Foundation / Halcyon Incubator / PeaceTech Accelerator
/ Village Capital / Women’s Business Center (DCWBC)
138
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Attraction and Integration Phase
140 Amsterdam, NL
142 Beijing, CN
144 Berlin, DE
146
Los Angeles, US
148 Paris, FR
150
Seattle, US
152
Seoul, KR
154
Shanghai, CN
156
Singapore, SG
158
Stockholm, SE
160
Tel Aviv, IL
162
Tokyo, JP
164 Boston, US
166
London, UK
168 New York City, US
170
Silicon Valley, US
Ecosystem Deep Dives
139
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Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
Integration and Attraction Phase Ecosystems
Ecosystem Growth
$B Club and $100M Exit Creation
140
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Netherlands
Amsterdam-Delta #12
ATTRACTION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy / TechLeap.nl
In the current crisis, the world is increasingly dependent on
digital and technological solutions from startups and scaleups.
In the Netherlands, we understand it is more important than
ever to empower our leaders in tech to futureproof the world.
Nils Beers
CEO - Techleap.nl
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Agtech & New Food
Amterdam’s food industry continues to grow. Picnic, the
online grocery platform, raised a $275 million series C
round in 2019. The Vegetarian Butcher, a meat substitute
startup with 2,600 sales outlets across 13 countries, was
acquired by Unilever in 2018. Wageningen University &
Research was #1 worldwide in agriculture and forestry in
2019.
Life Sciences
The European Medicines Agency, a leading regulatory
authority moved its headquarters to Amsterdam in 2019.
Aidence, an AI-based imaging company looking to
accelerate the diagnosing of X-Ray, MRI and CT images,
raised $11 million in a series A funding round. AM-Pharma,
a biopharmaceutical company, secured around $127
million in VC funding in 2019 to further develop their
treatment for acute kidney injury (AKI).
Why you should invest in Amsterdam-Delta
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$960 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$22 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Talent
9
10
4
141
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Amsterdam-Delta
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$500 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.4 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$61 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Welcoming International Talent
Highly skilled immigrants can qualify for the 30%
tax reimbursement ruling, international graduates
get one year to find work or start a business post-
graduation, and there are entrepreneur visas
available.
Corporate Connections
Startups can gain access to corporations across
every sector. Nearly 200 multinationals have their
European headquarters in Amsterdam, including
Netflix, Uber, Tesla, and Salesforce.
COVID-19 Policy
The Dutch government support package includes
tax deferrals, a temporary employment bridging
scheme, and a credit guarantee program. Together
with Techleap.nl, Invest-NL, and the regional
development agencies, the government structured
a soft loans regime for startups, scale-ups and
innovative SMEs, which provides bridge loans of up
to €2 million. Invest-NL also launched a €100
million convertible loan scheme, which offers
larger loans.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Climate Policy
The Ministry promotes the Netherlands as
a country of enterprise with a strong

international competitive position and an
eye for sustainability. It is committed to
creating an excellent entrepreneurial
business climate, by creating the right
conditions and giving entrepreneurs room
to innovate and grow.
MEMBER
TechLeap.nl
An independent public-private partnership
that aims to merge the Dutch startup
ecosystem into one single connected
hub. With their unique connection to all
layers of government, corporations and the
main innovation hubs, they break down
barriers and improve access to talent,
capital, networks, knowledge and markets.
MEMBER
FEATURED ARTICLES FROM
LOCAL AMBASSADORS
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China
Beijing #4
ATTRACTION PHASE
Beijing's greatest innovation asset lies in its preeminent
education resources. Among Beijing's yearly 200,000 college
graduates, many enter the startup scene one way or another,
making this city a leading innovation highland as today.
Jordan Zhu
Senior Manager at Innoway in the Global Incubation Department
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Beijing is home to 1,070 AI companies, 26% of China’s
total. Beijing-based AI unicorn Bytedance is valued at $95
billion — the world’s largest privately backed startup.
Zhongguancun, Beijing’s tech hub, is home to 10 AI labs..
China is building a $2.1 billion AI technology park in
Beijing’s suburban Mentougou district.
Fintech
Beijing’s financial sector accounted for 17% of the city’s
economic activity in 2017. The Beijing Fintech
Demonstration Zone was announced in 2018. Tiger
Brokers, an online brokerage, raised $80 million in 2018,
reaching unicorn status. Du Xiaoman Financial, Baidu's
Fintech arm, raised $1.9 billion in 2018, followed by a
$2.89 billion credit line from Bank of Tianjin.
Why you should invest in Beijing
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$7.5 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$345 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#1 Global Ecosystem
Knowledge
#2 Global Ecosystem
Performance
8
10
9
143
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Beijing
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$2000 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$10 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$34 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Zhongguancun Tech Hub
Around 9,000 tech companies call this hub home,
including Baidu, Sina Corp, and Lenovo.
Government Support
The regional government aims to introduce $2.2
billion in private capital to tech projects and is
committed to paying about $14.9 million in loan
interest for startups to reduce borrowing costs by
20%.
COVID-19 Policy
For science and technology small and micro
enterprises in Zhongguancun Science Park, the
Beijing government has laid out plans to provide a
subsidy of up to RMB 200,000 (US$28,700) in R&D
costs, based on the company's actual situation of
R&D investment.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
91Maker / China Accelerator
/ Creative Young Community
/ Cyzone Innoway BJ / Dao Ventures
/ DayDay Up / Legend Star / Magma Partners / Makes-global / Noodle & Meetup /
Plug and Play China / Sinavation Ventures
/ Startup Grind / Suhehui / Technode / Ventures Lab
144
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Germany
Berlin #16
ATTRACTION PHASE
Berlin has organically grown into the European hub for IoT and
Blockchain, where tech talent and industry giants jointly solve
problems to drive technological and economic growth.
Nico Gramenz
CEO of Factory Berlin
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Fintech
The Fintech ecosystem is home to many startup support
organizations including FinLeap, a VC firm focusing on
Fintech investments and operating H:32, a large hub for
European Fintech startups. Incumbents like Deutsche
Bank and Axel Springer run innovation labs and
accelerator programs. Fintech unicorn N26 raised $470
million in a Series D2 round in July 2019 while Raisin,
featured on a list of the top 50 Fintech startups across
Europe in 2018, raised $114 million in a Series D round in
2019.
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Berlin has more AI startups than any other German
ecosystem, and they are expected to make more than $2.2
billion in revenue by 2025. Internationally renowned
centers such as the German Research Center for Artificial
Intelligence and the Berlin Center for Machine Learning,
are based here. The government will invest $3.4 billion
over the next six years to develop the country’s research
and AI capabilities. Merantix, an AI-driven venture studio,
raised a $28 million Series A in January 2020.
Why you should invest in Berlin
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$2.1 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$33 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Talent
9
10
6
145
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Berlin
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$980 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$63 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Incentivizing R&D
By 2025, Berlin aims to increase the ratio of R&D
investment to 3.5% of GDP and invest $17.4 billion
in key research areas.
Attracting Millennials
Berlin attracts entrepreneurs and talent from all
over the world. Nestpick ranked Germany’s capital
as the best city in the world for millennials, based
on factors like business ecosystem, essentials,
openness, and recreation.
COVID-19 Policy
Germany’s “Kurzarbeit” wage subsidy scheme
allows businesses to prevent layoffs in times of
economic downturn. Under this scheme, the
government covers 60% the difference of the
employee’s salary, thereby allowing staff to remain
on the job at reduced hours and salary.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Factory Berlin / Finleap / Gruenderszene / Microsoft Ventures
/ Project A Ventures
146
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United States
Los Angeles #6
ATTRACTION PHASE
We built a rock hard community, and seeing LA now, as one of
the top startup cities in the world, is a testament to the power
of community.
Cam Kashani
Cofounder and CEO at COACCEL: The Human Accelerator
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Adtech
Regional companies’ ad spending stood at $9.1 billion in
2018, representing 48% of California’s total. Discounts
coupon platform Honey Science was acquired by Paypal
holdings for $4 billion in 2020. System1, a digital
marketing platform raised $270 million in funding in 2017.
Gaming
Major global gaming companies are headquartered in Los
Angeles, including Scopely, Activision Blizzard, and ESL
Gaming (North America). In 2017, Respawn Entertainment,
an independent video game development studio, was
acquired by Electronic Arts for $455 million. In March
2020, mobile gaming company, Scopely raised $400
million.
Life Sciences
Life Sciences companies from the Los Angeles ecosystem
employ 122,000 people. The ecosystem also houses
Amgen, the world’s largest biotech company, and more
than 10 Life Sciences-focused incubators. Radiology
Partners, a healthcare service company, raised $234
million in venture capital funding in 2018.
Why you should invest in Los Angeles
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$3.6 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$120 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#4 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Talent
5
10
6
147
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Los Angeles
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$560 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$5 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$92 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
World-Class Universities
Southern California has 11 research universities
including Caltech, UCLA, and USC. According to a
2017 Milken Institute study, 5 Southern California
universities rank among the top 20 U.S.
universities in terms of producing patents.
Pool of Success
With recent successes such as Snap, Tinder, Bird,
and Dollar Shave Club, the region offers a deep
pool of experienced founders, employees, and
investors.
COVID-19 Policy
The city of Los Angeles established a Small
Business Emergency Microloan Program to support
local small businesses with microloans of upto
$20,000. Loans with repayment terms of six
months to one year carry an interest rate of 0%
and five-year loans have interest rates of 3% to
5%.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Bixel / Bixel Exchange / Cross Campus / Mucker Capital / WeWork
148
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France
Paris #13
ATTRACTION PHASE
France has taken over Europe as the place where the most
funding rounds happened in 2018. The next step is to turn our
eurocentric scale-ups into global leaders.
Nicolas Brien
CEO at France Digitale
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Edtech
The Edtech startup ecosystem in Paris is supported by the
presence of two Edtech VC funds, Educapital and
Brighteye Ventures. In addition, initiatives and industry
bodies like EdTech Observatory and EdTech France have
been set up to promote the Edtech industry in France.
Startup success stories include 360Learning, which raised
$41.5 million in a Series B round in 2018.
Fintech
Financial Services is the largest business sector in Paris,
and it includes six Global 500 companies with combined
revenue above $500 billion. Paris is also home to Paris
Fintech Forum, which in its latest edition hosted more
than 320 CEOs and 2,600+ participants from more than 75
countries. Startups in the space include Qonto, a Fintech
startup, which raised $115 million in a Series C round in
2020, and French mobile payment startup Lydia, which
raised $44 million in 2019 in a venture round.
Why you should invest in Paris
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$2.6 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$32 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Talent
5
10
3
149
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Paris
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$850 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.7 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$53 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Strong R&D Focus
Paris has 162,000 R&D workers with a total
expenditure of $22.5 billion in R&D.
Talent Attraction
The Passport Talent initiative, launched in 2016,
includes the French Tech visa. And, French Tech
Ticket offers a small amount of funding and
acceleration and incubation services for a year —
plus a fast-track residence permit.
COVID-19 Policy
The French Government announced a $4.3 billion
fund for struggling startups to help them stay
afloat during the crisis. The plan included
facilitating short-term refinancing allowing
startups to borrow as much as two years of payroll
for employees based in France or 25% of annual
revenue whichever is higher.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
50 Partners / France Digitale / Numa / Station F / The Family / TheFamily
150
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United States
Seattle #9
ATTRACTION PHASE
Founders appreciate the dynamic world-class tech ecosystem
Seattle offers. We're generous leaders in AI, Cloud, IoT,
Robotics, Big Data, Fintech, Biotech, VR/XR, and more for you
to connect with.
Brett Greene
CEO and Founder of New Tech Northwest
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Google invested $10.5 million in AI marketplace
Algorithmia. Apple is expanding its Seattle AI hub. Icertis,
an enterprise management software, raised $75 million in
2019 and joined the unicorn club at a $1.15 billion
valuation. In 2018, Intel acquired deep learning startup
Vertex.AI, and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence
hired Yejin Choi, a UW professor, to research AI under
Project Alexandria—backed by $125 million from the late
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Life Sciences
The primary care and family medicine programs at the
University of Washington have consistently topped the
U.S. News & World Report rankings. Seattle is home to
biotech companies like Adaptive Biotech, Trubion, and
ZymoGenetics and the headquarters of major investors
including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH.
Silverback Therapeutics, developer of ImmunoTAC
therapies raised $78.5 million in March 2020. Impel
NeuroPharma, a medical device startup, raised $67.5
million in 2018.
Why you should invest in Seattle
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.5 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$30 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Performance
Top 15 Global Ecosystem
Talent
5
10
6
151
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Seattle
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$1200 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$4.6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$101 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Startup Genealogy
Founders can draw on legacy experience.
Microsoft and Amazon, both headquartered in the
Seattle region, have been the source of numerous
spinoff companies directly (such as Expedia) and
indirectly (such as Twilio). Together with spinoffs
from the University of Washington, this record has
given the region a rich genealogy of startups that
become scaleups, begetting more startups.
COVID-19 Policy
To support small businesses financially impacted
by COVID-19, the City of Seattle committed $2.5
million in federal Community Development Block
Grants (CDBG) to the first round of the Small
Business Stabilization Fund. 250 eligible small
businesses will be selected through a lottery and
be awarded $10,000.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
ARI / Alliance of Angels
/ Angel Resource Institute / Fledge / Lighter Capital / MS Accelerator
/ Microsoft Ventures
/ Microsoft for Startups / New Tech Northwest
/ SURF Incubator /
Seattle Angel Conference
/ Seven Peaks Ventures
/ Startup Grind / Startup Seattle / Techstars
152
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South Korea
Seoul #20
ATTRACTION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Seoul Business Agency
The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call to realize that the
swiftness, transparency, and innovation can turn the crisis into
opportunities, as well as a catalyst for the startup ecosystem.
Park Won-soon
Mayor of Seoul
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Gaming
With approximately $12.14 billion in revenue, South
Korea’s Gaming industry is the 4th largest in the world.
The South Korean gaming market has 28.9 million players,
with around 39% of them watching gaming content
online. In 2018, Bluehole, a fantasy game developer for PC
and mobile devices, raised $500 million from Tencent
Holdings and became a unicorn. In 2017, Netmarble,
South Korea’s largest mobile game developer, raised $2.3
billion in the country’s second largest IPO.
Life Sciences
In 2018, nearly 26% of total VC investments, or about $1
billion, was invested in biotech. The number of new
startups in the sector doubled between 2015 and 2018.
For the last thirty years, South Korean startups have been
able to harvest the outcomes of the public R&D programs
in biotechnology. In 2019, new pharmaceutical startups
such as D&D Pharmatech and TiumBio respectively raised
$137 million and $34.3 million from VCs.
Why you should invest in Seoul
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1 b
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$39 b
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#3 Global Ecosystem
Knowledge
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Performance
7
9
2
153
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Seoul
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$443 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$2.8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$48 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Seoul’s Scale-Up Policy
To accelerate the growth of startups, the City of
Seoul formed the $1 billion “Seoul Future
Investment Fund” in 2018 and it is building an
online platform to support startups to go global
from a very early stage.
R&D
South Korea is the fifth highest investor in R&D
with around $94.5 billion. South Korea’s R&D
spending ratio to GDP is the second highest in the
world at 4.3%.
COVID-19 Policy
In March 2020, the Government of South Korea
announced that it would spend $39 billion to
provide financial support for SMEs struggling due
to COVID-19. Additionally, it will provide $724
million to help 520,000 workers in SMEsmaintain
employment.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Seoul Business Agency
SBA provides a variety of public services
such as support for start-ups (including
business of foreign residents in Seoul
through Seoul Global Center), R&D,
intellectual property, development of
market outlet for small businesses,
overseas export, SETEC(Trade exhibition
for SMEs) and so forth. These services aim
to help SMEs increase their market
competitiveness.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Born2Global Centre / Chain.Asia LLC / Dream Plus / InterValue Partners / Koisra Seed Partners / Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation / Medici Investment
/ Pathfinder H / Quantum Ventures Korea
/
Sema Translink Investment
/ Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovations
/ Seoul Startup Hub / Seoulz / Sopoong / Thenews.Asia / Venture Square
154
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China
Shanghai #8
ATTRACTION PHASE
Shanghai has a very impressive mix of global corporate
innovation, startup co-working and investment hubs that helps
startups connect dreams to innovation, make ideas to reality.
Howard Wang
Incubation Director, Shanghai Caohejing Innovation Center
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Edtech
Over 1,000 Edtech companies are headquartered in
Shanghai, and they received about $1.3 billion in venture
funding between 2015 and 2017. OneSmart Education
platform raised $28 million in an IPO in 2018. 17zuoye is
an online learning platform which became a unicorn in
2018 when it raised $250 million in Series E funding led by
Temasek Holdings. Zhangmen, a K-12 tutoring company,
raised $350 million in Series E funding from China Media
Capital and CICC Alpha in January 2019.
Gaming
China accounts for over 25% of global gaming revenue
and is the world's largest mobile gaming market.
Shanghai’s gaming industry is expected to reach over $15
billion by 2020. Shanghai is home to more than 130
gaming startups, a satellite for industry giants such as EA,
Ubisoft, and Virtuos. In addition, Shanghai is host to
ChinaJoy, Asia’s largest gaming expo with over 340,000
attendees including participation from Giant players such
as Sony, Xiaomi, and HTC.
Why you should invest in Shanghai
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$8.7 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$138 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#2 Global Ecosystem
Knowledge
#3 Global Ecosystem
Performance
8
10
9
155
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Shanghai
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$1500 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$10 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$30 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Abundant Funding
Shanghai’s venture capital network includes about
5,000 angel investors and associations. The
Shanghai science and technology innovation fund
was launched by state-owned investors with an
initial round of $970 million.
R&D Investment
Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, sometimes referred to as
China’s Silicon Valley, has more than 400 R&D
institutions.
COVID-19 Policy
As an effort to stabilize employment, the Shanghai
Government is returning half of the
unemployment insurance premiums paid by the
companies in the previous year, provided they do
not lay off workers in 2020.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
ChinaAccelerator / Ether Capital / Founder Space / Innoclub / Innospace+ / Innospring / NakedHub / People Square / Shanghai valley
/ Sinavation Ventures
/ Startup Grind / Technode /
Xnode
156
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Singapore
Singapore #17
ATTRACTION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Enterprise Singapore
Singapore and Silicon Valley share a unique quality, they are
magnets for talent across the globe. Magic is sparked when
people from different backgrounds come together to solve a
problem.
Vinnie Lauria
Managing Partner at Golden Gate Ventures
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Digital Health
As part of its Research Innovation and Enterprise 2020 5-
year plan, Singapore has allocated $4 billion to health and
biomedical sciences R&D - more than any other sector.
2019 saw the launch of Catalyst, Singapore’s first
coworking innovation space for medtech and healthtech
startups, as well as the BlueChilli HealthTech Accelerator
(in partnership with Enterprise Singapore). Doctor
Anywhere, a platform offering on-demand healthcare,
raised a $27 million Series B round in 2020, whilst ASLAN
Pharmaceuticals went public in 2018 with a valuation of
$1.1 billion.
Fintech
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has introduced a
fintech regulatory sandbox program, opened a fintech
innovation lab, and launched a fintech innovation village
called LATTICE80. The ecosystem hosts Singapore
FinTech Festival x SWITCH, which is the biggest fintech
and innovation event in the world, attracting more than
45,000 participants from 130 countries. Also, the FinTech
Office, a virtual entity for all fintech-related matters, was
set up in 2016. FinAccel, a Fintech startup, raised $90
million in a Series C funding round in late 2019.
Why you should invest in Singapore
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.4 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$21 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 30 Global Ecosystem
Performance
6
10
7
157
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Singapore
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$661 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$3.6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$47 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Ease of Doing Business
Singapore is rated as the second best country to
conduct business globally in the World Bank’s Ease
of Doing Business Ranking.
Financial Assistance
Enterprise Singapore’s StartupSG program
consolidates startup assistance schemes, providing
early-stage startups with access to mentorship,
cash grants, equity financing and business loans.
This includes the StartupSG Equity Co-Investment
Fund for deep tech and digital startups and the
StartupSG Founder scheme.
COVID-19 Policy
Singapore, in its Budget 2020, announced a Jobs
Support Scheme to co-fund the first SG$4,600 of
gross monthly wages for each local employee for 9
months. Enterprise Singapore will support
businesses through loan support schemes,
including the 90% government guaranteed
“Temporary Bridging Loan Programme” and
Enterprise Financing Scheme. Singaporean citizens
also receive direct payouts of up to SG$1200.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Enterprise Singapore
Enterprise Singapore is the government
agency championing enterprise
development. We work with committed
companies to build capabilities, innovate
and internationalise. We also support the
growth of Singapore as a hub for global
trading and startups.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) / 500 Startups / FocusTech Ventures
/ Starburst Accelerator
/ 500 Ecosystems Singapore PTE. LTD. / Startup X PTE. LTD. / Trendlines Medical Singapore
158
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Sweden
Stockholm #10
ATTRACTION PHASE
Stockholm has a mature value driven and true international
startup ecosystem built on Swedish innovation excellence,
equality values and pay-it-forward culture.
Marie Wall
Startup director, Deputy director at Ministry of Enterprise, Division for Research, Innovation and Access to Finance
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Cleantech
In 2017, Sweden ranked #third in UNIDO’s Global
Cleantech Innovation Index based on strong scores for
innovation inputs and outputs. As part of the Clinton
Climate Initiative, Stockholm Royal Seaport will be
developed as the first city district in the world with full-
scale smart grids. VOI Technology, an e-scooter startup,
raised a $30 million Series A round March 2019 followed
by a $85 million Series B round in November 2019.
Life Sciences
Stockholm is home to Karolinska Institutet, which awards
the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine and is ranked #10
worldwide in Life Sciences and Medicine by QS World
University Rankings. In 2016, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals,
a developer of cancer and rare-disease therapies, was
acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb for $520 million. In
2018, ITBMed, a drug discovery company, raised $67
million in early stage funding.
Why you should invest in Stockholm
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$944 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$44 b
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Performance
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Talent
8
9
2
159
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Stockholm
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$479 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.4 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$51 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Access to Talent
In Stockholm, almost one-fifth of the entire
workforce works in tech, the highest share of any
other city in Europe. Companies also have access
to top talent from some of Europe's top ranking
universities, such as the Stockholm School of
Economics, Karolinska Institutet and Royal
Institute of Technology (KTH).
COVID-19 Policy
Swedish Government announced a short-term
work allowance program under which employers
can reduce their employees’ working hours and
receive financial support of upto 53% of
employees salaries from the state. Maximum
compensation is capped at SEK 44,000 per month
per employee.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Epicenter / Impacthub / Northzone / SUP46 / Venturecup
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Israel
Tel Aviv #6
ATTRACTION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Tel Aviv Global
It is well understood, even by the Finance Ministry, that the
high-tech industry in Israel holds the key to pulling us out of
the economic crisis following the coronavirus pandemic.
Aharon Aharon
CEO at IIA
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Israel ranks third in the number of AI startups globally. In
March 2018, Google set up here its first startup
accelerator focused on artificial intelligence and machine
learning outside of the U.S. Logz.io, an open source
analytics platform received $52 million in late stage VC in
June 2019. AI chip developer Habana Labs was acquired
by Intel for $2 billion in 2019. AI is the leading sector for
startups based in Tel Aviv, accounting for 40.7% of all
startups and 25% of employees in the city. Cloud and big
data comes second with a 38.1% share.
Cybersecurity
Israel exports $6.5 billion in cybersecurity products every
year. It was the first country to offer a Cybersecurity PhD
and it is home to six cybersecurity university research
centers. Cybersecurity exits in Israel totaled $3.4 billion in
2019 with 23 deals including Demisto, which was acquired
by Palo Alto Networks for $560 million and Tufin, which
became a public company at a valuation of ~$450 million.
Why you should invest in Tel Aviv
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$3 b
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$47 b
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Talent
8
10
5
161
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Tel Aviv
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$1400 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$5.7 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$72 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Density of Startups and R&D
Hubs
Tel Aviv has the highest number of startups per
capita in the world after Silicon Valley. It is now
home to 107 multinational companies with R&D
centers and innovation hubs, including Yandex,
Amazon, and Alibaba.
National Pre-Seed Fund
The Tnufa National Pre-Seed Fund offers grants of
up to 85% for approved expenses.
COVID-19 Policy
The Israeli government announced a 1.5 billion ILS
support plan, which includes 650 million ILS as
"first aid" to small and medium-size companies
through the Israel Innovation authority's grants and
programs. Other initiatives are focused on backed
loans for companies in need of funding, and
encouraging the entrance of institutional investors
into the market.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Tel Aviv Global
Tel Aviv Global & Tourism is a municipal
company that reports to the Mayor's Office
at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. It
facilitates the global quantum leap taken
by the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo in creating
economic and tourism growth.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Future Block Coworking / Future Block Programs / Geektime / Microsoft Ventures
/ Microsoft for Startups / SOSA / Startup Nation Central / Techstars
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Japan
Tokyo #15
ATTRACTION PHASE
MEMBERS:
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Tokyo will mobilize all efforts to provide maximum support for
global startups expanding in ‘Mega City’ Tokyo and Asia and
continue to offer the best opportunities for startups to access
world-leading companies, talent and cutting-edge
technologies.
Hisaaki Terasaki
Director General, Office for Strategic Policy and ICT Promotion, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Advanced Manufacturing &
Robotics
Japan is the world´s predominant industrial robot
manufacturer and produces more than half of the global
supply. Japan Robot Association, the world’s first trade
association for robots was formed in Tokyo in 1971 with
members such as Denso, Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba, Yamaha
Motors, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric,
and others. Synstpective, a space technology firm
developing small SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), raised
$99.9 million in a Series A round in July 2019.
Fintech
The Global Financial Centers Index ranks Tokyo the third
most competitive financial center in the world. In 2017 the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) announced the
“Global Financial City: Tokyo” vision. As part of this vision,
the TMG grants the “Tokyo Financial Award” to financial
institutions who offer innovative products and services
that meet Tokyo citizens’ needs or promote ESG
investments. In 2019, Paidy, a postpaid payment service
provider, raised $162 million in a Series C round.
Why you should invest in Tokyo
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$1.7 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$25 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Knowledge
Top 20 Global Ecosystem
Performance
7
10
8
163
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Tokyo
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$502 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$1.8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$50 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Tokyo Startup Ecosystem
Consortium
Tokyo established a Startup Ecosystem
Consortium in early 2020 to support and incubate
innovative local startups through collaboration
between government, research institutions, and
the private sector.
Government Focus on
Ecosystem Development
The government of Japan has laid out a 7 step
strategy titled “Beyond Limits, Unlock Our
Potential” to strengthen the country’s startup
ecosystem. It includes the creation of a startup
city, providing entrepreneurship education,
improved accelerator programs, state procurement
and funding for startups.
COVID-19 Policy
The government of Japan, as part of its emergency
policy package, has committed $15 billion to zero
interest loan programs to help small businesses
across Japan who have had to suspend operations
because of the outbreak. In addition, the TMG has
announced a $1.8 billion supplementary budget to
strengthen support for economic activities,
including SMEs.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Japan Venture Capital Association (KII, UTEC)
/ Keidanren / Keio University / Mitsubishi Estate / Mitsui Fudosan / Mori Building / Plug n Play / The University of Tokyo /
Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry
/ Tokyu / Tokyu Land Corporation / Waseda University
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United States
Boston #5
INTEGRATION PHASE
Boston is home to a buzzing startup ecosystem across many
sectors—cleantech, biotech, and robotics. We strongly believe
that our regional community thrives because of all the
stakeholders that are committed to supporting local, early-
stage companies.
Dr. Emily Reichert
CEO at Greentown Labs
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Advanced Manufacturing &
Robotics
Boston has access to world-class talent from institutions
like MIT and Harvard. Robotics companies employ more
than 4,700 people. The city is also bringing more access
to technology in classrooms through makerspaces and 3D
printing facilities. Desktop Metal, one of the leading
unicorns and a developer of metal 3D printers, raised $160
million in a Series E round in 2019. Other major funding
rounds in 2019 include Markforged’ $82 million Series D
round and Humatics’ $28 million Series A round.
Life Sciences
Boston has more than 1,100 Life Sciences companies,
seven teaching hospitals, and five of the top six NIH-
funded independent hospitals in the U.S. MLSC runs a $1
billion Life Sciences Initiative, which provides research
grants, accelerator loans, tax incentives, etc. In 2018,
Moderna launched the largest Biotech IPO in the world
with a valuation of $7.5 billion. In 2019, Dewpoint
Therapeutics raised $60 million in the largest-ever Series
A round in Boston.
Why you should invest in Boston
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$3.9 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$96 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
Top 10 Global Ecosystem
Funding
Top 5 Global Ecosystem
Talent
9
10
6
165
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Boston
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$1000 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$100 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Top Startup Programs
More than 50 accelerators and incubators,
including global programs including MassChallenge,
operate in Boston.
Tax Credits
The state of Massachusetts offers an R&D tax
credit in addition to the federal one. This gives an
edge to attracting research-intensive companies
from other states.
COVID-19 Policy
U.S. Small Business Administration is offering loans
through the Paycheck Protection Program to help
businesses keep their workforce employed during
the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The SBA also
stated to forgive loans if all employees are kept on
the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used
for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
4GenNow / Cambridge Innovation Center / Capital network / Mass Challenge / Pitchfull
166
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United Kingdom
London #2
INTEGRATION PHASE
London has an established position at the cutting edge of tech.
Previously in Fintech, but now also AI and Healthtech. It’s
critical we leverage this advantage — attract the best talent
and build a supportive ecosystem.
Suranga Chandratillake
Partner at Balderton Capital
“
Sub-sector Strengths
Edtech
The U.K.’s Edtech sector is expected to reach $4.4 billion
by 2021 and current U.K. education exports total $22.8
billion annually. London has more than 500 Edtech
companies and ranked #1 in Europe for early-stage
funding in Edtech in 2017. A Cloud Guru, a cloud
computing training platform, raised $33 million in 2019.
Memrise, a language learning platform, raised $15.5
million in 2018.
Fintech
London is the second-largest financial center in the world,
produced two Fintech unicorns in 2019, and has a financial
sector employing more than one million people. In 2018,
the Financial Conduct Authority launched a global Fintech
regulatory sandbox after the success of a domestic
sandbox that loosened financial regulations.
Checkout.com, an online payments platform startup
raised $230 million and became a unicorn in May 2019.
Why you should invest in London
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$6 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$92 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#3 Global Ecosystem
Funding
#4 Global Ecosystem
Talent
8
10
6
167
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
London
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$650 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$4 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$66 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Seed Enterprise Investment
Scheme
A vibrant early-stage funding environment has
developed thanks to this, which provides investors
up to £150,000 of their investment back in income
tax relief.
Startup visa
London is the only top 5 ecosystem with a startup
visa program which was launched in the spring of
2019.
COVID-19 Policy
The UK Government announced a Job Retention
Scheme to pay up to 80% of wages for workers at
risk of being laid off due to the pandemic. All
employers in the country are eligible to apply to
HMRC for payments of up to £2,500 per worker
per month under this scheme.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Accelerator Network / Balderton Capital / City of London / GEN / GSMA / KPMG / Level39 / MassChallenge / Microsoft Ventures
/ Microsoft for Startups / Northzone /
Tech London Advocates
/ TechUK / Techstars London / Wayra London
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United States
New York City #2
INTEGRATION PHASE
MEMBERS:
New York City Economic Development Corporation / Tech:NYC
Times of crisis reveal the resilience of our innovators, and in
New York’s case our startups have continued to adapt while
finding ways to serve the public. Even with COVID’s economic
effects, there’s optimism in the NYC startup culture, ensured by
our entrepreneurs’ ambition and underwritten by our investors’
confidence.
Julie Samuels
Executive Director, Tech:NYC
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
New York City boasts the highest number of AI and
machine learning positions in a single metro area. Recent
5-year growth in AI and Big Data VC funding is higher in
New York City than the Bay Area and Boston. CTRL labs, a
startup that specializes in allowing humans to control
computers using their brains, was recently acquired by
Facebook for between $500 million and $1 billion in 2019.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a billion-dollar industry in New York City,
with 100+ companies and 6,000+ employees as of 2017.
Cyber NYC is a public-private initiative that includes
startup accelerators, bootcamps, and the Global Cyber
Center – a dynamic home for ecosystem building that also
connects New York’s largest economic players to state-of-
the-art cybersecurity solutions. Dashlane, a password
manager, raised $110 million in 2019.
Life Sciences
New York City has nine academic medical centers, 50+
hospitals, and 100+ research foundations. New York
institutions receive circa $2 billion in NIH R&D grant
funding and have now helped startups raise over $1 billion
in venture capital. The City is home to Life Sciences
companies like Kallyope, which received a $112 million
Series C in 2020 and Schrondinger’s successful IPO earlier
in 2020 with a valuation of $819 million.
Why you should invest in New York City
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$8.3 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$147 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#2 Global Ecosystem
Funding
#3 Global Ecosystem
Talent
8
10
6
169
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
New York City
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$850 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$6 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$98 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
World’s Second Largest Tech
Ecosystem
With 9,000+ startups, 22 unicorns and 100+
accelerators, incubators, bootcamps, and co-
working spaces.
Most Diverse and Cosmopolitan
City
8.5 million residents, 73 Fortune 500 companies,
2.3 million people with bachelor’s degrees
(including 1+ million degree holders in science &
engineering-related fields), plus 410,000 women-
owned businesses. Nearly 50% of NYC’s tech
workers are foreign-born.
COVID-19 Policy
In response to the crisis, the City invested in and
partnered with startups and local manufacturers to
develop face shields, gowns, a bridge ventilator,
and test kits, saving countless lives. The City
launched a temporary small business grant and
interest free loan program, and a competition that
awards up to $100,000 to tech companies and
community groups to solve COVID-19-related
challenges in the City’s commercial districts.
STARTUP GENOME
MEMBERS
New York City Economic Development
Corporation
NYCEDC is the City's primary vehicle for
promoting economic growth across all its
neighborhoods. NYCEDC's mission is to
stimulate growth through expansion and
redevelopment programs that encourage
investment, generate prosperity, and
strengthen the City's competitive position.
NYCEDC serves as an advocate to the
business community by building
relationships with companies that allow
them to take advantage of New York City's
many opportunities.
MEMBER
Tech:NYC
Tech:NYC is an engaged network of tech

leaders working to foster a dynamic,
diverse, and creative New York. It brings
together principled New Yorkers to
support a successful technology
ecosystem, attract and retain top-tier
talent, and celebrate New York and the
companies that call it home.
MEMBER
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Starta Venture Accelerator
/ Blue Ridge Labs / Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce / Bunker Labs / Cela / Civic Hall / Coindesk/Consensus / Company (previously Grand Central Tech)
/
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator / Flatiron Partnership / Gary's Guide / Innovative Collective / Mayor's Office of International Affairs - NYC
/ MeetUp / New Lab / New York Angels
/
NY Fashion Tech Lab / NY Tech Alliance
/ NYC Blend / SAP / TechStars / Urban-X / VentureOut
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United States
Silicon Valley - Bay Area #1
INTEGRATION PHASE
Despite rising real estate prices and increased scrutiny, Silicon
Valley remains a vibrant place for startups. In fact, the external
forces acting on Silicon Valley are changing how companies
develop products and manage teams.
Robert Siegel
Partner at XSeed Capital and Lecturer in Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business
“
Sub-sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Seven of the world’s top 10 AI investors — companies like
Google, Facebook, and Apple — are based in Silicon
Valley. Microsoft invested $1 billion in Open AI In 2019,
Databricks raised over $650 million in two financing
rounds in 2019, and Snowflake Computing, data
warehousing platform raised $478M in a Series G round in
March 2020.
Fintech
Drawn by the region’s strength in Fintech, global financial
companies are increasing their presence in the region. JP
Morgan announced plans to open a Fintech innovation hub
in Silicon Valley by 2020. Stripe, a Fintech unicorn, raised
$245 million in 2018, followed by a $100 million in Jan
2019 and $250 million in September 2019.
Life Sciences
Silicon Valley has a long history of innovation in Life
Sciences, producing success stories such as Acerta
Pharma and Vir Biotechnology. It is home to more than
1,400 Life Sciences companies employing over 82,000
people. In 2018, Grail raised $300 million in Series C
funding and Allogene went public at a valuation of $2.2
billion.
Why you should invest in Silicon Valley - Bay Area
EXIT GROWTH
INDEX
INVESTOR ACTIVITY
INDEX
FUNDING GROWTH
INDEX
TOTAL EARLY STAGE FUNDING
$18 bn
ECOSYSTEM VALUE
$677 bn
GLOBAL AVG.
$431 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$10.5 bn
#1 Global Ecosystem
Funding
#1 Global Ecosystem
Performance
8
10
6
171
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Startup Community
Reasons to move your startup to
Silicon Valley - Bay Area
MEDIAN SEED ROUND
$1000 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$494 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND
$8 m
GLOBAL AVG.
$2.7 m
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SALARY
$123 k
GLOBAL AVG.
$42.1 k
Ranks #1 Across the Board
Silicon Valley top in most startup Sub-Sector
rankings from AI, to Robotics, to Life Sciences. It is
the world’s main unicorn factory, producing more
than 96 through December 2019.
World-Class Resources
Startups have access to talent (Stanford
University, UC Berkeley and USCF), capital, plus
numerous investors and mentors.
COVID-19 Policy
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act offers an Employee Retention Tax
Credit — a refundable payroll tax credit to
encourage and enable employers to keep
employees on their payroll. The tax credit is equal
to 50% of the first $10,000 of qualified wages that
employers pay each employee.
STARTUP GENOME
PARTNERS
Engine / GSV / Manos Accelerator / Parisoma / Rocketspace
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Methodology, Framework, and
Acknowledgments
174
Methodology
184

References
202

Acknowledgements and Partners
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
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Methodology
The Startup Genome quantitative data infrastructure
includes data on over 1.27 million companies, 250+
ecosystems, and survey data from more than 10,000
startup executives across the globe -- the Voice of En-
trepreneurs.
Below is a description of the main datasets that make
up this data science infrastructure:

• Startup Genome proprietary data:

•
Interview of 100+ Experts

• 2017-2019 Startup Ecosystem Survey with more
than 10,000 participants per year

• 2020 COVID-19 Founder Survey with more than
2000 participants

• 2020 COVID-19 Knowledge Base with more 200
articles on policies actions taken all over the world

• Crunchbase: global dataset on funding, exits, and
locations of startups and investors
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020

• Orb Intelligence: global dataset on company infor-
mation

• PitchBook: private capital market data provider

• Dealroom: global dataset on funding, exits, and lo-
cations of startups and investors

• Local partners (accelerators, incubators, startup
hubs, investors):

•
list of startups

•
list of local exits and funding events
Data Sources
Primary Data Sources
In alphabetical order
Crunchbase (2017-2020). Crunchbase.com Database
CB Insights (2019-2020). Cbinsights.com Database
Dealroom.co BV. (2017-2020). Dealroom.co Database
Orb Intelligence Inc. (2017-2020). orb-intelligence.
com Database
PitchBook (2018-2020), a private capital market data
provider Database
Startup Genome LLC (2017-2020). StartupGenome.
com Database
Secondary Data Sources
• Forbes 2000
• Github API
• International IP Index
• Meetup.com
• OECD, R&D Spending
• Other sources from Life Sciences Rankings
• Salaries data from Glassdoor, Salary.com, and Pay-
Scale
175
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• Shanghai Rankings
• Techboard
• Times Higher Education Rankings
• Top 800 R&D Hospitals, Webometrics
• USPTO
• WIPO
• World Bank, Ease of Doing Business
Selected Data Timeframes
• Ecosystem Value, Exit Value, and Startup Valuation:
sum of exits and funding rounds of 2017, 2018 and
first half of 2019.
• Based on our previous analysis we assessed that it
takes one year for half of the seed rounds to find
their way into major data sources. Therefore, we use
the first half of 2019 as the latest period for which
earlier-stage metrics can be computed to create re-
liable benchmarks at the ecosystem level.
• Early-Stage Funding: Sum of all Seed and Series A
investments in 2017, 2018, and first half of 2019,
corrected for obviously missing rounds.
Ranking Methodology (For Top
Ecosystems)
Overall Ranking
The overall global ecosystem ranking is a weighted
average of the following factor scores:
• Performance: 30%
• Funding: 25%
• Market Reach: 15%
• Connectedness: 5%
• Experience & Talent: 20%
• Knowledge: 5%
We calculated an ecosystem index value for each factor,
based on the sub-factor and metrics detailed below.
The ecosystems scores were multiplied by the above
weights to establish the overall rank of each ecosys-
tem. The weights of the factors were determined from
2017- 2020 through correlation analyses and modeling
work based on linear regression analyses, using factor
indexes as independent variables with the performance
index as dependent variable. Finally, adding the actual
Performance Index to the ranking formula serves to
include the influence of unobserved factors on the
performance of an ecosystem.
Ranking Details
Performance
Captures the actual leading, current, and lagging indi-
cators of ecosystem performance.
• 50% Ecosystem Value = log of sum of all exits and
estimated startups valuations during the timeframe
without double-counting
• 37.5% Exits
• 80% Volume of Exits (80% log of number of exits
of $50M+ and 20% log of number of exits of $1B+)
• 20% Exit Growth Index (scored from 1 to 10)
• 12.5% Startup Success
• 60% Growth-Stage Success (100% Ratio of Series
C-to-A Startups)
• 30% Speed to Exit (50% average company age at
exit and 50% average company age at IPO)
• 10% Early-Stage Success (Ratio of Series B-to-A
Startups)
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Funding
Quantifies funding metrics important to the success of
early-stage startups.
• 90% Access
• 90% Early-Stage Funding Volume (80% log of count
and 20% log of sum of total early-stage funding
deals)
• 10% Log of Early-Stage Funding Growth
• 10% Quality and Activity
• 70% Volume of Investors (50% log of total number
of VCs and CVCs(in Q1 2020); and 50% log of total
number of large $100M+ AUM VCs and CVCs(in
Q1 2020))
• 10% Experience of Investors (50% number of in-
vestors with above average exit rates in (Q1 2020)
and 50% average years of experience of investors
in (Q1 2020))
• 20% New Investor (50% log of total number of new
investors (less than 5 years of activity) (in Q1 2020)
and 50% ratio active investors (in Q1 2020))
Market Reach
Measures early-stage startup access to customers al-
lowing them to scale and “Go-Global.”
• 60% Globally Leading Companies
• 50% Ratio of billion-dollar club to GDP (B)
• 30% Ratio of exits over 1B by Metro population
(in M)
• 20% Log of Ratio of Exits over 50M in 2017-1H2019
to Funding Series A on 2017-1H2019
• 30% Local Market Reach
• Log of GDP of country
• 10% Quality
• Log of Commercialization of Tangible IP Assets
(tiers from 1 to 10, score based on the Internation-
al IP Index, measured at the country level)
Connectedness
Measures how connected the ecosystem is to the global
fabric of knowledge lying within the ecosystem (Local
Connectedness and Innovation Infrastructure).
• 90% Local Connectedness
• 60% Log of Count of Meetup Groups on meetup.
com
• 40% Log of Ratio of Number of Meetup Groups
from meetup.com by population (in M)
• 10% Infrastructure
• 60% Log of Life Sciences-focused measure of ac-
celerators and incubators
• 10% Log of Count of Research and Development
Hospitals
• 10% Count of Research and Development Loca-
tions
• 10% Log of Average amount of LS specific Grants
• 10% Log of Count of LS specific research organi-
zations
Talent and Experience
37.5% Talent
Assesses the talent early-stage startups have access to.
• 90% Tech Talent
• 90% Quality & Access
• 70% Log of Count of Exits over 50M 2009-2018
• 10% Share of top github coders to total github
coders
• 10% Log of Count of Github coders on github.
com with more than 10 followers
• 10% English Proficiency Score
• 10% Cost
• 50% Log of software engineer salary — lower
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is better — from Glassdoor, Salary.com, and
PayScale
• 50% Log of Funding Runway: Ratio of Median
Series A funding rounds by software engineer
salary
• 10% Life Sciences
• 50% STEM Students: Log of Number of STEM stu-
dents
• 40% Life Sciences Access
• 70% Log of Number of Life Sciences disciplines
• 30% Log of Number of institutes which have Life
Sciences related disciplines
• 10% Life Sciences Quality
• 25% Average of CNCI score from Shanghai Rank-
ings
• 25% Average of TOP score from Shanghai Rank-
ings
• 25% Average IC score from Shanghai Rankings
• 25% Average PUB Score from Shanghai Rank-
ings
62.5% Experience
Captures the degree of startup experience in an eco-
system
• 80% Startup Experience in Ecosystem
• Log of Count of Funding of Series A in 2009-2019
(10 years)
• 20% Scaling Experience in Ecosystem (the cumula-
tive number of significant exits, over $50 million and
$1 billion, over 10 years for startups founded in the
ecosystem)
• 60% Log of number of exits of $1B+
• 40% Log of number of exits of $50M
Knowledge
The Knowledge Success Factor assesses:
• 80% Patents (the volume, complexity, and potential
of patents in Life Sciences created in the ecosystem,
further described in the Life Sciences section of the
Methodology)
• 50% Log of Tier of number of LS patents in eco-
system
• 30% LS three year moving average growth of
Patents.
• 10% LS technology potential, a measure calculated
at the technology class level globally and calculat-
ed for each ecosystem based on the technologies
it produces
• 20% Complexity of Technology Class, based on
a PageRank algorithm1
• 30% Global Growth of Technology Class
• 50% Size of Technology Class (log of number of
global patents in class)
• 10% Complexity Score of patents,a measure of the
capacity of the ecosystem for producing patent in
complex technology classes, based on a PageRank
algorithm2
• 20% Research (H-index, a measure of publication
impact, this metric looks at the production of Life
Sciences research at the country level)
Growth Index
• 50% Exit Growth Index: Index of growth in tech startup
exits in the ecosystem from 2015-2016 to 2017-2018.
Measured on a scale of 1-10
• 50% Funding Growth Index: Index of growth in ear-
ly-stage funding (Seed and Series A) in tech startups
in the ecosystem from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017. Mea-
sured on a scale of 1-10
1. https://tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00343404.2018.1437900
2. https://tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00343404.2018.1437900
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Emerging Ecosystems Rankings
Emerging ecosystems are those ecosystems following
the top 40 global ecosystems in performance. The factor
weights used to rank these ecosystems are slightly dif-
ferent from those used with top ecosystems (detailed
in our methodology section) to reflect their emerging
status and emphasize the factors that influence more
in ecosystems that are just beginning to grow.
The Emerging ecosystem ranking is a weighted average
of the following factor scores:
• Performance: 45%
• Funding: 30%
• Market Reach: 15%
• Experience & Talent: 10%
Emerging Eco Ranking Details:
Performance
Captures the actual leading, current, and lagging indi-
cators of ecosystem performance.
• 70% Ecosystem Value = log of sum of all exits and
estimated startups valuations during the timeframe
without double-counting
• 20% Exits
• 80% Volume of Exits (80% log of number of exits
of $50M+ and 20% log of number of exits of $1B+)
• 20% Exit Growth Index (scored from 1 to 10)
• 10% Startup Success
• 80% Growth-Stage Success (50% Ratio of Series
C-to-A Startups and 50% log of unicorns from
2017-1H2019)
• 10% Speed to Exit (50% average company age at
exit and 50% average company age at IPO)
• 10% Early-Stage Success (Ratio of Series B-to-A
Startups)
Funding
Quantifies funding metrics important to the success of
early-stage startups.
• 100% Access
• 90% Early-Stage Funding Volume (80% log of count
and 20% log of sum of total early-stage funding
deals
• 10% Log of Early-Stage Funding Growth
Market Reach
Measures early-stage startup access to customers al-
lowing them to scale and “Go-Global.”
• 100% Globally Leading Companies
• 50% Ratio of Billion dollar club to GDP (B)
• 30% Ratio of exits over 1B by Metro population
(in M)
• 20% Log of Ratio of Exits over 50M in 2017-1H2019
to Funding Ser A on 2017-1H2019
Talent and Experience
50% Talent
Assesses the talent early-stage startups have access to.
• 80% Tech Talent
• 50% Quality & Access
• 70% Log of Count of Exits over 50M 2009-2018
• 10% Share of top github coders to total github
coders
• 20% Log of Count of Github coders on github.
com with more than 10 followers
• 50% Cost
• 50% Log of software engineer salary — lower
is better — from Glassdoor, Salary.com, and
PayScale
• 50% Log of Funding Runway: Ratio of Median
Series A funding rounds by software engineer
salary
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• 20% Life Sciences
• 100% STEM Students: Log of Number of STEM
students
50% Experience
Captures the degree of startup experience in an eco-
system
• 80% Startup Experience in Ecosystem
• Log of Count of Funding of Series A in 2009-2019
(10 years)
• 20% Scaling Experience in Ecosystem (the cumula-
tive number of significant exits, over $50 million and
$1 billion, over 10 years for startups founded in the
ecosystem)
• 60% Log of number of exits of $1B+
• 40% Log of number of exits of $50M
Notes on reason for changes of
Ecosystem Value
Our constant endeavour at Startup Genome is to
improve our quality of research and data to help our
members and our readers to gain the absolute ‘on
the ground’ knowledge into the world of startup eco-
systems. With that aim in mind, we have significantly
improved our data set - both in terms of exhaustive-
ness and quality. As we improved the data, one of the
key outcomes was an increase in the ecosystem value.
The major factors that influenced the ecosystem value
exchange are:
1. Technology Startup Classification: We have made
significant improvements in our classification of tech-
nology companies by adding more comprehensive
classification criteria and tags from multiple sources.
We have also included CB insights data as well as
introduced in-depth checks conducted by our team
to ensure the tech classification done is indeed true.
This resulted in more companies being tagged as
tech and hence more deals being added in our data
set. This contributed approximately 8% to the eco-
system value increase
2. Increasing the Age Criteria: We concluded that older
startups are more likely of receiving higher and late
stage funding rounds. With that in mind, for exits
over $100M we included companies with formation
date till 1995. Similarly, for rounds later tha Series B,
companies with formation dates till 1995 were taken
into our data set. This added about 8.5% to the eco-
system vale of the top 100 ecosystems
3. Increasing Unicorns Data: We made enormous
strides in expanding unicorns coverage in our data
set. This included incorporating CB insights unicorns
and billion dollar exits (after in-depth checks by our
team). This contributed to about 36% in the increase
in ecosystem value of the top ecosystems
4. Fine Combing through Big Deals: As a final check, we
scrupulously worked on the big deals of each ecosys-
tem to make sure that deal was valid, reflected the
true value and belonged to that particular ecosystem.
Ecosystem Deep Dive Metrics
Ecosystem Value
A measure of economic impact, calculated as the value
of exits and startup valuations over 2017, 2018, and the
first half of 2019
Exit Growth Index
Index of growth in tech startup exits in the ecosystem
from 2016-2017 to 2018-2019. Measured on a scale of
1-10, where 10 is the highest tier of growth observed
and 1 is the lowest
Funding Growth Index
Index of growth in early-stage funding (Seed and Series
A) in tech startups in the ecosystem from 2016-2017 to
2018-2019. Measured on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is
the highest tier of growth observed and 1 is the lowest
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Total Early Stage Funding
Total Seed and Series A funding in tech startups in 2017,
2018, and first half of 2019
Software Engineer Salary
Average software engineer salary (lower is better): from
Glassdoor, Salary.com, and PayScale; as well as local
sources when applicable
Median Series A
Median of Series A rounds in tech startups in the eco-
system for a 2.5 year time period (2017, 2018, and first
half of 2019)
Median Seed
Median of Seed rounds in tech startups in the ecosys-
tem for a 2.5 year time period (2017, 2018, and first
half of 2019)
Investor Activity Index
Index of level of investor activity in the ecosystem based
on various metrics measuring volume of investors, ex-
perience of investors, and new investors for the first
quarter of 2020.
Key Concepts and Definitions
Ranking Score
The ranking is primarily driven by one question: In
which ecosystems does an early-stage startup have the
best chance of building a global success?
Startup
A technology-enabled business that is less than 10
years old. Steve Blank defines a startup as a “temporary
organization in search for a repeatable and scalable
business model.” We use this definition to look across
sectors and sub-sectors, including software, hardware,
health, energy, and others, and we use these parame-
ters for data collection purposes.
Startup Ecosystem
A shared pool of resources, generally located within a
60-mile (100-kilometer) radius around a center point
in a given region, with a few exceptions based on local
reality. Resources typically include policymakers, ac-
celerators, incubators, coworking spaces, educational
institutions, and funding groups.
Ecosystem Lifecycle Factors
Combined with some of measures from our Success
Factor Model, Ecosystem Lifecycle Factors measure
different dimensions of a startup ecosystem. These
allows us to determine the phase of development in
which the ecosystem is in -- Activation, Globalization,
Attraction, or Integration.
• Resource Attraction: captures the extent to which en-
trepreneurs move to an ecosystem to start a startup
and how many startups relocate to an ecosystem.
Increasing Resource Attraction at the national and
global levels is an important determinant of an eco-
system’s growth rate.
• Startup Leakage: measures the percentage of start-
ups that, in our global survey, reported leaving a
certain ecosystem. A low score on Startup Leakage
indicates that few startups have left that ecosystem
in favor of another one.
• Triggers: Triggers are the externally impressive exits
and high startup valuations that spark a sharp in-
crease in Resource Attraction, driving the growth of
an ecosystem and its evolution to the next phase of
the Lifecycle.
Ecosystem Success Factors Model
Our principal analytical tool, this measures different
dimensions of what supports the performance of local
startups. We look at multiple factors for our rankings:
one measuring actual performance, with other Success
Factors associated with performance, each comprised
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of sub-factors and metrics. These factors are highlight-
ed in our Ranking Methodology section, as well as in
each rankings section.
• Performance: A combination of leading, lagging, and
current indicators that capture economic outcomes
in a startup ecosystem.
• Funding: The level and growth of early-stage funding,
looking at both access and quality.
• Market Reach: Measures early-stage startup access
to customers allowing them to scale and “Go-Global.”
• Connectedness: Measures how connectednes within
the ecosystem and the supporting infrastructure
• Resource Attraction: The gravitational pull of an
ecosystem in drawing in entrepreneurs and startups
from elsewhere.
• Startup Experience: The depth and diversity of the
pool of prior startup experience in an ecosystem.
• Talent: Measures the accessibility, quality, and cost
of software engineering expertise.
• Founder: success factors related to the startup
founder, under his or her control, or internal to the
startup as opposed to external (a function of the
ecosystem)
• Founder DNA: The background, experience, am-
bition, and motivation of local founders.
• Founder Go-Global Strategy: measures whether
a startup is going global from the outset or first
targets its local market, and whether its customer
acquisition team is located, targeted, and skilled
to succeed.
• Founder with High Ambition: Founders who ex-
pressed all of the following attributes: Total Ad-
dressable Market of $30 billion USD or more; devel-
oping a globally-new, or one of the globally-leading
or niche products; and the mission to change the
world, get rich or create a great product.
• Founders with Experience in Sub-Sector: found-
ers who considered their graduate or postgradu-
ate degree to be directly relevant to their startup.
• Local Connectedness: A multi-variable assessment
of the local community, including sense of commu-
nity, relationships, and collisions between founders,
investors, and experts.
• Sense of Community Index: a sub-factor of Local
Connectedness capturing the degree to which
founders informally receive help from investors,
experts, and fellow founders.
• Number of Relationships Between Founders:
number of quality relationships between local
founders, where they know each other and can
call upon the other for help “this week”.
• Collision Index: a sub-factor of Local Connect-
edness capturing the number of tech events on
Meetup.com and the density of tech events per
startup in the ecosystem.
Sector and Sub-Sector Definitions
Below are our definition for each startup Sub-Sector
analyzed here. Note that sub-sectors are not mutually
exclusive nor comprehensive — some startups are in
sub-sectors we did not consider.
In addition, at least from patents, the data shows a
clear tech convergence. Technology like AI software
are increasingly inter-related, and we would expect a
similar convergence overtime for Startup Sub-Sectors.
For more detail, including in our machine learning clas-
sification of sub-sectors, please see our Startup Classi-
fication sub-section in this Methodology. For more cov-
erage on each sub-sector, please see their respective
sections in the report.
Advertising Tech (Adtech)
Advertising Tech captures different types of analytics
and digital tools used in the context of advertising and
marketing. Extensive and complex systems are used
to direct, convey, or monitor advertising to target au-
diences of any size and scale.
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Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics
Advanced Manufacturing involves smart technology to
improve traditional manufacturing of products and/or
processes. Robotics is the science and technology of
robots, their design, manufacture, and application.
Agriculture Tech (Agtech)
Agriculture Tech captures the use of technology in ag-
riculture, horticulture, and aquaculture with the aim
of improving yield, efficiency, and profitability through
information monitoring and analysis of weather, pests,
and soil and air temperature.
Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Analytics
AI, Big Data & Analytics refers to an area of technology
devoted to extracting meaning from large sets of raw
data, e.g. often including simulations of intelligent be-
havior in computers.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a decentralized data storage method
secured by cryptography. Cryptocurrencies are one of
many innovations utilizing the blockchain. Companies
building their product/architecture on top of this de-
centralized and encrypted technology are defined as
blockchain companies.
Cleantech
Cleantech consists of sustainable solutions in the fields
of Energy, Water, Transportation, Agriculture, and Man-
ufacturing that include advanced materials, smart grids,
water treatment, efficient energy storage, and distrib-
uted energy systems.
Construction and Property Tech
Construction Technology refers to technology that
can improve the construction processes and methods
including productivity gains, cost savings, improved
safety, shorter lead times and maximised resources etc.
Property tech refers to the technology that helps orga-
nizations and individuals research, buy, sell, rent, lease
and manage real estate. Methods include searching for
property, listing available properties, setting up viewing
dates and finalizing the lease agreements and deals.
Consumer Electronics or Home Electronics (includes
Wearables, Smart Devices)
Consumer Electronics or Home Electronics are elec-
tronic or digital equipment intended for everyday use,
including smart devices used for entertainment, com-
munications, and home-office activities as well as other
wearables.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the body of technologies, processes,
and practices designed to protect networks, computers,
programs, and data from attack, damage, or unautho-
rized access.
Education Tech (Edtech)
Education Technology refers to an area of technology
devoted to the development and application of tools (in-
cluding software, hardware, and processes) intended to
redesign traditional products and services in education.
Fintech
Fintech aims to improve existing processes, products,
and services in the Financial Services industry (including
insurance) via software and modern technology.
Gaming
Gaming involves the development, marketing, and
monetization of video games and gambling machines,
as well as associated services.
Government Tech (Govtech)
Govtech is the infrastructure of technology that the gov-
ernments and government institutions use to provide
specific services to its citizens with the aim of improving
public service. This technology enables the government
183
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to effectively operate in a way that increases transpar-
ency and maximises public welfare and involvement.
Life Sciences
Life Sciences is the sector concerned with diagnosing,
treating, and managing diseases and conditions. This
includes startups in Biotech, Pharma, and Medtech (also
referred to as medical devices).
184
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RA-11337-RRD.pdf
The Jakarta Post. “Germany to Guarantee 100% of Loans
to Smaller Firms in Virus Aid Package.” The Jakarta Post,
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crisis.
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Thing. “Telangana Aims to Double Size of Life Sciences
Sector to $100 Bn.” The Economic Times, Economic
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“This Beijing Hub Is Home to 10 Major AI Labs.” South
China Morning Post, 7 Feb. 2019, www.scmp.com/tech/
big-tech/article/2184987/beijing-hub-home-10-major-
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Tincello, Katie, and Sophia Wood. “Vale Do Pinhão Inno-
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fund-to-sponsor-startups-in-brazil/.
“Tokyo Financial Award”, Tokyo Metropolitan Govern-
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Tomarnstein. “Zhongguancun, ‘Beijing’s Silicon Valley,”
Promises RMB 15 Billion to Early-Stage Startups.” The
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icon-valley-promises-rmb-15-billion-early-stage-start-
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“Top 10 NYC Fortune 500 Companies.” The Farm Soho,
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“A grant for biomedical companies.”, Jerusalem Develop-
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Acknowledgments and Partners
A project like the Global Startup Ecosystem Report can
only be realized with an enormous effort from both the
project team and external supporters. Several partners
have invested significant resources into the project.
Numerous advisors, founders, investors, and industry
experts have given us access to their knowledge, net-
works, and time because they support our vision and
want to move their ecosystem and the whole startup
sector forward. Startup Genome and Global Entrepre-
neurship Network (GEN) would like to express our deep
gratitude and appreciation to everyone who contribut-
ed towards making this project possible.
Startup Genome Authors
JF Gauthier, Chief Executive Officer
Marc Penzel, President
Stephan Keuster, Head of Ecosystem Strategy
Arnobio Morelix, Chief Innovation Officer
Michal Rozynek, Director of Research
External Authors
Martina Larkin, Head of Regional Strategies, Europe and
Eurasia; Member of the Executive
Committee, World Economic Forum
GEN
Project Team
Startup Genome
JF Gauthier, Chief Executive Officer
Marc Penzel, President
Stephan Keuster, Head of Ecosystem Strategy
Arnobio Morelix, Chief Innovation Officer
Tricia Whitlock, Chief Operation Officer
Michal Rozynek, Director of Research
Rahul Chatterjee, Director of Operations
Adam Bregu, Director of Business Development &
Partnerships
Farshad Fahimi, Lead Data Scientist & Machine Learning
Expert
Patricia Russ, Manager, Business Dev.
Laure Poirson, Global Community Manager
Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020
203
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Pranav Arya, Consultant
Akshat Agarwal, Manager, Research
Sama Siddiqui, Senior Analyst
Utkarsh Jain, Business Analyst
Shreesh Dubey, Business Analyst
Poorva Mendiratta, Business Analyst
Anand Niranjan, Data Analyst
Dushyant Sharma, Data Analyst
Parshant Sharma, Data Custodian
Pavan Kumar, Asst. Business Dev. Manager
Shekhar Parihar, Process Lead of Lead Generation
& CRM Support
Neha Thapliyal, Business Development Assistant
Karan Singal, India Operations
Marsbased, Website Development
Kritivity Web Solutions, Design
Malgorzata Olesiewicz, Intern
Julian Lehrer, Intern
Jose Romero, Intern
Chok Hao Ze, Intern
Anders Poirel, Intern
Alexandra Wojciak, Intern
Kunal Bhardwaj, Intern
Aradhey Gupta, Intern
Contributing Authors
Lubin Arora
Sean Ludwig
Jessica Stillman
Guadalupe Gonzalez
Laís de Oliveira
Global Entrepreneurship Network
Jonathan Ortmans, President
Mark Marich, Executive Vice President
Buke Cuhadar, Vice President for Global Operations
Cristina Fernandez, Vice President for Policy and
Research
Peter Komives, Vice President for Strategic

Development
Susan Amat, Vice President for Education
Key Author Bios
Startup Genome
JF Gauthier
Founder & CEO. JF is the world’s leading voice in inno-
vation ecosystem development, having advised more
than 100 governments and private-public partnerships
across 35 countries. He has founded five businesses
and led others across two continents and three sectors
(Tech, Life Sciences and Cleantech), achieving two exits
plus one at scaleup stage. He is also an active angel
investor and previously worked in corporate innova-
tion, advising IBM, Cisco, Agilent/HP, J&J, and Abbott
for the firm of Kim Clark (former dean of Harvard Busi-
ness School) alongside Clayton Christensen and other
thought leaders. Harvard MBA.
Marc Penzel
Founder and President. Marc is leading global growth
and impact. Prior to founding Startup Genome, he
co-led the startup ecosystem development unit at
Silicon Valley-based Startup Compass. At PwC, KPMG,
and Bayer Group’s internal management consultancy,
Marc advised top executives across various sectors.He
also founded a nonprofit organization to catalyze social
innovation and was appointed Expert in Entrepreneur-
ship, IT and Future of Economic Progress by the World
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Economic Forum. In 2017, his work to develop startup
ecosystems everywhere has led him to receive a U.S.
Visa for Individuals with Extraordinary Ability.
Arnobio Morelix
Chief Innovation Officer. Arnobio leads a global team
researching and advising governments and private
organizations in over 30 countries to help them boost
their economies through entrepreneurship. Previously,
he worked at Kauffman Foundation, where he created
the Growth Entrepreneurship Index and the Main Street
Entrepreneurship Index, hailed as the “bible of entre-
preneurship trends” by The Huffington Post and used
by senators, governors, city leaders, Fortune 500 com-
panies, and the White House.
Arnobio’s work has been featured widely in national
and global media, including the New York Times, the
Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. He is
a frequent public speaker and has presented at South
by Southwest, Facebook, the Federal Reserve Bank, and
many others. Arnobio also serves data science-focused
appointments at Inc. Magazine and Stanford University.
Michal Rozynek
Director of Research. Michal heads Startup Genome’s
new research projects and academic partnerships.
Before joining the company, Michal specialised in fintech
and worked as a consultant with leading financial ser-
vices companies (including Aviva, HSBC, Revoult, and
Visa), as well as mentored startups (Barclays Techstars,
Huge Thing Warsaw) and launched new products and
ventures in Europe and the US.
In parallel to his advisory career, Michal has also
managed both academic and industry-led research pro-
jects at the University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford,
and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. He
is passionate about understanding and addressing the
challenges and opportunities that technology-enabled
innovation brings to society and businesses. Michal
holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of
Edinburgh and an MBA from the University of Oxford.
Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN)
Jonathan Ortmans
Founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship
Network, working to foster healthier local entrepre-
neurship ecosystems in more than 170 countries while
connecting them into one global ecosystem. In 2008,
he launched GEN’s cornerstone initiative, Global En-
trepreneurship Week, enabling millions of people to
explore their potential through thousands of local GEW
activities and competitions each November. Through
building GEW, Ortmans assembled a broad multi-dis-
ciplinary coalition that is the backbone of GEN opera-
tions, including entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers,
researchers and affiliated support organizations. He
serves as a longtime advisor to the Kauffman Founda-
tion and chairs the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.
Partners and Collaborators
Global Partners

• Bella Private Markets provides actionable advice on
private capital challenges. Combining rigorous aca-
demic approaches with real world industry expertise,
our expert team focuses on complex, customized pro-
jects that require thorough analysis, whether quan-
titative or qualitative in nature, to help our clients
assess or design strategies, improve performance,
and chart winning strategies for the future.

• Crunchbase is the leading platform for professionals
to discover innovative companies, connect with the
people behind them, and pursue new opportunities.

• Dealroom.co provides data-driven intelligence on
high-growth companies.

• Hello Tomorrow is a global non-profit organization
on a mission to unlock the potential of deep tech-
nologies to solve the world’s toughest challenges by
highlighting, empowering and connecting the most
promising deeptech entrepreneurs across the globe
with the right enablers. They bring together a com-
munity of actors to facilitate collaboration between
205
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entrepreneurs, industries and investors in order to
propel innovation from the lab to the market.

• TNW is a global brand that informs, inspires, and con-
nects people who love tech through media, events,
and spaces. TNW has a track record of attracting start-
ups and talent, as well as helping ecosystems become
more visible to the tech world via its custom-made
programs.

• Tech Nation (formerly Tech City UK) empowers
ambitious tech entrepreneurs through growth pro-
grammes, digital entrepreneurship skills, a visa
scheme for exceptional talent and by championing
the UK digital sector through data, stories and media
campaigns.
Startup Genome Network Members
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Techleap
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
Atlantic Canada
Innovacorp
Bahrain
Tamkeen
Belgrade & Novi Sad, Serbia
Digital Serbia Initiative
Cabinet of the Minister for Innovation and Technolog-
ical Development
Busan, South Korea
Busan Metropolitan City
Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation
Brisbane, Australia
Office of the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur
Cairo, Egypt
Information Technology Industry Development
Agency
Calgary, Canada
Platform Calgary
Calgary Economic Development
Copenhagen, Denmark
Digital Hub Denmark
Curitiba, Brazil
SEBRAE
Edmonton, Canada
Innovate Edmonton
Edmonton Economic Development Corporation
Frankfurt, Germany
TechQuartier
Georgia
Georgia Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA)
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Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Business Hub
Houston, United States
Houston Exponential
Jerusalem, Israel
Jerusalem Development Authority
Kampala, Uganda
International Trade Centre, United Nations
Project Netherlands Trust Fund IV
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
London, United Kingdom
Tech Nation (formerly Tech City UK)
Manila, Philippines
Department of Trade and Industry
Melbourne, Australia
LaunchVic
Miami, United States
Knight Foundation
Mid-East Region Ireland
Meath Enterprise
Montreal, Canada
Ville de Montréal
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
Real Investment Management Inc.
OSMO
New York City, United States
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Tech:NYC
New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
JSC “Zerde” National infocommunication holding”
Québec City, Canada
Québec International
Rhineland, Germany
North-Rhine Westphalia State Government
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul Business Agency
Seoul Metropolitan Government
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center
Singapore
Enterprise Singapore
Sri Lanka
Information and Communication Technology Agency
of Sri Lanka
Taipei City, Taiwan
Taiwan Tech Arena
Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel Aviv Global
Telangana, India
T-Hub Foundation
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Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Western Denmark, Denmark
Digital Hub Denmark
Ecosystem Partners
Ecosystems by alphabetical order
Atlantic Canada, United States
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Startup Zone
New Brunswick Innovation Foundation
Austin, United States
3 Day Startup
Tech Ranch
Austin Technology Incubator
University of Texas Austin
BuiltIN
Central Texas Angel Network
St. Edward’s University
WeWork
Techstars Austin
Capital Factory
Bahrain
Bahrain Fintech Bay
500 Startups
Al Doseri Investments
Bahrain Development Bank
Bahrain Fashion Incubator
Brinc
C5 Capital & C5 Accelerate
Corporate Hub
Economic Development Board
Environment Arabia
Flat6Labs Bahrain
Kickstart Bahrain
Middle East Venture Partners
Kickstart Bahrain
Level Z
Nest Accelerator
Osool
Rowad Program
Social Media Club
StartupBahrain
Startup MGZN
Tenmou - The Bahrain Business Angels Company
UNIDO - Bahrain
Yo Startups
Bangalore, India
91springboard
Kyron Global
Microsoft Ventures
Global Incubation Services
Microsoft
Tlabs
Nasscom
The India Network
Barcelona, Spain
Alta Life Sciences
Antai Venture Builder
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BCN Tech City
Caixa Capital Risc
Capital Cell
Conector
Delvy Law & Finance
ESADE BAN
Inveready
Nauta Capital
Nekko Capital
Rousaud Costas Duran
Sabadell Ventures
SeedRocket
Ysios Capital
Beijing, China
91Maker
Creative Young Community
Cyzone Innoway BJ
Makes-global
Noodle & Meetup
Startup Grind
Suhehui
Technode
Belgrade & Novi Sad, Serbia
Business Incubator (BITF)
Business Incubator Novi Sad
ICT Hub
Innovation Fund
SC Ventures
Science Technology Park Belgrade
Serbian Games Association
Serbian Blockchain Initiative
Startit
The Office of the Minister without Portfolio Responsi-
ble for Innovation and Technological Development of
the Republic of Serbia
UNICEF Innovation Fund
Vojvodina ICT Cluster
Busan, South Korea
Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Busan Office)
Busan Economic Promotion Agency
Busan Techno Park
Design Council Busan
Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency
Busan Institute for Talent & Lifelong Education
Busan Business Incubation Centers
Busan United Holdings
Cairo, Egypt
Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center
(TIEC)
500 Startups
A15
Flat6 Labs Cairo
Falak Startups
AUC Venture Lab
Innoventures
Algebra Ventures
EdVentures
Sawari Ventures
FEPS Business Incubator
Seedstars
Endure
HIM angel
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Kamelezer
The Cairo Angels
Ideavelopers
Calgary, Canada
A100
Alberta Enterprise Corporation
Alberta Innovation Corridor
Bow Valley College
Calgary Innovation Coalition
Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies
Innovate Calgary
Mount Royal University, Institute for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship
National Angel Capital Organization
Rainforest Alberta
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
Startup Calgary
University of Calgary, Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial
Thinking
Venture Capital Association of Alberta
Chicago, United States
Catapult Chicago
University of Chicago
Matter Chicago
mHUB
The Shift Chicago
1871
WorldChicago
Copenhagen, Denmark
TechBBQ
#CPHFTW
Accelerace (and Symbion)
Copenhagen Fintech
Digital Hub Denmark
DTU Skylab
InnoFounder
Leo Innovation Lab
PreSeed Venture
Talent Garden Rainmaking
The Creators Community
The Danish Growth Fund
Thinkubator (and SingularityU)
Venture Cup
Edmonton, Canada
Innovate Edmonton
Startup Edmonton
TEC Edmonton
University of Alberta Health Accelerator
Startup TNT
Valhalla Private Capital
Advanced Technology Centre
Edmonton Regional Innovation Network
Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt Economic Development
Goethe University Frankfurt
Hessen Trade & Invest (HTAI)
Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and
Housing
HIGHEST TU Darmstadt
ING-DiBa
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Station FRM
WIBank
Georgia
Startup factory by Georgian University
NASTA- National Startup Association of Georgia
Spark
Startup Grind Tbilisi
Impact Hub: Coworking space
Ilia State University Pre-Accelerator
Greater Helsinki, Finland
Espoo Innovation Garden
Helsinki Business Hub
Helsinki Think Company
Nestholma
Maria 01
NewCo Helsinki
Butterfly Ventures
Arctic Startup
Business Finland
Butterfly Ventures
Helsinki Games Factory
xEdu
·A-grid
Health Incubator Helsinki
Aalto Startup Center
Innovation House Helsinki
Finnish Venture Capital Association
Finnish Business Angel Network
Houston, United States
Circular Board
Fannin Innovation Studio
Houston Angel Network
Houston Technology Center
JLaBS
Mercury Fund
Redlabs
Rice University - McNair Center for Entrepreneurship
Rice University - Owl Spark
Rice University - Rice Alliance for Entrepreneurship
Station Houston
TMCx
Unconventional Capital
University of Houston - Hatch Pitch
Jerusalem, Israel
Alynnovation
AtoBe
BioJerusalem
BioHouse
Startup Nation Central
Jumpspeed Ventures
Masschallenge Jerusalem
Made in JLM
Bizmax
Ourcrowd
HUJI Innovate
JVP
VLX
Labs/02
Haddasah Accelerator (by IBM)
BioGiv
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PICO Partners
QueenB
LevTech
Cornerstone Venture Partners
Groundup Ventures
Fresh.fund
JerusML
MakeGamesJLM
London, United Kingdom
MassChallenge
Techstars London
Balderton Capital
Wayra London
Accelerator Network
City of London
KPMG
TechUK
GSMA
Level39
Tech London Advocates
GEN
Microsoft Ventures
Northzone
Microsoft for Startups
Manila, Philippines
Department of Science and Technology
Department of Information and Communications
Technology
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines
Small Business Corporation
National Development Company
Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc.
QBO Innovation Hub
AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator
IdeaSpace Foundation
Startup Village
Launchgarage
Brainsparks
Philippine Fintech Association
Fintech Alliance of the Philippines
Melbourne, Australia
Potential(x)
ygap First Gens Accelerator Program
ASTN HeadStart
Cyrise
SBE Australia, Springboard Tech
SBE Australia, Springboard Life Sciences
SBE Australia, E3
Runway Hq
ACMI X
BioMelbourne Network
Inspire9
Runway Geelong
Rome2Rio
Startup Bootcamp
Startup Victoria
York Butter Factory
Miami, United States
500 Startups
Miami Angels
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Endeavor Miami
eMerge Americas
Venture Cafe Miami
Refresh Miami
Venture for America
Florida International University
University of Miami
LAB Miami
Babson WIN
Idea Center at Miami Dade College
CIC Miami
Code Fever
The Venture City
WeWork
WhereBy.Us
Mid-East Region, Ireland
EO Accelerator
Meath Enterprise Centre
Boyne Valley Food Hub
Arklow Enterprise Centre
Athy Enterprise Centre
Clane Project Centre
Kells Tech Hub
Maynooth Works
Wicklow Enterprise Centre
Kells Enterprise & Technology Centre
PFS Accelerator
Meath County Council
Meath Local Enterprise Office
Meath County Chamber
Louth-Meath Education & Training Board
Maynooth University
Kildare Chamber of Commerce
Kildare County Council
Kildare Local Enterprise Office
Kildare-Wicklow Education & Training Board
Wicklow Chamber of Commerce
Wicklow County Council
Wicklow Local Enterprise Office
Enterprise Ireland
Mid-East Regional Skills Forum
Mid-East Action Plan for Jobs Committee
Industrial Development Authority - IDA
Media Ireland
Montreal, Canada
Real Ventures & FounderFuel
Techstars AI
Tandemlaunch
Fondation Montréal Inc.
MT Lab
Centech
Ministère de l’économie et de l’innovation du Québec
Techno-Montréal
Ivado et Montréal international
Bonjour Startup Montréal
Ville de Montréal
District 3
HEC Montréal
MTL Newtech
Notman House
PME MTL
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Quartier de l’innovation
Réseau Capital
Startup Fest
New York City, United States
Starta Venture Accelerator
Blue Ridge Labs
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Bunker Labs
Cela
Civic Hall
Coindesk/Consensus
Company
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator
Flatiron Partnership
Gary’s Guide
Innovative Collective
Mayor’s Office of International Affairs
MeetUp
New Lab
New York Angels
NY Fashion Tech Lab
NY Tech Alliance
NYC Blend
SAP
Techstars
URBAN-X
VentureOut
New Zealand
Angel HQ
Angel Association New Zealand
ArcAngels
BizDojo
Blackbird Ventures
Brandon Capital Partners
Bridgewest Ventures
Callaghan Innovation
Creative HQ
COIN South
Flux Accelerator
Lightning Lab
Enterprise Angels
Equitise
Flying Kiwi Angels
GD1
Global Entrepreneurship Network
Icehouse Ventures
KiwiNet
Kōkiri
Ministry of Awesome
Movac
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
New Zealand Growth Capital Fund
Northland Inc
SODA Inc
Sprout
Startup Dunedin
StartupWeekend
Startup Queenstown Lakes
The Factory
ThincLab
TIN Network
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WNT Ventures
ZeroPoint Ventures
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
AIFC
Arkley VC
Astana Business Campus
Astana Hub - International Technopark of IT-startups
Astana IT University
Astana Medical University
Bridge Group
I2BF Global Ventures
MOST Business Incubator
Mua Incubator
Nazarbayev University
QazTech Ventures
Verny Capital
Quebec City, Canada
BDC
PwC Québec
ROBIC
Ville de Québec
Quebec City Group if incubators
Quantino
Entrepreneuriat Laval
Rhineland, Germany
1stMOVER
:agile Accelerator
Axa Startup Center
BLSW
Capnamic
Coparion
Founders Institute
Future Champions Accelerator
Gateway Gründungsservice der Universität zu Köln
Getstarted, Bitkom
Gründerzentrum RWTH Aachen
HEADQUARTER[S] Cologne
High-Tech Gründerfonds
Hub Aachen
Intelligent Venture Capital Management
MWIDE
NRW Bank Business Angel Initiative WIN
NRWalley
NUK – Neues Unternehmertum Rheinland
Pirate Summit / Jolly Rogers UG
S-UBG
STARTPLATZ
Startup Dorf
Startup Unit Düsseldorf
Tengelmann Ventures
Vodafone Uplift
Seattle, United States
Startup Seattle
ARI
Lighter Capital
New Tech Northwest
Techstars
Fledge
Microsoft Ventures
Seattle Angel Conference
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Alliance of Angels
Startup Grind
Seven Peaks Ventures
Angel Resource Institute
Microsoft for Startups
SURF Incubator
Shanghai, China
ChinaAccelerator
Ether Capital
Innoclub
Innospace+
NakedHub
People Square
Startup Grind
Technode
Xnode
Sharjah, UAE
Sharjah Media City (Shams)
Singapore
Action Community for Entrepreneurship
500 Startups
FocusTech Ventures
Starburst Accelerator
500 Ecosystems Singapore PTE. LTD.
Startup X PTE. LTD.
Trendlines Medical Singapore
Taipei City, Taiwan
AppWorks
BE Accelerator
BE Capital
Business Incubator Center, NTUST
CDIB Accelerator
Center for Innovation Taipei
Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent Develop-
ment Strategy (IAPS)
Center of Innovative Incubator, NTHU
Chung-Yuan Incubation Center (CYIC)
DigiSpace
Garage+
InnoSquare
ITRI Open Lab & Incubator
KAFNU Taipei
NCU Innovation & Incubation Center
NTU Innovation Incubation Center
NTUT Innovation & Incubation Center
SOSV-MOX
SparkLabs Taipei
Star Rocket
Startup Lab at NCTU
Taidah Entrepreneurship Center (TEC)
Taiwan Startup Stadium
Techstars
Yang-Ming Incubation Center (YMIC)
Tel Aviv, Israel
Future Block Programs
Future Block Coworking
Techstars
Startup Nation Central
Geektime
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SOSA
Microsoft Ventures
Microsoft for Startups
Tokyo, Japan
Plug n Play
Japan Venture Capital Association (KII, UTEC),
Keidanren,
Keio University,
Mitsubishi Estate,
Mitsui Fudosan,
Mori Building,
Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Tokyu,
Tokyu Land Corporation,
The University of Tokyo,
Waseda University
Toronto-Waterloo, Canada
Centre for Social Innovation
Invest Toronto
Next 36
OneEleven
DMZ
City of Toronto
World Canada
Brook eld Institute
The Founder City Project
Venture Lab
RIC Centre
Innovation Factory
Haltech
Creative Destruction Lab
Vancouver, Canada
Launch Academy
Sauder S3i
entrepreneurship@UBC
Creative Destruction Lab West
Highline BETA
RADIUS SFU
SFU Venture Labs
SFU Innovates
Wavefront
Spring
New Ventures BC
Small Business BC
Foresight
LifeScience BC
Bio Enterprise BC/Can
Western Denmark
AalborgSyndikatet
AAU Incubator (SEA), Aalborg University
Agro Food Park Inkubator/Agro Business Park
AI Innovation House
Arsenalet
Brains Business
Business Factory
Center for Industri
Danske Commodities (DC) Business Accelerator
Ecopark
Filmby Aarhus incl. Ideas Lab
Food ehub
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Green Tech Center
Growing Investors
Ideas Lab
Incuba Science Parks incl. Incuba Startup Lab
It-forum (netværk)
Lynfabrikken
Novi
Odense Robotics
Odense Robotics Startup Hub
Office Lab
Robo Cluster
Startup Factory - Navitas
StartupWorks
TechBBQ
The City of Aarhus, Business Development
The Danish Growth Fund
UAS Denmark
VIA studentervæksthus Aarhus C
WeLoveStartups
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email, website download, or any other electronic or physical means without the prior written authorization of Startup Genome. This material has been
prepared for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as professional advice.