A new report from Quid, an intelligence platform that analyzes media, reports that London and Silicon Valley are the world’s leading startup hubs and centers for innovation. The study compares findings for major technology hubs London, Silicon Valley, Paris, Berlin, and Tel Aviv and shows that the first two are the strongest centers for start-up growth, global investment, and technology research and development.
Quid initiated the research by analyzing every company founded in all five cities within the last 10 years that received over $1 million in investment. The platform then separated the companies into seven popular technology sectors of Artificial Intelligence (AI), MedTech, FinTech, Gaming, AdTech, Cybersecurity, and Smart Cities to assess the overall strength of innovation in each city.
Over the past 10 years, Silicon Valley has received over $110 billion in private equity funding and venture capital and London has received $34.2 billion in growth capital, which is more than three times the total funding that Paris, Berlin, and Tel Aviv raised. Both cities also show significantly higher numbers of start-up initial public offerings (IPOs) over the past 10 years.
The report identified a noticeable increase in the number of patent applications, as well as published academic papers analyzing the accomplishments of London and Silicon Valley based companies, important markers of both city’s outstanding success. AI was singled out for its popularity among researchers and patent applicants, while the Fintech sector, specifically companies focusing on Blockchain or Mobile Payment, received the greatest amount of investments within both cities.
Rajesh Agrawal, London’s Deputy Mayor for Business, expressed pride for his city saying, “London and Silicon Valley are leading the way in generating cutting-edge ideas and creating world-beating companies in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and MedTech. The success of our tech communities is built on the shared values of openness and diversity, so it’s vital we continue to work together to encourage the flow of business, talent and investment between our two regions.”
