Bengaluru better than London, Paris as world's fastest-growing tech ecosystem
Bengaluru has raced past many leading European cities to be recognised as having the world’s fastest-growing mature tech ecosystem in the world since 2016, according to latest data released in London on January 14.
Even London, Munich, Berlin and Paris trail behind the IT capital of India, while financial hub Mumbai finds itself in the sixth place in this global ranking.
The research also reveals that investment in India’s IT capital, Bengaluru significantly grew 5.4 times from US$ 1.3 billion to US$7.2 billion in 2020. While Mumbai grew at just 1.7 times from US$0.7 billion to US$1.2 billion in the same period. London’s investments too saw an increase by three times, rising from US$3.5 billion to US$10.5 billion.
These findings are the outcome of data generated by the Amsterdam-based data provider, Dealroom.com, and analysed by London & Partners(L&P) – the investment agency of the Mayor of London.
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Commenting on the research, Hemin Bharucha, chief representative of India at L&P said, “Despite the pandemic, tech companies in London and India are continuing to lead the way in creating game-changing technologies – especially in high-growth sectors such as ed-tech and fintech.”
“It’s fantastic to see that Bengaluru and London are ranked as the top two fastest growing global tech hubs for VC investment,” Bharucha said. He added that these two cities share mutual strengths in entrepreneurship and innovation — creating lots of opportunities for tech investors and companies to do business across both regions. And, they are paving the way for future opportunities in the tech space between the two countries.
Moreover, the UK government’s recent Brexit deal with the EU brings “certainty” for Indian companies and investors looking towards London, he said. And added that they look forward to welcome more Indian businesses to the UK capital in the years ahead.
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In another global ranking, Bengaluru bagged the sixth place, after Beijing, San Francisco, New York, Shanghai and London, to attract the world’s tech venture capitalist (VC) investments. Mumbai finds itself in the 21st spot in this worldwide ranking.
Meanwhile, Skillmine, a new-gen Bengaluru-based IT consulting and managed services company, which expanded to London last year, attributes the development of Bengaluru into a hi-tech hub to the easy access to “like-minded tech entrepreneurs alongside a deep-tech talent pool”.
Anant Agarwal, managing director, Skillmine said that it has been exciting to be part of Bengaluru’s emergence as a world-class hub. The company has expanded their business operations into London in May last year, as well as into the Middle East and America markets. “London is a global tech hub with access to a thriving tech talent pool alongside growth capital and a wide customer base. We are excited to grow our business in the city,” said Agarwal.
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With this new research from Dealroom.co and L&P, the UK capital of London too has firmly established itself as Europe’s tech capital by emerging in the forefront despite the Covid-19 challenges. The London Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “Despite the challenges brought about by Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, London’s tech sector continued to thrive in 2020 and has an important role to play in the city’s economic recovery. London is already home to some of the world’s best technology companies and will remain open to international investment and tech talent from all over the world.”
However, even as Bengaluru rides high for emerging as a global powerhouse in the world of tech, it ranks sixth for global traffic congestion among 416 cities across 56 countries, reports the Mint.