GSER 2024: Bengaluru startup ecosystem loses spot, slips to 21st position globally

Further, Hyderabad, a city that is considered competitive in the startup race against Bengaluru, is ranked between 41 and 50, under the emerging ecosystem category. The startup ecosystem ranking is a weighted average of factor scores, including performance (30 per cent), funding (25 per cent), market reach (20 per cent), talent and experience (20 per cent) and knowledge (5 per cent).

Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India, is home to over 80 per cent of India’s global IT offices, with the city’s software exports valued at Rs 6.3 lakh crore ($76 billion).

The city’s strategy has attracted venture capitalists and fostered a thriving startup environment, contributing to 40 per cent of India’s IT exports and producing 43 unicorns, including Zerodha, Cred, PhonePe, Flipkart and Big Basket.

Bengaluru also hosts more than 400 Global Capability Centers (GCCs) out of India’s total of 1,500, employs 1.3 million workers, and contributes $33.8 billion to the economy, approximately 1 per cent of India’s GDP.

In December 2023, the unicorn Udaan, a B2B platform connecting manufacturers, traders, and retailers, raised $340 million in a Series E round. Zetwerk, a B2B marketplace, raised $20.4 million in Series F funding in March 2024, bolstering its expansion into IT hardware and EV manufacturing.

Deemed Asia’s biggest integrated technology conclave, the 2023 Bengaluru Tech Summit showcased over 600 exhibitors and launched 37 tech products. It introduced GameTech Accelerate, targeting a $8 billion investment into the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector growth in 2.5 years.

Close on the heels of the GSER, Karnataka’s minister for IT/BT Priyank Kharge launched a new scaleup programme, called the Hypergrowth Global Karnataka at London Tech Week, last evening.

The initiative aims to propel the best Bengaluru-Karnataka-based tech companies into successful global commercialization and expansion into international target markets. The programme will provide local companies access to global mentors, expert scaling advice from leading executives and go to market support and connections to potential new customers and investors to increase their international expansion capabilities.

Meanwhile, the top three ecosystems have maintained their same positions from 2020, with Silicon Valley remaining at the top, followed by New York City and London tied for the second spot. Tel Aviv has moved up one rank and is now tied with Los Angeles at the fourth spot. Tokyo has entered the list of Top 10, moving up an impressive five places to the 10th spot from the 15th in the GSER 2023, marking the most significant improvement among the Top 10 ecosystems.

The GSER 2024 is a comprehensive analysis of the current state of startup ecosystems worldwide. The report provides insights into the world’s leading startup ecosystems, emerging trends, and key challenges facing entrepreneurs.

It is based on extensive research and analysis of data from 4.5 million startups across 300 global ecosystems and over a decade of independent research and providing policy advice to more than 160 economic and innovation ministries and public/private agencies in over 55 countries.