Top 5 European Cities to Launch a Startup in 2024

California’s Palo Alto is a world leader in technological advancement. Known as the birthplace of Silicon Valley, it is home to countless startups and almost a thousand well-known businesses.

Five years ago, the idea for New Palo Alto was first presented by the venture capital firm Local Globe.

Dealroom, a data and information firm, describes it as a supercluster of several cities that are situated near one another, including London, Paris, and Amsterdam. Nearly half of all startup enterprise value in Europe comes from New Palo Alto, which ranks third globally in terms of unicorn count.

In light of this, let’s look at the Top 5 European cities for startups in 2024 as determined by StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index.

1. London (third in the world)

Third in the world, software and data is London’s most important industry. Additionally, it is the third-best ecosystem in terms of energy and the environment, social and leisure, and fintech. London continues to hold the top spot in the Online Banking sub-industry.

However, as a startup nation, the UK is generally exhibiting symptoms of decline. In 2024, just four UK cities were listed in the Top 100, down from six in 2022.

Additionally, the capital is the only one to be listed among the top 50 worldwide. With a total score of 144.38, it is about 15 times higher than second-place Cambridge’s score of 9.78.

2. Paris (10th in the world)

Paris fell to Tel Aviv for ninth place in 2024. With a total score of 60.79, it ranks seventh globally and is still the strongest in the fintech, retail, and e-commerce sectors.

In terms of marketing and sales, software and data, and social and leisure, Paris is ranked ninth globally. With the exception of transportation, it ranks among the top 25 in every industry.

London still has a significant advantage with more than twice the score, even if the EU’s capital city is ranked first.

3. Berlin (ranked 13th in the world)

In 2021, Berlin dropped out of the Top 10. It currently ranks seventh globally in the energy and environment sector with a total score of 49.92. In ten of the eleven industries, Berlin is likewise ranked in the Top 25.

The German startup ecosystem appears to be less reliant on a single location, as evidenced by the capital city’s score, which is just 2.3 times higher than Munich’s. This relates to the federal structure of the nation. On the other hand, building a robust startup ecosystem like Paris or London is more difficult.

4. Stockholm (ranked 26th in the world)

Stockholm is now ranked 26th this year, down from 19th in 2023, with a total score of 31.93. There’s also a big score difference with Berlin.

In terms of fintech, Stockholm was still rated ninth in the world last year. The city fell to just 20th place this year.

Nonetheless, it remains in the top 10 worldwide in the energy and environmental sector.

In recent years, the distance between Gothenburg and Stockholm has been getting smaller nationwide.

5. Amsterdam (ranked 28th worldwide)

Compared to the previous year, Amsterdam has dropped one spot globally. With a total score of 29.67, it is ranked 14th in the fintech world.

In three industries, the capital city ranks among the top 25. But it was four last year.

Fintech is not the only one; hardware and IoT rank 17th, while e-commerce and retail rank 23rd.

Conclusion

European cities have not yet taken over the world, despite being the home of numerous unicorns and globally recognized enterprises. There are just 26 of them in the Top 100, and only London and Paris are in the Top 10.

Despite still being the top startup nation in Europe and the second globally, the UK’s standing has deteriorated recently. Germany and Sweden are in a similar situation, although France and the Netherlands appear to be more stable or even growing.