Is Silicon Valley losing its status as the world’s technology hub? While the rest of the world has started to catch up especially European countries, will it be able to retain its edge?
Undoubtedly, Silicon Valley has always been the obvious choice and Mecca of tech and is likely to be in the foreseeable future as well. But in the recent past, many growing executives stated that the appeal towards Silicon Valley has started fading due to several factors like escalating cost of living, questions about diversity and corporate cultures, high business taxes and much more.
Furthermore, a growing number of investors and tech executives are trying to explore opportunities in other places. In this regard, KPMG’s global Technology Industry Innovation Survey reported that more than half of the respondents (58 per cent) believe that the innovation centre of the world will move away from Silicon Valley in the next four years.
According to KPMG’s survey, five cities from Europe has been named outside Silicon Valley as leading technology innovation hubs over the next few years.
London
The UK and Japan were almost tied in last year’s KPMG survey, with UK edging out Japan for fourth place. Having said that, this year London and Tokyo got a tie for the third position in the city rankings. In general, London is one of the leading European destinations for international tech investors. With world-class universities and a diverse pool of international talents, its no surprise that London is a centre for an innovation hub.
Berlin
Ranked at 11th, Berlin performed most consistently ranking between 11th and 18th in the KPMG survey and other four indices. The contributing factors that make Berlin an attractive hub for innovative minds are its cool image and open attitude. It is one of the few cities that offers a good foundation in terms of capital, tech support and quality of life as well.
Paris
Unranked in last years KPMG’s survey, this city from France rocketed into 14th place this year. Paris also scored a very high rating in three other indices. This place is on the radar as a rising technology innovation hub. Furthermore, tech people in France are enthusiastic about helping raise the overall state of the French tech ecosystem by helping out each other.
Amsterdam
Ranked at 16th place, Amsterdam from the Netherlands is a thriving tech with impressive digital infrastructure. There is growing interest as a prominent choice among international professionals and investors. This city is home to an open and creative tech scene with a huge amount of innovative companies. This is one of the few cities with fast mobile internet speed and high standard of living.
Barcelona
Ranked right next to Bangalore at 19th, Barcelona is a buzzing startup hub and one of Europe’s leading tech hotspots. It might not be on the top, but this vibrant city is becoming a perfect spot for entrepreneurs, investors and much more.
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