Bengaluru Ranked Fifth In The World For Tech VC Investment; 22nd Overall In Global Startup Ecosystem

Karnataka capital Bengaluru has been ranked fifth in and 22nd overall in the global startup ecosystem, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report published by Startup Genome and released at the ongoing London Tech Week-2022.

Startup Genome published its first Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) in 2012. The 10th edition of the GSER-2022 in partnership with Crunchbase and Global Entrepreneurship Network was released on June 14, 2022, ranking the top 30 and 10 runner-up global ecosystems and the top 100 emerging ecosystems.

In the 2022 ranking, Bengaluru has moved up one place from last year to 22. Bengaluru scored highly on categories such as funding, connectedness, market reach, talent and experience and knowledge.

“This ranking mirrors the confidence entrepreneurs & investors globally have in Namma Bengaluru's ecosystem. We continue to grow & expand our global footprint,” Dr Ashwathnarayan C.N., Minister for Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka said.

The GSER-2022 measures 6 success factors in each ecosystem such as:

1.Performance (ecosystem value, exits and startup success),

2. Funding (access, quality & activity),

3. Market Reach (global leading companies, local reach, IP commercialization),

4. Connectedness (local connectedness, infrastructure),

5. Talent and Experience (talent access and quality, scaling experience and startup experience),

Each of these factors is assessed and awarded a score of 1 to 10, with 1 the lowest and 10 the highest.

The report also identified critical factors such as location and infrastructure, tech talent and access to funding as some of the reasons to choose Bengaluru as a startup destination.

Bengaluru is also among the top 15 global ecosystems in funding and among the top 25 global ecosystems in performance, according to the GSER-2022.

Bengaluru’s ecosystem saw eight USD 50 million+ exits — three more than in the GSER-2021 period and improved in market reach.

When Startup Genome published its first GSER in 2012, Bengaluru was the only Asian city to break the top-20 ranking.

In 2021, Bengaluru outperformed both Beijing and Shanghai in the amount of venture capital raised and number of rounds.

The UK-based research agency also found in its analysis that Bengaluru ranks 8th among cities globally in the amount of VC investment attracted by its Fintech sub-sector.

Bengaluru’s ecosystem value (2019H2-2021) is USD 105 billion as compared to the global average of USD 28.6 billion, while its Total Early Stage Funding (2019H2-2021) is USD 2.1 billion as compared to the global average of USD 687 million. The Karnataka capital's Total VC Funding (2017-2021) is USD 21 billion as compared to the global average of USD 4.5 billion.

Investment research has revealed that in the first five months of this year (January to May) Bengaluru’s tech firms have raised USD 7.5 billion in VC funding, considerably higher than the previous record of USD 5.2 billion during the first six months of 2021. The city aptly named the “Silicon Valley of India” is now attracting more investment than other global hubs like Singapore, Paris, and Berlin and is trailing behind Boston and New York.

Bengaluru's massive growth in 2022 is largely attributed to greater access to funding with major funding rounds in 2022 for scale-up tech companies, including a USD 55.7 million. Its Median Seed Funding (2019H2-2021) is USD 5 million as compared to the global average of USD 4.7 million.