- Gisma University of Applied Sciences analyses in which cities and countries most start-ups are founded
- More than half of all start-ups are founded in the USA
- In Europe, most start-ups come from the UK — Germany produces the second most start-ups
Three percent of all start-ups founded worldwide come from Germany – making Germany the fifth country with the most start-ups in the world. This is the result of a study by Gisma University of Applied Sciences (www.gisma.com). The university analysed all companies on the Crunchbase database that were founded in the last five years and have received financing totalling at least ten million euros to date.
At least 2,871 new start-ups were registered in the USA
51 per cent of start-ups founded in the last five years come from the USA. This puts the United States in first place in the global ranking. China is in second place in the country comparison with almost ten per cent. More than 500 start-ups have been registered here in the past five years. The UK is in third place with five per cent. India and Germany follow in fourth and fifth place with 3.35 and 3.05 per cent respectively. In Germany, at least 170 new start-ups have been founded in the last five years.
San Francisco is the start-up capital
Probably the best-known area for start-ups and technology companies is Silicon Valley in the southern San Francisco Bay Area in California — no wonder that California, with almost 21 per cent, and San Francisco, with just under nine per cent, produce the most start-up companies worldwide. New York takes second place in the city rankings with almost seven per cent of all start-ups. Four per cent of the start-ups surveyed come from London, putting the British capital in third place. In fourth and fifth place are Singapore with 2.42 per cent and Los Angeles with 2.13 per cent.
Most start-ups in Europe come from London
In Europe, most start-ups are founded in the UK — with 303 start-ups, the country took first place in the European ranking. London is the European start-up capital with 228 companies. In second place in the European comparison is Germany with 170 start-ups, closely followed by France with 155 start-ups. Switzerland and the Netherlands follow far behind with 57 and 39 start-ups respectively.
In a comparison of European cities, the second most start-ups after London are founded in Paris (104 start-ups). Berlin just misses out on the top three: 85 new start-ups have been registered in the German capital in the last five years, and 86 in the British university city of Cambridge. Fifth place is shared by Stockholm and Munich with 27 start-ups.
Eloise Capet, Head of the GISMA Career Centre, explains: “The United States is a paradise for founders – the land of opportunity attracts many young entrepreneurs with well-known start-up and tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, but also New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Austin. The Chinese start-up ecosystem also includes a robust financing environment, a talented workforce and a focus on far-reaching technology innovations, which explains the high number of start-ups in China.
Europe is still lagging somewhat behind, although many European countries are already following best practices to support entrepreneurs in starting up. In 2020, the EU introduced the EU Startup Nation Standard, which aims to make it easier to found a start-up and expand across borders, among other things. This is also intended to streamline visa and residence applications for talented people from third countries and promote technology transfer from universities, which we as a university with a predominantly international student body are naturally very pleased about. This initiative should help to make Europe the most attractive continent for start-ups and scale-ups.”
About the study
Gisma University of Applied Sciences analysed 5,585 companies from the Crunchbase database for their headquarters. The university determined the cities, regions and countries of the headquarters. All companies that were founded in the last five years (8 May 2019 to 8 May 2024) and have received financing totalling at least ten million euros to date were taken into account.
