Lisbon among the most popular European startup hubs
Lisbon ranked fourth, two places higher compared to the previous year, according to the Startup Heatmap Europe Report 2022, by DEEP Ecosystems.
Lisbon is among the top 10 most popular European startup hubs. It is also the small and medium-sized European capital with the highest percentage of female founders in 2021, the year in which the European startup ecosystem broke records for investment raised – €101 billion, according to the Startup Heatmap Europe Report 2022, by DEEP Ecosystems.
Berlin, for the second year running, is the most popular city, followed by London and Barcelona. Lisbon ranked fourth, up two places from the previous year, with 16.36% of the votes, according to the 7th edition of DEEP Ecosystems’ report, based on a sample of over 24,000 pre-selected founders equally distributed over Europe’s regions ranging from Iceland to Istanbul.
Lisbon is also the small and medium-sized city with the highest percentage of female founders (23.2%), followed by Dublin (23.1%) and Stockholm (20.2%). In the large ones Vienna leads with 19.2%.
Last year, the European startups ecosystem broke records for investment raised – €101 billion in venture capital investments – having narrowed the gap to the US market, which in the same year saw its ecosystem raise €119 billion, 18% more than in Europe, according to data from Pitchbook 2021, cited in the report.
This record volume has led to more hubs increasing their weight and 12 of them – London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Munich, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Copenhagen, Dublin and Helsinki – have reached unicorn status in one year: that is, in 12 months local startups have raised together more than €1 billion.
While the value of investment has reached prominent figures, the amount of seed investment raised – between €500,000 and €2 million – has fallen since its peak in 2019. For founders looking to raise below $1 million in Europe, opportunities fell 22%, while higher value rounds increased. The biggest rise occurred even in rounds above $40 million.
The European startups ecosystem also saw a record number of exists (successful exits, by sale/acquisition), having more than doubled: from 1,516 in 2020 to 3,063 last year.
When asked where founders would prefer to start their company if they had the free choice and all the possibilities, a majority (57%) would go for Europe. however, in countries outside the European Union, the United States continues to be preferred by founders.
