NEWSCAN
Bengaluru is world’s fastest-growing technology hub: Report NEW DELHI: Bengaluru, the Information Technology (IT) capital of the country with a population of more than 10 million, has been placed at the top in the list of the world’s fastestgrowing mature technology ecosystems since 2016. Bengaluru was followed by European cities of London, Munich, Berlin and Paris. The data analysed by London and Partners (L&P) reveals that Bengaluru grew 5.4 times from $1.3 billion in 2016 to $7.2 billion in 2020. On the other hand, Mumbai ranked sixth in the list and grew 1.7 times from $0.7 billion to $1.2 billion in the same period. London has also shown a threefold growth from $3.5 billion to $10.5 billion between 2016 and 2020. Hemin Bharucha, Chief Representative of India at L&P, said that it is good to see Bengaluru and London as the world’s two fastest-growing technology hubs. He added that the two cities share the power in entrepreneurship
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February 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
and innovation, which creates many opportunities for investors and companies to do business. Further, he said that the Government of the United Kingdom’s recent Brexit deal with the European Union brings “certainty” for Indian companies and investors looking towards London. He also added that they look forward to welcoming more Indian businesses to the UK capital in the years ahead. The other fast-growing tech hubs that include two German cities of Munich and Berlin, and French capital Paris have doubled their investments in the 2016-2020 period. However, the UK capital cemented its status as Europe’s leading tech hub with London companies receiving over three times the amount of investment than any other European tech city. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said that London is the global tech capital of Europe. Despite the challenges that emerged due to Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, London’s tech
sector continued to prosper in 2020 and has an important role in the city’s economic recovery. London is already home to some of the world’s best technology companies and will remain open to international investment and tech talent from all over the world. Bengaluru is also at the sixth spot in the world’s technology Venture Capitalist (VC) investments. This global list has been topped by Beijing, San Francisco, New York, Shanghai and London as the top five cities. Skillmine, a new-gen Bengaluru-based IT consulting and service management company which extended to London last year, credits the development of Bengaluru into a hi-tech hub to the easy access to “like-minded tech entrepreneurs alongside a deep-tech talent pool”. Anant Agarwal, Managing Director, Skillmine, said that it has been thrilled to be part of Bengaluru’s emergence as a world-class hub. The company had grown its business operations to London in May 2019 and the Middle East and American markets. Agarwal added that London is a global tech hub with tickets to a thriving tech talent pool alongside growth capital and a broad customer base. He also expressed his excitement to grow their business in the city. Mumbai stands at the 21st spot in the ranking, including Boston and Singapore in the high ranking cities. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and various other challenges of 2020, including Britain’s exit from the European Union, London technology firms have raised $10.5 billion in 2020. The number is higher than what was recorded in 2017 ($7 billion) and 2018 ($5.9 billion). Another new research reveals that London is now home to 1252 Venture Capital firms, which is more than any other European city.
