Lisbon ranked 4th as the most popular European startup hub
According to DEEP Ecosystems Startup Heatmap Europe Report 2022, Lisbon is in 4th position (16.36% of the founders’ votes) of the most popular European startup hubs, thus rising two places in the ranking compared to the previous year.
At the top of the table is Berlin, for the second year running, with London and Barcelona completing the podium. Lisbon, in 4th position, also stands out as the small and medium-sized city with the highest percentage of female founders (23.2%), followed by Dublin (23.1%) and Stockholm (20.2%).
According to data collected from Pitchbook 2021, last year was a record year in the European startup ecosystem in terms of investment raised (101 billion euros of venture capital), thus narrowing the gap that exists between the European and North American markets (last year the latter had a turnover of 119 billion euros, which is equivalent to a difference of 18%).
In view of this record volume, many hubs increased their weight and 12 reached the “unicorn” level in one year, which means that in that period of time their startups earned a total of more than one billion euros. These hubs were: London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Munich, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Copenhagen, Dublin and Helsinki.
Although the investment value has reached high levels, the seed investment value raised (between 500 thousand and 2 million euros) has fallen since its peak in 2019. Founders who intended to make withdrawals for amounts below $1 million in Europe saw opportunities drop by 22%. The higher value rounds increased, with the biggest increase being in rounds above 40 million dollars.
Regarding exits, which is a successful exit by sale/acquisition, these also reached a record number, increasing from 1516 to 3063, comparing 2020 with 2021.
57% of founders, when asked where they would prefer to start their company, would choose Europe over the United States, however, in countries outside the EU, founders still prefer the United States.
Regarding job creation, the 20 main European cities create, on average, 5 jobs for every million euros of investment raised, and as the report says, this shows that the large hubs are less effective in creating local jobs. Which is most likely due to the international reach of their companies. Hamburg, Warsaw and Dusseldorf are the leading hubs in local job creation.
The weight of founders who migrated to Europe rose from 27% to 37%, with the United Kingdom being the country that benefits the most, with 36% more founders of non-British origin settling in the country.
29% of European founders reside outside their country, with Western Europe where most of this mobility takes place, with 38% of them living abroad, while in Southern Europe the rate corresponds to 31%.
