Top 10 startup cities in 2025: Indian city secures #10th rank, two more in global top 20
10 Best Startup Cities in the World (2025): The latest report from Startup Blink reveals that, despite a strong global startup economy, the overall growth rate has declined to just under 21%.
San Francisco continues to lead the rankings with an annual ecosystem growth of 19.9% for 2025, followed by New York and London.
Although San Francisco retains its lead over New York, the gap between the two has slightly narrowed from 2.8× to 2.7× New York's score, with London standing out with a growth rate of nearly 30%, the highest among the three cities.
The report further highlighted Asia-Pacific's rapid growth by 27.4%, with the region's cities like Beijing, driven by a growth rate of over 25%, overtaking Boston to rank 5th.
Singapore City has also made significant strides, moving from 22nd to 12th place in 2025, driven by an impressive growth rate exceeding 50%, placing it closer to entering the top 10.
In a notable mention, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has entered the global top 20 for the first time, securing the 20th position after achieving over 30% growth for three consecutive years.
As global investors seek diverse investment opportunities, cities worldwide are competing to establish themselves as prominent hubs for startups; listed below are the world's top 10 startup cities in 2025.
Source: StartupBlink – Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025
India has reversed the positive momentum it experienced last year, falling to 22nd place worldwide in 2025. This marks one of the steepest declines among the global top 25.
Despite this, the country has six cities ranked in the global top 100 and stands out as one of only three countries, along with the United States and China, having three cities in the top 20.
Recording a growth of 13.8%, the lowest among the top 10, Bangalore rounds up the top 10, trailing behind Paris and Tel Aviv in 2025; New Delhi follows next at 11th with +15.5% growth.
In 2025, Mumbai is ranked 18th globally, rising two positions with a growth rate exceeding 30%, which is the highest among India's major cities.
In contrast, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai each experience growth of less than 14%. As a result, they drop 5, 3, and 7 places, respectively, in the rankings, making them the slowest-growing Indian cities in the top 100.
Source: StartupBlink – Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025
Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager - Content at The Indian Express. She is responsible for crafting compelling narratives, uncovering the latest news and developments, and driving engaging content based on data and trends to boost website traffic and audience engagement. One can connect with her on LinkedIn or by mail at cherry.gupta@indianexpress.com. ... Read More
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