Seattle fell 10 spots to No. 20 in Startup Genome’s annual “Global Startup Ecosystem Report,” a ranking of the leading startup regions in the world. But the city is still rich in tech talent and considered a “top-tier hub for innovation.”
The report measures factors including performance, funding, talent and experience, market reach, and knowledge in an analysis of 4.5 million startups across 300 ecosystems and 55 countries.
Silicon Valley is still No. 1, followed by London and New York which tied for second.
Seattle’s fall was the largest among the top 40 ecosystems. According to the report, the region’s 10 large exits in the 30 months leading to the end of 2023 ranked 26th globally. It only had two in 2023.
“The ecosystem is on a down cycle overall as its Series A deals have also slowed,” the report said, citing 25 such deals in 2023 that ranked Seattle 10th among U.S. ecosystems.
Funding to startups in the Seattle region slowed dramatically in 2023 compared to the boom times of the previous two years, as venture capitalists put the brakes on investing amid a broader tech industry slowdown. And after a number of early stage companies reached the billion-dollar valuation milestone, Seattle’s “unicorn” activity has also curbed. Some companies, however, are still raising sizable rounds.
Over the past several years, Seattle’s startup scene has lost a number of communities that catered to entrepreneurs and operated physical spaces, including the surprise departure of Techstars Seattle earlier this year. Some say new groups such as Seattle Foundations are needed to help support entrepreneurs and the city’s startup climate.
While Seattle’s ranking in the new report did represent a slide compared to previous years, Startup Genome still calls the city a “top-tier hub for innovation” with an “incredible depth of talent” and an “ideal breeding ground for future unicorns.”
AI, big data and analytics, life sciences, and ag-tech/new food are listed as Seattle’s strengths (below), with the city ranking second in the U.S. in terms of AI talent density.
And Startup Genome also offers up some compelling reasons for any startup to move to Seattle, including its established tech scene, strong talent pool and strategic location.
