- New analysis published in London reveals that investment in Bengaluru rose 5.4 fold from $1.3 billion in 2016 to $7.2 billion in 2020.
- Investment in Mumbai rose 1.7-fold from $0.7 billion to $1.2 billion during the same period.
Bengaluru, India’s IT capital with a population of about 10 million, has emerged as the fastest-growing mature technology ecosystem in the world since 2016, followed by the European cities of London, Munich, Berlin and Paris.
The Indian financial centre Mumbai ranked sixth, according to the latest research published in London on 14 January.
Dealroom.co data examined by London & Partners – the Mayor of London’s Foreign Trade and Investment Department – showed that investment in Bengaluru’s Karnataka capital rose 5.4-fold from $1.3 billion in 2016 to $7.2 billion in 2020, with Mumbai’s Maharashtra capital rising 1.7-fold from $0.7 billion to $1.2 billion in the same period, said PTI.
Meanwhile, London reported an unprecedented three-fold rise from $3.5 billion to $10.5 billion between 2016 and 2020.
“It’s great to see that Bengaluru and London ranked the top two fastest-growing global technology hubs for VC investment. Our two major cities share common strengths in creativity and innovation – providing a lot of prospects for tech developers and businesses to do business in both areas,” said Hemin Bharucha, Chief Representative of India at London & Partners.
“London has a good business and investment relationship with cities across India, and today’s figures demonstrate the scope for further technological collaborations between the UK and India. Despite the pandemic, tech companies in London and India continue to lead the way in developing game-changing technology – particularly in high-growth sectors such as EdTech and Fintech,” he said.
“The recent bribex deal with the European Union by the UK Government brings certainty to Indian companies and investors looking to London and we look forward to welcoming more Indian companies to UK capital in the years ahead,” he said.
Bengaluru is also ranked sixth in the world’s tech venture capitalist (VC) investments, ranked in the top five in Beijing and San Francisco, New York, Shanghai and London. Mumbai is ranked No. 21 in the country, with Boston and Singapore among the other high-ranking cities.
Skillmine, a Bengaluru-based tech company providing next generation IT advisory and managed services, which extended to London last year, highlighted access to ‘equal tech entrepreneurs alongside a deep tech talent pool’ as a showcase of what has been referred to as India’s Silicon Valley in the past.
“It was thrilling to be part of Bengaluru’s emergence as a world-class technology centre. From here, we extended our business activities to London in May last year, as well as to the Middle East and American markets. London is a global technology hub with access to a vibrant technology talent pool alongside growth capital and a strong customer base. We’re excited to expand our company in the region,” said Anant Agarwal, Managing Director of Skillmine.
Behind Bengaluru and London, the other fast-growing technology hubs are the two German cities of Munich and Berlin and the French capital of Paris, all three of which have more than doubled their investment in the 2016-2020 period. The UK capital, meanwhile, cemented its status as Europe’s leading technology centre – with London businesses attracting more than three times as much investment as any other European technology city.
“London is Europe’s global technology capital. The technology industry in London continued to flourish in 2020 and has an important role to play in the city’s economic recovery, amid the threats raised by bribex and coronavirus pandemics. London is now home to some of the world’s best technology firms and will remain open to foreign funding and technology expertise from around the world,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Despite the Covid 19 pandemic and Britain’s departure from the EU, London tech companies raised $10.5 billion in 2020 – slightly higher than the overall sum raised in 2017 ($7 billion) and 2018 ($5.9 billion) and near to the record in 2019 ($10.7 billion).
“It’s great to see how robust London’s technology industry has become, amid all the uncertainties of 2020. Foreign investors have showed real faith in London, with new venture capital funds set up here to invest in high-growth businesses in sectors such as Fintech, Data Security and Health Technology. That’s because London continues to be a gateway to the European market and a wonderful place.
New analysis by Dealroom.co and L&P also shows that mega-funding rounds for London-based tech businesses boosted the VC investment pace for UK tech in 2020 with British tech firms collecting a whopping $15 billion in 2020.
Additional results indicate that London is now home to 1,252 VC companies – more than any other European city.
Following the emergence of the global pandemic and the spike in remote work in 2020, business information technology has emerged as the top market for VC investors.
London saw an 82% growth in business tech spending last year, with UK financial funds raising a total of $1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, another study on the ranking of global traffic congestion has three Indian cities in the top 10. Mumbai ranked second in the country, Bengaluru sixth, Delhi eighth and Pune 16th among 416 cities across 56 countries in terms of traffic congestion.
