27 June 2024

Amsterdam more attractive for start-ups than Paris and Berlin

Research by the American institute Startup Genome reveals that Amsterdam is the most attractive city in Europe for start-ups, after London. Amsterdam scores high on access to financing and availability of talent. The city ranks thirteenth globally.

Amsterdam has positioned itself as a leading city for start-ups, outperforming Paris and Berlin in several aspects. Key factors include good access to financing and the availability of talent and experience. Furthermore, many Amsterdam start-ups successfully grow into scale-ups, which is less common in cities like Paris and Berlin.

The ecosystem’s value, measured as the total exit and start-up valuations over a period of two and a half years, is one of the indicators for the ranking. In Europe, Amsterdam is in the top five, some distance behind London but close to Paris and Berlin.

Although the start-up climate was less favorable last year compared to the peak years of 2021 and 2022, the first quarter of this year shows a recovery. The number of sales transactions is rising, and the number of unicorns, companies valued at $1 billion or more, is increasing.

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