Seoul Selected as One of the 'Top 10 Cities for Startups,' Startup Ecosystem Valued at 223 Trillion Won... Highest Ever

Seoul Ranks 10th Among 280 Cities, Highest Ever
Top in Asia for Funding
Seoul Investment Agency Boosts Ecosystem Potential Through Investment Attraction

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul has been selected as one of the "Top 10 Cities to Start a Business" worldwide. This is the highest ranking ever, with the value of Seoul's startup ecosystem estimated at 223 trillion won (177 billion dollars).

On the 14th (local time in London), the global startup ecosystem evaluation organization "Startup Genome" announced the "Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2022," which surveyed 280 cities in 100 countries worldwide. Seoul was selected as a global top 10 city among 280 cities worldwide, rising 6 places from 16th last year.

This global startup ecosystem report includes evaluations and analyses of six categories. Seoul received excellent ratings (7 points or higher) in five categories: Funding (9 points), Knowledge (8 points), Performance (7 points), Connectedness (7 points), and Experience & Talent (7 points), while Market Reach was rated average (5 points).

Startup Genome particularly noted that large-scale exits significantly contributed to increasing the value of Seoul's startup ecosystem, and that early-stage funding in Seoul has grown substantially. Additionally, Seoul's proactive and aggressive overseas investment efforts centered on the dedicated investment agency "Invest Seoul," and the establishment of startup hubs by district?Yeouido (Fintech), Hongneung (Bio-Medical), Yangjae (Artificial Intelligence)?to foster innovative companies through active startup policies were also evaluated as factors enhancing the growth potential of the startup ecosystem.

The report identified the industry sectors where Seoul's startup ecosystem is strong as AI & Big Data and Analytics, Life Sciences, and Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics.

Meanwhile, the global startup ecosystem top 5 are ranked as follows: 1st Silicon Valley (USA), tied 2nd New York (USA) and London (UK), 4th Boston (USA), and 5th Beijing (China). There was a ranking change between Beijing and Boston in 4th and 5th places, while the top three remained the same as last year.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Economic Policy at Seoul City, said, "To leap to a global TOP 5 economic city by 2030, we will create a startup ecosystem that produces 40 globally recognized unicorn companies by 2030 through support in various fields such as nurturing future-oriented talent, creating an environment favorable for corporate investment, and supporting promising companies' overseas expansion."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.