Vancouver is the 30th-best startup ecosystem in the world

It’s déjà vu for the Vancouver tech community, as the city maintained its ranking in the Global Startup Ecosystem report. The 2023 iteration of the Startup Genome deep dive sees the city in the same spot that it held last year: number 30.

The organization promises that its report boasts the world’s most comprehensive analysis of startup ecosystems across the globe. It is based on extensive research and analysis of data from 3.5 million startups across 290 global ecosystems, and over a decade of providing independent research and policy advice to more than 145 clients in over 50 countries.

To determine each startup’s grade, the ecosystems are broken down into various facets and then scored on a 10-point scale. Here’s how Vancouver fared:

• Performance: 3

  • Exits, value, and overall startup success

• Funding: 3

  • Access to early-stage funding and number of local investors

• Connectedness: 3

  • Both local (meetups happening in the city) and global (international offices)

• Market reach: 1

  • Size relative to country GDP, number of local unicorns, and policy friendliness

• Knowledge: 1 

  • The volume, complexity, and potential patents generated in addition to a measure of research publication impact.

• Talent and experience: 2

  • Total number of developers and their average salaries, number of STEM graduates and life sciences institutions, and cumulative number of startups and exits

Now, at face value, these grades look quite low. I know my parents would be pretty upset if these scores were mirrored on my childhood report cards. But, the report really just looks at can you get on the board? The top-ranked Silicon Valley ecosystem was all nines and 10s, sure. The eighth spot went to Singapore, which only notched one point for knowledge. Vancouver’s threes were higher than Miami, Paris, and Shanghai’s scores in the category. It also outscored the “runners up” in the majority of areas. This helped give the city its ranking.

While Vancouver finds itself in the upper echelon of startup ecosystems, that seat may be starting to get hot — particularly in Canada. The report cited Calgary, Edmonton, and Quebec City as shiny startup cities. Startup Genome even went so far as to place them under the cheeky heading, “Why you should move your startup to…” The report highlighted both personal and professional affordability as key factors.

Closer to home, the document also noted that Canada produced 18 unicorns in 2021, with Vancouver leading the charge in the country. As far as our national counterparts go, Toronto-Waterloo was once again the Canadian top dog. It maintained its place at 17. Montreal also held steady as a “runner-up” in 40th place. Only time will tell if 2024 will see Vancouver exhibit more of the same for another year.