The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 (#GSER 2025) was presented in Paris during the Vivatech event on June 12.
Now in its thirteenth edition, the report analyzes 5 million innovative companies and over 350 ecosystems worldwide, offering a comprehensive overview of the startup world, trends, technologies, and providing a useful database for entrepreneurs, stakeholders, investors, and policymakers.
Also this year, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, and Startup Genome collaborated to analyze and enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Turin in the #GSER2025.
Global Context: a predicted decline
Globally, the value of ecosystems (Ecosystem Value) experienced a significant 14% decrease, mainly due to a reduction in large exits (over 50 million USD), a natural contraction following the overvaluations of 2020–21, and the macroeconomic slowdown. Despite this decline, the top three positions in the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking have remained unchanged since 2020, with Silicon Valley in first place, followed by New York City and London. Among the top 20 global ecosystems, Asian ecosystems such as Shenzhen (+11), and hubs like Philadelphia (+12), showed solid growth. Notably, Hong Kong improved, moving from the Emerging Ecosystems group in 2024 to 27th place globally in 2025.
Regarding trends and technologies, #GSER 2025 emphasizes the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI), introducing a new indicator, the “AI Startups Factor,” aimed at rewarding the ecosystems most active in creating native AI startups. AI and blockchain are considered enabling transversal technologies (general purpose tech), while interest and investment in Cleantech and the Blue Economy have declined.
Europe: Between Confirmations and Stagnation
The report highlights a loss of momentum for Europe, with few exceptions. Many European cities have dropped positions in the global ranking, such as Berlin, which fell from 15th place in 2024 to 24th in 2025, and Stockholm, from 23rd to 31st. However, some cities like London and Paris remained stable or showed moderate signs of recovery, with Paris confirming its resilience at 12th place. Conversely, cities like Amsterdam recorded a drop in ecosystem value due to reduced investments and the absence of large exits.
In 2025, the European startup ecosystem saw a 24% drop in Ecosystem Value, reflecting the contraction of investments and large exits. Exceptions include Paris, driven by an increase in the number of unicorns and early-stage deals, and Istanbul, which ranked 3rd among the top 100 emerging countries, gaining 10 positions thanks to growth in performance, funding, and market reach.