10 of the Biggest Tech Hubs Outside America

Updated on January 24th, 2024 by Quertime Writer in Info & News

It’s a well-known fact that Silicon Valley is a hive of activity for all things tech. The home of Google, Facebook and Apple among many more globally famed companies, it’s really no wonder that this is where every tech start-up aims to end up.

However, despite the fact that Silicon Valley has been the geographical anchor for an entire world of innovation, innovation is something that happens all over the world.

1. London, England

London is not only the capital of the UK it’s also the European capital of tech startups. Silicon Roundabout, or London Tech City, is government funded (through Tech City Investment Organisation) which offers support, strategy and great connections to newly formed tech companies and entrepreneurs trying to break into the market. With this kind of support, it’s no surprise that London has been the birthplace of many inspiring new companies including TransferWise – a real time money transfer facility which guarantees the latest real-time exchange rate – and Hailo, a convenient taxi app which aims to take the hassle out of booking a taxi in two small taps.

2. Tel Aviv, Israel

Israel has its very own Silicon Valley, quite literally, known as Silicon Wadi and it’s renowned for the same spectacular feats of the USA. Known for their success in cyber security, it wasn’t long before the area caught the eye of Google – so much so, they set up a base there in 2013. It’s not just online security that threw the Israeli city into the spotlight though, every new business needs a great website to boot and Wix, whose headquarters are in Tel Aviv, makes creating one so easy!

3. Hong Kong, China

For a lot of the western world, Hong Kong still remains very much unexplored and it’s this unrealised potential that seems to be the draw for many ambitious entrepreneurs – well, that and it’s population of business tycoons.

With swarms of startups encased in The Hive Hong Kong and Startups HK and as the birthplace of companies including CoCoon, a co-working space offering help and ideas to up and coming startups, and SnapTee a company that makes designing your own clothes oh so easy, it looks like Hong Kong’s tech hub is just going to grow and grow.

4. Gibraltar
Yes, you read that correctly, the country with a population of just 30,000 has made our top ten as it seems entrepreneurs and businesses in the e-gaming, tech and law backgrounds are particularly successful on the Rock.

With a land mass of just 6.8 square kilometres, it’s the entire country that’s a hub and the birthplace of companies with worldwide popularity including Easy Payment Gateway (EPG) – a digital payment management system – and partypoker, a popular online gaming platform.

5. Sydney, Australia
We did say “all over the world”, so it’s only right to go as far as possible. Sydney has a huge community of risk-loving entrepreneurs and with locally based support stations like PushStart, it seems more and more people are taking the plunge and going it alone.

6. Manchester, England
Back to the UK and we’re in the NorthWest’s technical hub, Manchester. With numerous great startups including marketing platform Fatsoma, MediaCityUK (the new home of the BBC) and The Sharp Project and The Space Project, offering dedicated spaces for young tech and marketing companies, music, radio, film and TV production, this is a city that has tech in its soul.

7. Paris, France
Paris is renowned for its innovation in a number of areas, but predominantly fashion and high quality cuisine. However, thanks to a 2015 government cash injection of $250 million – part of a startup fund named “La FrenchTech” – there have been a number of innovative startups popping up along the way too.

In addition to startups, entrepreneur Xavier Niel set up the 42 School in which 1,000 programmers are trained for free each year.

8. Toronto, Canada
Canadian startups have benefitted from investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the last few years. Although the investment has benefitted startups all over the country, there is a definite concentration of startups in Toronto.

Toronto based Wattpad is a community for readers and writers alike to share their views on stories or try their hand at writing for an audience. It’s a platform where an online connection isn’t necessary and there’s no need to download PDFs, ensuring a seamless reading experience.

Nymi is another impressive, Toronto based startup that has managed to change the world of authentication devices. By using unique ECG (electrocardiogram) software the team have created an authentication device which uses your heartbeat as a biometric identifier.

It’s not just the startups thriving here though, the presence of major tech giants like Google in the city has certainly played a key role in the increase of new, successful tech companies.

9. Bangalore, India

Now considered one of the biggest tech hubs outside the US thanks to a number of prominent venture capital firms setting up base over there, Bangalore is considered by many to be the leading charge for startups.

IDG Ventures – a company that works with entrepreneurs to provide them with essential, worldwide connections for success – and Intel Capital – a tech company dedicated to providing other businesses with the equipment they need to serve customers globally – are both based over there and with recent investment from the UK Indian Business Council, this list of Bangalore based startups is only going to grow.

10. Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya’s capital is a hive of activity thanks to its up and coming tech scene. A lot of the city’s success is being put down to the success of iHub, an online community considered a catalyst for Kenya’s tech growth thanks to its ability to connect people, companies and entrepreneurs as well as supporting startups as a whole.

It’s not just the startups that have been responsible for putting Nairobi and Kenya on the tech hub map, larger companies and initiatives like Microsoft4Afrika have been imperative in equipping these companies with the materials they need to succeed.

So, there you have it, ten of the biggest and the best tech hubs from all around the world.