Paris trumps London as Europe’s leading tech ecosystem, according to new data

Paris has come ahead of London in a ranking of global tech ecosystems.

Paris is the only European city to make it into the top five global ecosystems, coming in at number four, according to data from Dealroom.

The top five is dominated by US tech ecosystems, with the Bay Area coming in at number one, followed by New York, Boston, Paris and then Austin, the data shows.

According to the founder of one UK-based fintech, the findings should be a “wake-up call” for the UK.

London came in sixth place, with Stockholm (15) and Munich (17) the other European cities to make the top 20.

The data is a further boon for Paris and France, which recently hosted the “Choose France” business summit, which, according to finance minister Eric Lombard, is expected to bring in a total of €37 billion ($41.35 billion) worth of investment.

This week, Revolut announced that it will invest over €1 billion in France, where it will apply for a banking licence, and that Paris will be its new Western European headquarters. 

Dealroom says it scrutinised data including startup value creation, patent concentration, and university spinout activity data to work out the top tech ecosystems.

Dealroom did not publish like-for-like data last year.

According to Dealroom, Paris is on an AI tear, with nearly half of its $7.8bn VC funding last year going to AI companies, including Mistral AI ($526m), Poolside ($500m), and Electra ($341m).

But the $7.8bn figure was less than the $11.3bn raised by London startups, spearheaded by large rounds such as Wayve ($1.1bn) and Monzo ($639m).

Between 2017 and 2024, the combined enterprise value (the total value of a startup) of Paris startups grew 5.3X, compared to 4.2X for London, Dealroom said.

Roxanne Varza, director, Station F, the Paris startup campus, said:  "Paris's ecosystem has really accelerated over the last few years, largely due to the AI talent and new wave of repeat founders.

"The pro-business and pro-innovation government agenda is helping to further this: the AI Action Summit at the beginning of 2025 demonstrated that our ambition is more than words, we’re taking the steps to actually deliver for France and Europe.

"More international funds are building strong teams to cover the French market because they’re excited about the potential here and we’re committed to continuing to make France Europe’s leading innovation hub.”

Virraj Jatania, group CEO of UK-based Pockit and Monese, said the data was a “wake-up call” for London.

Jatania said: “London has long been the tech capital of Europe, the home of incredible innovation and progress over the past decade. It’s why I started my business here, and it has been the launchpad for so many other tech pioneers and a major engine of economic growth. That's something we should be proud of and determined to protect.

"Losing the top spot should be a wake-up call. We mustn't take this past success for granted. If we are to regain the crown and keep building world-leading tech companies, we need a supportive regulatory environment with better access to capital, championing growth and encouraging investment.”