Indian tech hubs outshine China’s declining dominance: report

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The recently launched Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) for 2023, which analyzes and ranks startup hubs worldwide, has shed light on a significant trend: China’s tech dominance is waning, while India continues to surge forward.

Several Chinese tech ecosystems have witnessed a decline in rankings compared to last year, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. In contrast, seven Indian ecosystems, including Delhi and Bengaluru-Karnataka, moved up in ranks.

In coming up with the rankings, the GSER considered six factors: performance, funding, market reach, connectedness, talent, and knowledge. It analyzed 3.5 million startups across over 290 ecosystems.

The GSER said that one reason for India’s strong showing is its population surpassing China’s, which led to the country having the “world’s largest talent pool.” The report also highlighted the government’s “investment-oriented policies and reforms.”

In contrast, GSER mentioned China’s restrictive policies, which came into effect in 2021. However, the report noted that by last year, the Chinese government “has both slowed down its regulation of technology and eased its Covid-19 restrictions.”

Despite its declines, China still has the highest-ranking tech ecosystem in the region, with Beijing coming in seventh globally.

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Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore made it to the top 10 for the first time, buoyed by the city-state doubling its number of exits valuing over US$50 million last year. The report also highlighted that the number of early-stage deals in the country increased by 33%.

Meanwhile, Tokyo and Seoul kept their spots in the top 20, though both experienced declines in rankings.