Amsterdam
A rash of small startups have suddenly appeared, with small teams of developers building a wide range of apps and services.
Areas of specialty
Varied, but particularly strong around services for creative industries like video, publishing and advertising.
Major funding sources
The number of accelerators, and VC and angel investors is expanding.
Top startups
Layar, Adyen, Silk, WeTransfer
Notable exits
Soocial, Quova
Berlin
For years, Germany’s capital city has been an arty enclave with little or no industry. But now its startup scene is pushing hard, with a host of trendy startups and young entrepreneurs drawn in by low rents, an attractive lifestyle and easy access to Eastern European tech talent.
Areas of specialty
The city’s dominant tech force remain the three Samwer brothers, who built their empire by cloning American e-commerce businesses.The city is proving strong on digital media, social games and the quirky end of the consumer web.
Major funding sources
The angel network is still small, but international and European investors are increasingly drawn to Berlin, and some local VCs like Earlybird have shifted focus here from other German regions. Meanwhile, the Samwers’ Rocket Internet empire is happy to fund aggressive businesses in proven markets.
Top startups
Zalando, Wooga, Soundcloud, Eyeem, Gidsy, DeliveryHero
Notable exits
Citydeal, 12designer, Betreut, DailyDeal
Cambridge
Known as “Silicon Fen”, the tech industry here was built out of the venerable university’s research departments and has been strong for several generations. It’s home to hundreds of hard tech companies: not glamorous, but it’s scored some big hits.
Areas of specialty
Regional successes like ARM, Autonomy, Aveva and CSR give a good indication of what to expect: semiconductors, wireless, data and biotech are all strong here.
Major funding sources
Active alumni networks and connections to European VCs make Cambridge an attractive destination for investment, but proximity to London means most investors choose to visit rather than stick around.
Top startups
AlertMe, Bromium, Taptu, Jagex, Neul
Notable exits
Autonomy, CSR
Dublin
Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Google and other American tech giants run big European operations from Dublin.
Areas of specialty
Many of Dublin’s biggest successes have been in B2B and SaaS, but there’s a wealth of different industries here, from gaming and apps to telecoms, big data and CRM software.
Major funding sources
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