Recently, Startup Genome, a globally renowned organization mapping and analyzing innovation ecosystems worldwide, released The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025, which announced 40 world-leading startup ecosystems. According to the report, Beijing moved up three positions compared with the previous year, and is now tied with Boston for the fifth place, making it the only Chinese city included in the global top five.

The report has been released annually since 2012. In 2025, it began to evaluate the leading startup ecosystems based on six factors: performance, funding, talent and experience, market reach, AI-native transition, and knowledge. Beijing ranked third globally in performance, and fourth in talent and experience as well as knowledge.

Meanwhile, the city outperformed the global average in various other aspects. Beijing's ecosystem value reached USD 533 billion from 2022 to 2024, while the global average reached USD 20.4 billion during the same period. The number of active unicorns in Beijing reached 61, compared to a global average of 4. Beijing's cost efficiency average of software engineer salaries was USD 53,500 in 2024, whereas the global average stood at USD 52,000. Lastly, the total amount of venture capital investment in Beijing amounted to USD 64 billion from 2020 to 2024, compared to the global average of USD 5.2 billion.

The report concludes that robust government support, intellectual endorsement from prestigious universities, and a thriving capital market are powerful drivers of innovation within Beijing's startup ecosystem, injecting a steady influx of momentum to nurture China's next generation of globally leading entrepreneurs. With a solid foundation for innovation, Beijing, as a prominent hub for technologies and innovation, has garnered international acclaim for its rapid advancement in artificial intelligence-driven data analytics, life sciences, and fintech.

(Source: The Beijing News)