The first 2024 Z/Yen Smart Centers Index has been released, pitting 79 cities against one another based on their tech economy. It tracks the world’s biggest commercial centers, judging each one based on its ability to develop, deploy, and maintain technology. Here are the top three cities for tech entrepreneurs and investors may want to keep an eye on.
1. London
Across the UK, and London in particular, there have been many initiatives aimed at supporting the tech sphere in the country. They took a holistic approach, fostering healthy competition between leading firms while getting basic internet into the hands of those who lacked it.
In 2024, an internet connection can be necessary for work, or to find entertainment online. Increasingly, businesses rely on the internet to serve or market their products. This is best seen with streaming companies like Netflix or iGaming sites where the products are digital games. Certain marketing practices are only possible over the internet, such as Paddy’s Wonder Wheel with bonus rounds where daily free spins are offered to gather interest in their service. That only works if everybody has an internet connection, which is part of why London has focused on bettering its internet penetration rates over the past decade.
Since May 2023, London has topped the Smart Centers Index biannual ratings after overtaking New York. They emerged as number one again for the first half of 2024, showing that Britain’s ambition of becoming Europe’s leading tech economy is paying off. By setting a foundation of tech literacy, London and the UK at large are investing in its future tech economies.
Besides London dominating the Smart Centers Index yet again, two other British cities rocketed up the league table to settle at the fourth and fifth positions. Those were Oxford and Cambridge, most renowned for their ancient universities, but now they have transitioned to become world-class tech and research hubs much like MIT in America.
2. Zurich
In second place was Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland. Switzerland has long enjoyed unique geographic and political advantages throughout its history, balancing isolation with fruitful collaboration with its neighbors beyond the Alps. From this privileged position, Switzerland has established itself as one of the richest countries in the world, as shown here by Tycoon Story. After resting at fourth place in prior reports, Zurich is ascending as mainland Europe’s foremost tech hub.
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of tech startups in Zurich rocketed by 300% as venture capital flooded into Switzerland like never before. This no doubt contributed to its new ranking, as the relatively new finance hub continues to rise through the index’s ranks. In the coming years, Zurich may hit the top of the list. It already tops the Global Innovation Index, which it has done for 13 years in a row.
3. New York
Having slipped from the first and second spots, New York settled at third in the Smart Centers Index’s global rankings. While London and Zurich dethroned the Big Apple, New York is still America’s smartest city according to the index. This is no doubt thanks to Silicon Alley, the Flatiron District in Manhattan where the East Coast has worked on replicating Silicon Valley’s West Coast success. The Alley started during the dot-com boom but now, over two decades later, the whole city is a frontrunner for emerging tech spaces like AI and cryptocurrency.
New York rated at 702 in the index, just one point behind Zurich’s 703, and had the highest rating drop of the top 20 participants. However, all but a few tech cities saw their ratings drop this year, signaling that the industry is going through a temporary slump at the moment. As the tide comes back in for the tech industry, you can expect New York to battle its way toward the top spot yet again.
