Curious about where startups thrive?
Startups of The Year 2023 celebrated 1,382 winners on January 24, 2024, after a 9-month journey that kicked off in May. We’ve open-sourced the voting data, offering insights into global startup hubs, popular domain endings, and more for those who want to explore further.
Each winning startup received a free .Tech domain, a HackerNoon NFT, and an Evergreen Company Page. These pages include key business details like headcount, founding year, social links, domain ranking, live updates from HackerNoon stories, and relevant headlines. Public companies also get rankings and stock price visuals.
By analyzing the total votes received by startups in each city, we’ve measured the global interest of the HackerNoon community and compiled the findings into this detailed breakdown. Enjoy!
Most voted on Startup City Award (Rank By Votes, Name, Population, Votes)
|
RANK |
CITY NAME |
POPULATION |
VOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
5.3 million |
159,361 |
|
|
2 |
9.5 million |
138,496 |
|
|
3 |
5.6 million |
38,887 |
|
|
4 |
39 million |
22,064 |
|
|
5 |
873,000 |
19,147 |
|
|
6 |
20.7 million |
13,974 |
|
|
7 |
975,000 |
12,756 |
|
|
8 |
367,000 |
11,770 |
|
|
9 |
13.6 million |
8,452 |
|
|
10 |
4.5 million |
8,184 |
|
|
11 |
1.6 million |
7,898 |
|
|
12 |
2.7 million |
5,616 |
|
|
13 |
5.1 million |
4,817 |
|
|
14 |
30,000 |
4,630 |
|
|
15 |
465,000 |
4,551 |
|
|
16 |
3.5 million |
4,063 |
|
|
17 |
2.2 million |
3,929 |
|
|
18 |
2.9 million |
3,902 |
|
|
19 |
8.5 million |
3,777 |
|
|
20 |
3.6 million |
3,773 |
|
|
21 |
740,000 |
3,640 |
|
|
22 |
3.9 million |
3,210 |
|
|
23 |
68,000 |
2,930 |
|
|
24 |
1.8 million |
2,861 |
|
|
25 |
454,000 |
2,801 |
|
|
26 |
150,000 |
2,503 |
|
|
27 |
2.1 million |
2,349 |
|
|
28 |
260,000 |
2,097 |
|
|
29 |
645,000 |
1,996 |
|
|
30 |
1.3 million |
1,976 |
|
|
31 |
920,000 |
1,970 |
|
|
32 |
320,000 |
1,959 |
|
|
33 |
873,000 |
1,758 |
|
|
34 |
2.9 million |
1,709 |
|
|
35 |
445,000 |
1,697 |
|
|
36 |
16 million |
1,676 |
|
|
37 |
770,000 |
1,636 |
|
|
38 |
2.2 million |
1,553 |
|
|
39 |
1.6 million |
1,481 |
|
|
40 |
32 million |
1,312 |
|
|
41 |
545,000 |
1,257 |
|
|
42 |
116,000 |
1,182 |
|
|
43 |
2.3 million |
1,182 |
|
|
44 |
7.3 million |
1,181 |
|
|
45 |
2.5 million |
1,178 |
|
|
46 |
8.3 million |
1,157 |
|
|
47 |
975,000 |
1,135 |
|
|
48 |
440,000 |
1,133 |
|
|
49 |
1.5 million |
1,047 |
|
|
50 |
22 million |
1,042 |
|
|
51 |
34,000 |
1,039 |
|
|
52 |
670,000 |
1,039 |
|
|
53 |
1.4 million |
1,038 |
|
|
54 |
6.3 million |
1,030 |
|
|
55 |
15 million |
1,015 |
|
|
56 |
10 million |
1,001 |
|
|
57 |
750,000 |
958 |
|
|
58 |
37.5 million |
950 |
|
|
59 |
11.2 million |
946 |
|
|
60 |
1.1 million |
923 |
|
|
61 |
9.5 million |
917 |
|
|
62 |
740,000 |
901 |
|
|
63 |
1.2 million |
900 |
|
|
64 |
30,000 |
878 |
|
|
65 |
10.2 million |
876 |
|
|
66 |
700,000 |
808 |
|
|
67 |
510,000 |
716 |
|
|
68 |
Goa, India |
1.5 million |
716 |
|
69 |
San Francisco, Bay Area |
7.75 million |
702 |
|
70 |
2.7 million |
695 |
|
|
71 |
2 million |
682 |
|
|
72 |
116,000 |
681 |
|
|
73 |
12.4 million |
667 |
|
|
74 |
922,000 |
662 |
|
|
75 |
7.7 million |
623 |
|
|
76 |
4 million |
619 |
|
|
77 |
1.9 million |
609 |
|
|
78 |
46,000 |
530 |
|
|
79 |
303,000 |
510 |
|
|
80 |
1.8 million |
504 |
|
|
81 |
805,000 |
503 |
|
|
82 |
675,000 |
490 |
|
|
83 |
2.3 million |
489 |
|
|
84 |
6.7 million |
466 |
|
|
85 |
32 million |
433 |
|
|
86 |
105,000 |
428 |
|
|
87 |
422,000 |
396 |
|
|
88 |
600,000 |
390 |
|
|
89 |
130,000 |
381 |
|
|
90 |
75,000 |
374 |
|
|
91 |
385,000 |
374 |
|
|
92 |
2.8 million |
372 |
|
|
93 |
11 million |
352 |
|
|
94 |
71,000 |
352 |
|
|
95 |
15.8 million |
341 |
|
|
96 |
39 million |
336 |
|
|
97 |
1.3 million |
328 |
|
|
98 |
1.3 million |
327 |
|
|
99 |
82,000 |
315 |
|
|
100 |
240,000 |
308 |
Some notable trending startup locations relative to population
Data from the 2023 Startups of The Year shows that locations historically known for being startup-friendly through business and tax incentives—like Singapore (3rd), Dublin (30th), and Dubai (17th)—attracted global interest in their startups, far surpassing their local populations.
Despite their strong reputations as business and tax havens, several cities have underperformed in global interest. Zug, Switzerland (64th), Luxembourg, and New Delhi (85th) have all seen lower-than-expected engagement. Even San Francisco (5th), despite its tech dominance, together with Dubai (16th) and Hong Kong (44th), known for their pro-business environments, haven't captured as much global attention as their track records would suggest.
Several smaller or unexpected cities have ranked surprisingly high. Cleveland ranks 8th with 11,770 votes, despite not being a typical global business hub. SoMa, a San Francisco neighborhood, is 14th with 4,630 votes, despite its tiny population. Gibraltar stands out at 51st, likely due to its financial center status, despite having just 34,000 residents.
These trends illustrate a shifting landscape in global startup interest, where both traditional and emerging locations experience varying degrees of success. While some well-established hubs are failing to attract the anticipated global engagement, smaller, unconventional cities are making unexpected progress. This indicates that the global startup ecosystem is becoming more dynamic and dispersed, with opportunities emerging in a wider range of locations. We look forward to seeing what the next Startups of the Year data will reveal as these trends continue to evolve.
Startups can thrive anywhere!
Reflecting on the Startups of The Year 2023 data, it’s clear that startups can emerge from any corner of the globe. This is a strong testament to how technology has democratized entrepreneurship. Several factors have contributed to this shift, including easier access to technology and tools, the rise of remote work and global talent acquisition, and local innovation initiatives.
- Access to technology and tools: Thanks to the widespread access to digital tools and cloud technologies, startups can thrive everywhere. Platforms like AWS and GitHub help startups to operate globally from any location, allowing less traditionally recognized and even remote regions to launch competitive businesses on a global scale.
- The shift toward remote work and hiring global talents: The rise of remote work has left a lasting mark on the startup ecosystem by allowing companies to recruit top talent from anywhere in the world (take HackerNoon for example). This trend has opened opportunities for startups as they can now build strong teams without the need for physical relocation, significantly leveling what the global market has to offer.
Local innovation initiatives: Local governments and institutions are increasingly providing support and funding to nurture startups within their regions. For instance, initiatives in cities like Boulder (US) and Lagos (Nigeria) have seen significant investment in infrastructure to support tech startups, reflecting a growing recognition that fostering local innovation is key to economic development.
With that being said, startups no longer have to be confined to traditional tech hubs such as San Francisco or New York. They can now emerge and succeed from any part of the world, driven by technology, global connection, and local support.
Check out what some of the 2023 Startup participants had to say about their company, experiences, global startup interest, and the future of startups:
- Meet C-Power, Winner of the Startups of The Year in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Meet HarperDB, Winner of the Startups of The Year in Denver
- Meet Roam Telecoms, Runner-up of the Startups of The Year in London, UK
- Meet React Bricks, Runner-up of the Startups of The Year in Lombardy, Italy
- Meet Hoken Tech, Winner of the Startups of The Year in Bari
Meanwhile, subscribe to our Startups page to stay informed on all the latest updates about Startups of the Year.
About HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year
Startups of The Year 2024 is HackerNoon’s flagship community-driven event celebrating startups, technology, and the spirit of innovation. Currently in its third iteration, the prestigious Internet award recognizes and celebrates tech startups of all shapes and sizes. This year, over 150,000 entities across 4200+ cities, 6 continents, and 100+ industries will participate in a bid to be crowned the best startup of the year! Millions of votes have been cast over the past few years, and many stories have been written about these daring and rising startups.
The winners will get a free interview on HackerNoon and an Evergreen Tech Company News page.
Visit our FAQ page to learn more. Read more about this year’s design system
HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year is a branding opportunity unlike any other. Whether your goal is brand awareness or lead generation, HackerNoon has curated startup-friendly packages to solve your marketing challenges.
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