RALEIGH – The Research Triangle is the fourth-ranked “Top Regional Challenger” when it comes to the startup ecosystems across North America, a new report finds.  And the Research Triangle is ranked as the eighth-best performing “Emerging Ecosystem” across the globe with an overall ranking of 48th.

The top performers were Silicon Valley, London, New York City, Boston, and Beijing, according to the analysis conducted by Startup Genome.

The region jumped two spots in the rankings since 2020, when it ranked as the 10th best performing Emerging Ecosystem.

Triangle ranks No. 10 among world’s startup ecosystems; Charlotte, Wilmington crack top 100

Behind the rankings

In this year’s rankings report, the Research Triangle region performed well in each of the “factors” measured in the analysis.

The region’s talent and depth of experience, for instance, received a factor ranking of 10 out of 10.

For the funding environment, the Triangle received a factor ranking of 9 out of 10.  And when it comes to funding of early-stage companies, the region ranks ninth among all 100 emerging startup ecosystems ranked, according to the analysis from Startup Genome, who tracked $680 million in early-stage funding coming into the ecosystem.

For the its  overall performance of the startup economy, the factor ranking for the region ranked a 9 out of 10.

In the final category, market reach, the region received a factor ranking of 8 out of 10.

Report ranks Triangle 16th as startup hub in US; Wilmington No. 2 among similar sized cities across globe

Charlotte falls, Wilmington rises

Charlotte is ranked in the top 50 for emerging startup ecosystems, and Wilmington is ranked in the top 60 for emerging startup ecosystems.  In 2020, Charlotte appeared ranked in the top 40 for emerging ecosystems and Wilmington appeared in the top 100.

In total, the Startup Genome report ranks the top 40 global ecosystems, then the top 100 emerging ecosystems.  That puts the Research Triangle at 48th globally.  Another analysis of global startup ecosystems from StartupBlink recently placed the Research Triangle region at 41st globally, and Charlotte at 73rd globally.

But the Research Triangle region outperforms in one segment of the startup economy, according to a recent analysis from Startup Genome.  That’s the region’s strength in agricultural technology, or food tech, and the Research Triangle ranked 10th globally and 6th in the United States.

Report: Triangle ranks 10th globally for agtech, food tech ecosystem – here’s why