Silicon Valley could have a fight on its hands if it wants to retain its position as the home of tech startups, as swathes of IT firms set up shop across the globe.
This is the view put forward in a new report by Telefnica Digital and the Startup Genome into worldwide tech start up development trends.
The Startup Ecosystem report includes feedback from over 50,000 start ups from across the globe, and resulted in the creation of a list of 20 cities that could offer the best chance of success to budding tech entrepreneurs.
We are now seeing emerging ecosystems beginning to act as viable alternatives to the traditional centres of innovation.
Silicon Valley topped the list, closely followed by Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Boston, London, Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago.
Although Silicon Valley emerged as the winner, the report claims this could change in the years to come as the tech communities in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia continue to grow.
London, in particular, has been flagged up as one city whose startup community has experienced significant growth in recent years.
The report also hails London as home to the largest proportion of female entrepreneurs in Europe.
However, the report flags several barriers to growth that could stop the city from becoming a serious challenger to Silicon Valley's startup dominance.
For example, it is claimed that London-based entrepreneurs tend to be less ambitious and more risk adverse than their US contemporaries, and it can be harder for UK firms to secure funding for their activities.
Gonzalo Martin-Villa, CEO of Wayra, Telefnica Digital's global startup accelerator, said the report's findings paint a positive picture of how entrepreneurship is taking off across the world.
"We are now seeing emerging ecosystems beginning to act as real viable alternatives to the traditional centres of technology innovation," said Martin-Villa.
"This is incredibly exciting, since it suggests that, increasingly-so, the necessary support infrastructures are in place the world over for bright minds to turn their ideas into reality."
