Hong Kong rated by Forbes as the first amongst four cities after New York (#1 Hong Kong, #2 Washington D.C., #3 Tel Aviv, #4 London) that is most likely to follow the footstep of Silicon Valley to become an innovation and technology hub. Rebecca Fannin who contributed to Forbes's finding said it was Hong Kong's unrealized potential that makes it worth watching.

1. (image: Vasenka on Flickr)
A handful of tech hubs in the world
are working overtime to follow in
the footsteps of northern
California’s Silicon Valley. Recently
Tech & Science scoped out several
world cities that are doing their
best to earn their own “Silicon
(something)” monikers. We took a
look at why these cities were
inspiring techonomies.
#4 London
The UK tech scene is ironing out a few kinks and gearing itself up to create a
scene that will allow ideas to morph more quickly into ramped up
companies. The government funded Tech City Investment Organization
offers strategy, support and international connections to London and UK
tech entrepreneurs, while the Technology Strategy Board hands out public
money to worthy startups.
Some inspiring startups that have come out of London include
TransferWise, a peer-to-peer platform that allows people to transfer
money to others while abroad at a lower cost than banks can offer. There’s
also the bite-sized news aggregation app, Summly, from wiz kid Nick
D’Aloisio. London’s Canary Wharf is now home to Level39—an accelerator
unveiled this past December by London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Want to see the lay of the London tech scene? Check out this map, it will
freak you right out.
#3 Tel Aviv
Israel’s Silicon Valley is known as “Silicon Wadi,” (it means Silicon Valley)
and Tel Aviv has had some tech successes to boast about. The mighty Google
just set up shop in the city this past December, opening a one-floor shared
work environment available for free to Israeli startups, developers and
entrepreneurs. The word from those who ply their trade in Tel Aviv tell a
story of a techonomy that is much closer knit than its northern Californian
counterpart, which streamlines the process of getting things done and make
projects tackled there quicker to come to fruition.
Some Tel Aviv startups on the move include the personal video stream
creator, Vodio; and gaming company JamRT. You may have also heard of
the open source freeware media player, Boxee.
ENTREPRENEURS | 3/20/2013 @ 1:38PM | 24,962 views
Karsten Strauss, Forbes Staff
Journalist covering entrepreneurs, technology & business.
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2. Washington DC (Photo : Wikipedia)
#2 Washington D.C.
The center of political power in the
United States draws more than just
tourists, lobbyists and attention-
hungry politicians; it’s proven a
magnet for tech entrepreneurs too.
The population of engineers and
idea-people with a mind to start a
business has drawn venture
money, according to a report.
Some D.C. startups you may have
heard of include the deal
aggregator LivingSocial, wedding
organization assistant WeddingWire and social news platform Newsit.
For a massive list of startups budding in the nation’s capitol, check out this
site that tracks a ton of them.
#1 Hong Kong
We at FORBES have a thing or two to say about Hong Kong’s prospective
place among the very top tech hubs on the planet. Contributor Rebecca
Fannin recently explored what it is that makes the city worth watching.
Fannin found that its Hong Kong’s perhaps unrealized potential that makes
the city such a compelling prospect in the near future. With a community of
innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs on one side and a population of
internationally traveled, wealthy tycoons on the other, Hong Kong could be a
powder keg of a techonomy waiting to explode.
Coworking space like CoCoon, begun by entrepreneur Theodore Ma and the
AcceleratorHK are up and running and startup culture is breaking through
barriers like smaller funding possibilities (for now) and lack of big picture
dreams for products. Other startup breeding grounds include The Hive
Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Science and Technology Park
Incubation Program and Startups HK.
Some HK startups include fashion crowdfunding platform ZaoZao and
photo to t-shirt company SnapTee.
Honorable Mention:
Boston & Austin
We didn’t forget about you guys. This list was about cities to watch and we
are all, indeed, watching the founding ground of companies like PerkStreet
Financial, LearnLaunchX, Gazzang and Bazaarvoice. We always loved
Boston and Austin, but let’s take a moment to put the spotlight on these
other cities and see if they turn the corner.
Also, check out a handful of other tech capitals already churning out startups
and products in the slideshow below. Cheers!
The Best Cities For Tech Jobs
This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/20/the-worlds-top-4-tech-capitals-
to-watch-after-silicon-valley-and-new-york/
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