Running fans and practically anyone connected with current information about the city of Valencia will know that it is considered a land of records. This is what the slogan of Valencia, the city of running, says, since the results achieved in its sports competitions shatter previous marks.
Valencia can be called a land of records in other aspects, beyond the sporting field. The city also reaps economic and business brands and its innovative ecosystem is the flagship at the forefront of this trend.
The startup sector continues to add new additions. 2023 ended with 1,314 startups, 16% more than those registered in 2022, and forecasts indicate that this growth will continue throughout 2024.
In an analysis of the macro data, the consolidated position of the Valencian ecosystem in the national innovative panorama is observed. Valencia maintains its third place in terms of investment captured in the first half of the year that we have just left behind, but while Barcelona and Madrid decreased their investment volume by 48%, Valencia increased it by over 40%. One more sign that we continue to grow and surpass brands.
What is evident is that the Valencian startup ecosystem has taken off and is unstoppable. According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023, which analyzes ecosystems around the world, the city has risen 22 places on the global list of entrepreneurial cities, from 144 to 122 since 2020.
But if there is an indicator in which Valencia's growth in the innovative field can be seen, it is VDS. This international technological event reaches record numbers each edition, demonstrating that it has become a reference event in the world, making a place for itself on the global agenda. The 2022 edition already provided overwhelming data in terms of participation and VDS2023 once again exceeded expectations, reaching the maximum international projection: 12,000 professionals from 91 different countries.
This increase is not limited to the number of attendees. The last edition of VDS brought together more speakers, 500 people, more than 600 international investors with an investment portfolio of more than 8,000 million euros and 2,200 startups. Regarding the number of corporations that participated, the comparison with the year 2022 is dizzying, since there were 533% more, about 967. In the history of this event we observe this exponential growth that I have been talking about. And since its first edition, in 2018, this internationally renowned technological meeting has increased its number of attendees by 1,500%.
Now that we begin a new year, it is time to set the objectives and begin to write new chapters in the trajectory of the Valencian innovative ecosystem and we do so with one premise, that of continuing this growth and continuing to shatter records. Valencia has not reached its ceiling and we still have a lot to say in the international panorama of entrepreneurship and innovation.
As happens in athletics competitions, since I started this article with the simile of running, our city still has the potential to reach a new mark. In the sporting field it is said that Valencia has all the characteristics to bring out the best in athletes and achieve the best times. Well, we have the same potential in the technological field.
The Valencian brings together all the ingredients to continue standing out and position itself as a reference hub in southern Europe. It is an ecosystem that favors connections between the different agents that make it up, more than 1,600, according to the Startup Observatory of the Valencian Community; It promotes talent and entrepreneurship, encourages public-private collaboration and has the support of the different administrations.
In short, Valencia's meteoric rise as a city of records is not only reflected in its sporting achievements, but also in the dynamic business and startup scene. The numbers speak for themselves: records shattered at VDS, an exponential increase in the participation of companies, investors and professionals from all over the world. This phenomenon is not ephemeral; On the contrary, it is supported by a solid ecosystem that encourages collaboration and promotes entrepreneurship. As we look to the future, it is clear that Valencia has even more potential to write new chapters in its innovative history. Thus, in this new year, the premise is clear: continue with this unstoppable growth and continue setting records, consolidating Valencia as an undisputed benchmark on the international panorama of entrepreneurship and innovation.
