Greater Philadelphia was ranked among the world’s top 25 business startup ecosystems by Startup Genome in its 2024 annual Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), a testament to the region’s leadership and growth in innovation and collaborative business culture.
This achievement closely aligns with the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s (the Chamber’s) active role in driving economic growth and prosperity for the region’s business community through its leadership and initiatives.
Greater Philadelphia’s placement near the top of the global ranking list also reflects the region’s access to several key assets that support startup companies’ successes. They include:
- Leadership in Several Key Industries: Greater Philadelphia is recognized worldwide as a leader in the life sciences industry, including in the biotech and cell and gene therapy subsectors. The region is also renowned for its thriving technology industry.
- Top Business Schools: Greater Philadelphia is home to two of the nation’s top ten universities, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an investor in the Chamber. The Wharton School at Penn consistently is named the nation’s best business school by U.S. World & News Report.
- Deep Talent Pool: A 2023 study by Campus Philly found that 50% of the region’s college graduates opt to live and work in Greater Philadelphia post-graduation.
- Accessible Location: Greater Philadelphia’s central location puts it within a day’s drive of 40 percent of the U.S. population and within a 2-hour flight radius of 60 percent of the U.S.
- Competitive Cost of Living: Greater Philadelphia’s real estate market is 24.1% less expensive than the national average.
- Collaborative Business Ecosystem: The region is home to numerous organizations, business incubators and accelerator programs that provide startup leaders with essential support and services to aid in their successes. Some examples include the University City Science Center (Science Center), Ben Franklin Technology Partners’ ImpactPHL Ventures, Philly Startup Leaders, Drexel University’s Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship, Comcast’s LIFT Labs, Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), 1Philadelphia, Penn Venture Lab, Temple University’s1810 Accelerator and Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JLabs).
Impressive Growth and Statistics
Philadelphia’s startup ecosystem has demonstrated impressive growth and resilience. Between 2021 and 2023, the region’s startup scene was valued at $92 billion, significantly higher than the global average of $29.4 billion. This represents a 40% compound annual growth rate compared to 2019 to 2021.
Among the Philadelphia area’s strongest sectors are the life sciences, which CBRE ranked as the sixth-best life sciences market in the country last year. Additional leading industries locally include AI (Artificial Intelligence), advanced manufacturing, technology, and financial services.
Greater Philadelphia’s startup ecosystem last year outpaced the global average for startup ecosystem success in the following areas:
- Early-Stage Funding: Between 2021 and 2023, the Philadelphia area averaged $2.5 billion in early-stage funding, four times the global average of $655 million.
- Unicorns: The city produced seven unicorns between 2019 and 2023, compared to the global average of three.
- Venture Capital (VC) Funding: Philadelphia tapped into $15.7 billion in VC funding over those years, while the global average was $4.6 billion.
Case Study: DriQ Health’s Journey Through the Science Center’s Capital Readiness Program
Dr. Gregory Dean, a Philadelphia-area urologist, is the CEO and founder of DriQ Health, a startup launched in 2019 around the development of the world’s first battery-free, disposable smart-brief for older adults created to provide nursing home staff with real-time notifications about patients’ care needs. DriQ’s cloud-based, AI-powered solution is headquartered at the Cambridge Innovation Center – CIC Philadelphia @ Market Street, located adjacent to the Science Center.
In June 2024, Dean participated in the Science Center’s fifth cohort of its Capital Readiness Program, joining nine other leaders from medtech, digital health, and healthcare technology startups in the U.S. and U.K. for a five-day startup intensive under to mentorship of several investors-in-residence in Philadelphia designed to support enrollees in securing their first round of institutional investment.
Dean said the program was extremely beneficial to his startup’s success, noting “the business knowledge gained will turbocharge the growth of DriQ Health.” He also added that while he already lives and works in the Philadelphia area, he considers himself a “poster child” for promoting the Greater Philadelphia region business community as his family has previously lived and worked in several competing U.S. regions, including in New York, Boston, and California, and they chose Greater Philadelphia due to its advantages in doing good business.
Dean said his daughter will be a first-year student at Penn this fall, and while she was accepted to other top-tier U.S. schools, he said she chose Penn because of the region’s culture, competitive cost of living and career opportunities.
Elena Rueda, the Co-founder, and CEO of the UK-based startup Dama Health, also a fifth cohort Capital Readiness Program alum, was quoted in an article with Technical.ly Philly as saying that after completing the Capital Readiness Program in Philadelphia earlier this year she now views Philadelphia as the gateway to the U.S. market.
As of June 2024, 50 companies across five cohorts have been enrolled in the Capital Readiness Program, and to date, alumni companies have collectively raised $23.8 million, according to Kristen Fitch, the Science Center’s Senior Director of Marketing.
Fitch said the program not only supports individual startups success, but also highlights the region’s thriving business ecosystem.
“It’s an opportunity to highlight the density of assets and resources we have here, particularly for startups based outside of the Philadelphia market,” Fitch said.
Join Greater Philadelphia’s Globally Leading Business Community
The Science Center is currently accepting applications through September 27, 2024 for its sixth Capital Readiness Program cohort taking place this December. For more information and to apply, visit the Science Center’s website.
For more information about Greater Philadelphia’s business ecosystem or to connect with the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s Business Attraction work, email James Medaglio, Director of Business Attraction and Expansion, the Chamber, at jmedaglio@chamberphl.com.
