London has once again secured its position as the world’s leading tech hub, according to the latest Z/Yen Smart Centres Index.
The biannual ranking, which assesses 77 global commercial centres on their tech capabilities, saw London maintain its top spot, narrowly edging out New York. While the gap between the two cities has narrowed, London’s strong performance reflects the UK’s thriving tech ecosystem.
New York reclaimed second place, rising from third in the previous index. San Francisco climbed four places to fourth, with Zurich holding onto third position. Oxford and Cambridge, which have become powerful global tech hubs, fell by four and one places in the ranking respectively.
The UK government has made significant strides in fostering a supportive environment for tech innovation, with recent investments from US firms like CyrusOne, Cloud HQ, CoreWeave, and ServiceNow bolstering the nation’s data centre infrastructure.
Former Lord Mayor of the City of London and Z/Yen chair Michael Mainelli said: “The latest results in the SCI show a slight dip in confidence in the strength of centres, and confirmation that strengths in AI, digital, and computing skills will have a major impact on centres’ performance.”
The index was compiled using 132 factors provided by third parties, including the World Bank, OECD and United Nations, as well as 1,804 assessments through an online questionnaire.
