With a flourishing investment scene, is Lisbon becoming the European Silicon Valley?
2018 marks the 3 year anniversary of the WebSummit in Lisbon. It is easy to see why the WebSummit moved from Dublin to Lisbon and why Paddy Cosgrave, founder of the WebSummit, signed a 10 year contract with the Portuguese Government. Lisbon itself is one of the most underrated cities in the world according to CNN Travel, with numerous authentic neighbourhoods each with its own unique energy. Google evidently spotted the quality and potential of Portugal and in early 2018 opened a Lisbon office housing 500 engineers.
Will Lisbon be the European Silicon Valley?
According to Forbes, Portugal is now a top destination for foreign investment, and the European Union signing off on a 9,5 billion EUR investment in Portugal for infrastructure and innovation projects. Meanwhile Portuguese investors are dramatically picking up speed where private equity tripled to 7 billion EUR in the last three years, as reported by Reuters. The Portuguese Government is following suit and in 2018 approved 200M EUR for investing in the Portuguese startup scene.
All this has created a unique environment for startups that choose Lisbon over other European cities. Take Intersection Ventures for example, part startup studio, part investment fund powered by Portuguese, Brazilian and British investors. The goal, like many other startups in Portugal, is to deliver tech products to international markets benefiting from the growing startup ecosystem, access to investment, low cost of living, robust talent and quality of living. Pedro da Cunha, co-founder of Intersection Ventures, says:
We solve specific industry problems by combining artificial and collective intelligence so we need an outstanding environment to achieve this mission and Lisbon acts as the perfect catalyser for attracting talent, investment and promising founders — Pedro da Cunha
Time will tell if Lisbon’s exploding trajectory allows it to overtake the likes of Berlin, Stockholm and London. For companies like Intersection Ventures however the future looks bright. If you’re looking for funding or to move to Portugal, Pedro has an answer for that too. “We’re always looking for great people and great founders!”
