Porto combines a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem with strong talent, research and investment, making it an increasingly attractive place to build and grow a business.
- 1,324 R&D units across Porto
- 48% Ecosystem Value Growth
- €557.5M VC Funding
- 239,359 students enrolled in higher education
- +700 startups and scaleups
- 8 active unicorns operating in the region of Porto
- +50 local tech communities
- 20% female founders
- #50-60 Emerging Ecosystems Ranking (GSER 2026)
- Top 25 globally in R&D performance (GII 2024)
- #8 small startup hub in Europe (Startup Heatmap Europe)
- #1 in Europe for foreign investment among large cities (fDi / FT 2025)
- Portugal ranks among Europe’s leaders in digitalisation (129% EU average, EIS 2024)
Want to explore Porto’s startup ecossystem?
ScaleUp Porto is a city-led initiative, supporting a more connected, accessible and collaborative startup ecosystem.
Cristiana is your point of contact, helping you connect with the right people, organisations and opportunities across Porto, so you can make the most of the city’s dynamic ecosystem.
- UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996
- 1.7 million inhabitants (Greater Porto Metropolitan Area)
- CDP Global A-List: top 12% climate action leaders worldwide
- Europe’s Best City Destination 2025
- 120+ non-stop flight destinations
- Portugal’s second-largest metropolitan economy
Porto’s success is built on a strong connection between academia, industry, and entrepreneurship, where research-driven innovation is actively transformed into market-ready solutions. The ecosystem benefits from close collaboration between universities, technology parks such as UPTEC, and both local and international companies that establish R&D and innovation centres in the region.
This model has enabled the emergence of globally competitive companies such as Sword Health, a Porto-founded digital health scaleup that has expanded internationally while remaining deeply connected to the local innovation ecosystem. Its trajectory reflects the city’s ability to turn technical excellence into scalable global businesses.
What differentiates Porto is its role as a strategic European base for companies building engineering-intensive and knowledge-driven products. Over the past years, the city has increasingly attracted international technology centres and scaleups seeking access to specialised talent, R&D capacity, and a collaborative but cost-efficient environment for growth.
“Porto is a multicultural city. There are a lot of businesses and a lot of new ideas. Porto also has one of the best universities worldwide that graduates great engineers. We can clearly see that the municipality is seeking to help the companies and the local economy. Being here is a great accomplishment.” – André Oliveira, CEO Pixelmatters
“Porto has all the key elements (…). In a very close radius, we have a lot of good universities, easy access to all the international hubs, but also a very good quality of life. I believe this mix makes Porto an excellent hub to grow. ” – Felipe Ávila da Costa, CEO Infraspeak
“Porto has a brand that attracts talent, not just because of the quality of life, but also because of all the engaging career opportunities that exist.” – Márcio Colunas, SWORD Health
Start and scale your business in Portugal using the official national support ecosystem.
City as a service: InvestPorto is the official investment promotion agency of the city of Porto. It provides free, tailored support to international companies and founders setting up operations in the region.
Coming from outside the European Union? Portugal offers a Startup Visa programme for non-EU founders building innovative and scalable businesses, with support from certified incubators and national ecosystem partners.
- Startup Portugal – One Stop Shop: Central national entry point for entrepreneurs and foreign founders
- 351 Portuguese Startup Association: Non-profit organisation supporting startup growth through community building, ecosystem connections and international visibility.
- InvestPorto: Official city investment agency supporting company setup and expansion in Porto
- Porto Tech Hub: not-for-profit association of companies that aims to promote and grow Porto as a global technological centre
- AICEP Portugal Global: National trade & investment agency supporting foreign companies entering Portugal
- IAPMEI: SME & innovation support agency
- ANJE: National association supporting young entrepreneurs through training, incubation and networking
Innovation Districts: Porto’s innovation activity is highly concentrated in a single major district: the Porto Innovation District in Asprela, integrating universities, hospitals, R&D centres and startup infrastructure. The district is anchored by UPTEC and INESC TEC, forming one of Southern Europe’s densest knowledge and innovation clusters.
UPTEC: Science and technology park of the University of Porto, supporting startups, scaleups, corporate innovation and knowledge transfer.
Founders Founders: Founder-led community supporting entrepreneurs through events, spaces, peer learning and connections with investors and the wider startup ecosystem.
PORTIC – Porto Innovation Center: Superstructure of the Polytechnic of Porto combining multiple research centers to drive technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and industrial design.
i3S: Leading health and life sciences research institute driving translational medicine, biotech innovation, and deep-tech clinical spin-offs
INESC TEC: Leading research and technology institute focused on AI, robotics, energy and advanced engineering, driving deep-tech transfer to industry.
Porto Tech Hub: Association of tech companies promoting talent, collaboration and the growth of Porto’s digital ecosystem.
Porto Innovation Hub: City-led innovation platform connecting startups, corporates and citizens through programs, pilots and urban innovation initiatives.
CIS Porto: A city-led platform operated by the Municipality of Porto that acts as a catalyst for social innovation, driving collaboration between citizens, social actors, and businesses to address urban social challenges through entrepreneurship and co-creation
The Porto startup & scaleup ecosystem is valued at $7.5B+, with a diversified industry landscape led by Health and Enterprise Software, followed by Fashion, Security, Energy, and Fintech.
Top VCs: Portugal Ventures, Indico Capital Partners, Armilar Ventures Partners, Shilling, Bright Pixel, Critical Ventures, Bynd Venture Capital, Iberis Capital and many more.
Angel Investors: Angel networks such as AngelsWay and COREangels Porto.
Funding Programs: Access startup and scaleup programmes such as Grow your Startup by 351, Lead the Disruption by Sogrape Ventures, and other accelerator, venture-building and corporate innovation initiatives.
Public Funds: Explore support from Portugal 2030, Portugal Community Fund, Compete 2030 and a wide range of national and European funding schemes for innovation, internationalisation and R&D.
Porto offers a highly skilled and STEM-oriented talent pool, supported by leading universities and research institutions that produce strong output in engineering, computer science, and sciences.
Tech Visa: Fast-track programme that helps certified companies recruit highly qualified non-EU talent.
Startup Visa: Facilitates the relocation of international entrepreneurs and startup founders to Portugal.
InvestPorto, Startup Portugal, IEFP & IAPMEI: city and national one-stop-shops supporting international companies with talent attraction, hiring processes, visas (Tech Visa & Startup Visa), funding access and ecosystem integration in Porto.
SIM CONFERENCE STRENGTHENS PORTO AS A SOUTHERN EUROPEAN INVESTMENT HUB
The SIM Conference 2026 brought together startups, scaleups and international investors in Porto, reinforcing the city’s position as a key entry point for investment into Southern Europe. The event connected hundreds of startups with global investors and corporates, boosting cross-border deal flow and visibility of the ecosystem.
STARTUP GENOME HIGHLIGHTS PORTO AMONG EUROPE’S MOST COMPETITIVE EMERGING ECOSYSTEMS
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026 by Startup Genome recognized Porto as one of Europe’s most competitive emerging startup ecosystems. The city continues to stand out for its cost-effectiveness, access to talent and growing international visibility, reinforcing its position as an attractive destination for founders, investors and innovation-driven companies.
SCALEUP PORTO ECOSYSTEM REPORT REVEALS STRONG GROWTH AND RISING ECOSYSTEM MATURITY (2025)
The ScaleUp Porto Ecosystem Report 2025 report aims to provide a detailed overview of the startup ecosystem in the Porto Region, offering an in-depth look at its structure, performance, and potential. It showed that the Porto Region is now home to more than 700 startups and scaleups, generating €5.1 billion in enterprise value and supporting 17,500 jobs.