For years, European tech was dominated by a simple story: London, Berlin, Paris, and maybe Amsterdam were the only “real” hubs worth watching. Today, that narrative is breaking down. In 2026, a wave of secondary tech hubs—smaller cities in Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and even within established Western countries—is emerging as a powerful force in Europe’s innovation map.
From Prague, Bucharest, and Warsaw in Central‑Eastern Europe, to Porto, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Tallinn in the EU‑periphery, and Iasi, Nantes, Toulouse, and Aarhus in secondary Western‑European cities, these hubs are growing faster in ICT and startup density than many national capitals. They are attracting VC capital, remote‑first founders, nearshore‑development arms of U.S. and EU tech giants, and global talent—often at lower costs and with less congestion than London or Berlin.
This article explores why these secondary hubs are rising, what they offer, and how they are reshaping Europe’s tech‑ecosystem hierarchy.
What a “Secondary Tech Hub” Actually Means
In this context, a secondary tech hub is typically:
- Smaller or mid‑sized city that is not the national capital (e.g., Porto instead of Lisbon, Toulouse instead of Paris).
- Or a capital‑level city in a smaller EU member state (e.g., Tallinn, Vilnius, Zagreb, Nicosia) that punches above its population in tech output.
- A place that punches well above its GDP weight in ICT employment, startups per capita, or R&D intensity.
These hubs are not replacing London or Berlin—they are adding layers of depth to Europe’s ecosystem. Oxford Economics and other researchers now count several Central and Eastern and Western‑European secondary cities among the top 15 European ICT centres by sector size, thanks to lower costs, strong universities, and faster digital‑sector growth than their larger rivals.
Secondary Hubs in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
CEE cities have become some of the most talked‑about tech‑expansion targets for 2026. Dealroom and industry‑analyst reports highlight:
- Kyiv (Ukraine): Fast‑growing software and AI hub, despite geopolitical risks, with strong deep‑tech and gaming communities.
- Warsaw (Poland): Now in the top 25 European tech ecosystems, with a booming fintech and SaaS scene.
- Prague (Czechia): Increasingly seen as offering one of the most favorable ICT business environments in Eastern Europe, with strong infrastructure, central‑European location, and plentiful talent.
Smaller but rising hubs include:
- Bucharest (Romania): Vibrant software‑development and innovation centre, with educated tech talent and advanced IT infrastructure.
- Sofia (Bulgaria): Attractive for low labour costs, political stability, and bilingual engineers, making it a hotspot for nearshore development and early‑stage startups.
- Bratislava (Slovakia), Vilnius (Lithuania), and Zagreb (Croatia): Named among the world’s top 20 “rising tech hubs”, thanks to fast‑growing ecosystems and strong government support.
For Western multinationals and US‑based startups, CEE secondary hubs are attractive because they offer:
- Skilled, English‑proficient developers at lower salaries.
- Solid digital infrastructure and EU‑market access.
- Relatively short‑runway to product‑market fit for B2B SaaS and dev‑services‑oriented models.
Southern and Mediterranean Secondary Hubs
Mediterranean Europe is also seeing a surge in tech‑hub formation, driven by remote‑work culture, climate, and EU‑funded digital‑transition programs. Key nodes in 2026 include:
- Portugal – Lisbon and Porto:
Lisbon has long been a headline‑maker, but Porto is now outpacing Lisbon in ICT growth, with a strong pool of engineers and spin‑off cultures from the Faculty of Engineering. Tech companies are increasingly choosing Portugal for cost‑efficient, EU‑aligned product and R&D hubs, especially in SaaS, AI, and fintech. - Spain – Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Seville:
Barcelona remains a pan‑European hub for fintech, deep‑tech, and climate‑tech, while Valencia, Malaga, and Seville are picking up pace as lower‑cost software‑development and R&D satellites. Spain’s long‑standing “digital nomad” and remote‑work‑resident visa options make it easier for global talent to join these secondary hubs without leaving Europe. - France – Toulouse and Nantes:
Oxford Economics highlights Toulouse and Nantes as emerging ICT hubs that are growing faster than even Paris in some segments. These cities benefit from university clusters, strong aerospace and industrial‑tech roots, and aggressive local‑government digital‑investment plans.
These Mediterranean hubs combine sunny climates, good quality of life, and EU‑regulatory stability, making them ideal for remote‑first product teams, research labs, and EU‑market‑entry bases.
Northern and Western “Growth‑Outsider” Hubs
Even in Western Europe, secondary‑city tech scenes are accelerating. Examples include:
- Porto (Portugal): Outpacing Lisbon in ICT growth, with strong software‑engineering and AI‑research traditions.
- Aarhus (Denmark): Growing at about twice the pace of Copenhagen in ICT, driven by university‑spin‑off activity and a supportive local government.
- Nantes and Toulouse (France): Developing into key ICT hubs with strong innovation‑park ecosystems and deep‑tech pipelines.
- Secondary UK cities like Middlesbrough: Emerging as ICT‑growth hotspots despite being outside London or Manchester, thanks to targeted public‑investment schemes and new tech‑campus projects.
These cities are interesting because they offer:
- Lower costs than London, Amsterdam, or Paris,
- Less crowded funding and housing markets,
- And close proximity to capital hubs for talent, co‑investors, and events like London Tech Week or Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam, which continue to be major ecosystem magnets.
Why These Hubs Are Growing So Fast
Several structural factors are driving the rise of secondary tech hubs beyond London and Berlin:
- Cost‑Efficiency and Talent‑Density
CEE and Southern‑European hubs often provide skilled developers, product‑managers, and data scientists at lower salary bands than London, Berlin, or Paris, while still offering English‑proficient, EU‑labor‑law‑protected workforces. This makes them attractive for custom‑development, nearshore‑services, and R&D labs. - Government and EU‑Level Support
Many of these cities are beneficiaries of:- EU‑co‑funded digital‑transition and innovation‑infrastructure programs.
- National strategies that target non‑capital regions to spread growth and reduce regional inequality.
- Local‑government incentives such as subsidized office space, tax breaks, and innovation‑park build‑outs.
- Universities and Research Clusters
Secondary hubs often sit on university campuses or close to research institutions that produce steady flows of engineers and entrepreneurs. Cities like Toulouse, Porto, Aarhus, and Nantes are prime examples, where strong academic roots translate into practical, commercial‑grade R&D. - Remote‑First Work and Global Staffing
As remote work becomes the norm, companies no longer need to put their entire engineering team in the capital. Instead, they can split teams across hubs: core‑product in London or Berlin, nearshore‑dev in Sofia or Porto, and research in Toulouse or Nantes. This “hub‑and‑spoke” model makes secondary‑city roles far more attractive. - Event‑Driven Ecosystem Effects
Tech‑events and fintech‑conferences in Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, and other major hubs act as magnets that draw investors, founders, and corporates into Europe. Once there, many of them discover and plant satellite offices or R&D centres in nearby secondary hubs that are cheaper and less congested.
Benefits and Challenges for Startups
For founders and foreign companies, secondary tech hubs offer a mixed but largely positive profile:
Advantages:
- Lower operating costs and salaries than in London or Berlin.
- Less competition for talent and office space, which can speed hiring and onboarding.
- Strong local‑community and mentorship networks, often with higher engagement per capita than in saturated capital hubs.
- Easier access to EU‑level grants and regional‑development funds that specifically target non‑capital regions.
Challenges:
- Smaller local VC scenes: While capital is growing, many secondary hubs still rely on cross‑border, London‑, Berlin‑, or Amsterdam‑based funds for later‑stage rounds.
- Fewer large‑scale tech events and conferences held locally compared with capital‑city hubs.
- Limited late‑stage ecosystem services (e.g., high‑end M&A advisors, specialized fintech‑regulatory consultants), though this is improving fast.
Because of this, many successful startups from secondary hubs start life locally, then “graduate” to London, Berlin, Amsterdam, or Paris for scale‑up and exit‑readiness, while keeping development or R&D anchored in the original hub.
The Broader Ecosystem Impact
The rise of secondary tech hubs reshapes Europe’s tech‑geography in three ways:
- More Balanced Regional Growth
Instead of concentrated tech wealth in a few capitals, growth is spreading across CEE, Southern Europe, and secondary Western cities, helping reduce regional inequality and making Europe more resilient to shocks in any single hub. - Increased Specialisation
Secondary hubs often double‑down on niches—for example, cybersecurity in Vilnius, industrial‑AI in Toulouse, or fintech‑infrastructure in Zagreb—allowing Europe as a whole to build a broader, richer, more diverse ecosystem. - New Pathways for International Expansion
For US and Asian tech companies entering Europe, secondary hubs provide lower‑risk, lower‑cost entry points that can then scale into broader EU‑wide operations. Many now open “first foot in Europe” in Porto, Sofia, or Nantes rather than London or Berlin, especially for engineering or R&D footprints.
In 2026, Europe’s tech story is no longer just about London, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam. It is increasingly about Prague, Bucharest, Warsaw, Vilnius, Zagreb, Porto, Toulouse, Aarhus, and a growing cast of secondary‑city players that are punching above their weight in ICT and startup activity.
These hubs thrive by combining lower costs, supportive regulation, strong universities, and proximity to EU‑level capital and events. For founders, investors, and global tech companies, they represent a new frontier of opportunity: places where you can build a viable, EU‑aligned tech business without the congestion and expense of the capital hubs, while still plugging into the broader European network.
The rise of secondary tech hubs signals that Europe’s innovation ecosystem is becoming more distributed, more diverse, and more resilient—and that the future of European tech will be written not in one or two cities, but in a network of centres all across the continent.