Beijing should be #2 on the list. Understood that it's tough to get data due to the language barrier, but for such a gigantic hub like Beijing it's worth reaching out to some people to really drive that data collection next time around. I'm happy to help in the future.
I know you're probably saying this to be controversial, but why should Beijing be #2? Are there any studies (even in Chinese) that back this statement up?
Scott, with a straight face and no controversy at all I'm definitely saying it. Beijing is indisputably not only the 'Silicon Valley of China' but also for all of Asia. It was initially sparked since the seat of gov't is here and there are so many universities here but there are many other reasons why it's become the hub for the largest wireless and largest internet market in the world. But due to language, the Great Firewall of China and failures of so many int'l internet companies here in the Middle Kingdom, and other reasons there's relatively little press about the thriving geekosystem here. However on just about every metric it is surely the #2 behind the Valley.
Beijing by a country mile. The seat of gov't is here, top universities are all here, dozens of NASDAQ-listed companies which were once startups themselves are here, terrific world-class infrastructure with relatively low-cots are to be found here in the Northern Capital and - most importantly - on top of that foundation is found the same kind of virtuous cycle found in Silicon Valley and Boston's Rt. 128. That virtuous, self-perpetuating cycle is built around industry insiders peeling off of existing companies and starting out on their own with the support of a burgeoning angel funding ecosystem along with scores of world-class int'l and local VC firms.
On top of that multi-layer cake add a nice coat of all-natural entrepreneurial frosting and Beijing is simply unstoppable as a startup hub.
Up to now the vast majority of the startup effort has been spent on addressing the domestic market spawning literally dozens of publicly listed companies in the internet and wireless space (are there more than 4 or 5 countries in the world that have dozens of listed companies in the consumer internet/wireless space?). In fact, the 3rd largest internet company in the world, after Google and Amazon is China's Tencent/QQ. Up to now, China's market has grown from basically zero in 1995 to by far the largest wireless subscriber base in the world and the largest internet subscriber base in the world.
What's next? Chinese companies will start to aggressively expand via acquisition and geographical expansion and it's already happening. All those market opportunities and forces are combining to make China, and Beijing specifically, a powerhouse in creating new startups and innovative business models. The west likes to think that China is neither creative or innovative, but within a decade it will be clear that that's just not true.
