Fabrizio del Maffeo, Axelera’s CEO and cofounder

Pro

Analysis

April 29, 2026

Europe's fastest-rising ‘tier two’ tech hubs

Garching, Heidelberg, Lausanne and the other youngling tech towns worth watching

Europe's big tech engines — London, Paris, Stockholm and Berlin — dominate the headlines. But just below the top tier, a few new dots have appeared on the map.

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Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly is a contributing editor at Sifted, and writes Startup Life , a weekly newsletter on what it takes to build a startup. Follow him on X and LinkedIn

Jonathan Sinclair

Jonathan Sinclair is head of research at Sifted. Find him on LinkedIn

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