As the capital of a G7 country and home to over 4.2 million people in its metropolitan area, Rome leverages its geopolitical, institutional and academic weight to attract entrepreneurs, investors and global innovators. Its industrial roots stretch from energy and transport to aerospace, defense and precision manufacturing, anchored by companies like Eni, Leonardo and Ferrovie dello Stato. With a Mediterranean climate, walkable historic districts and lively neighborhoods such as Trastevere and Testaccio, Rome offers a dolce far niente lifestyle alongside a fast-growing tech sector. Initiatives led by groups like the Roma Startup association have positioned the city as a bridge between European innovation and the broader Mediterranean, Middle East and African regions.

A diversified innovation economy

Rome’s startup ecosystem today hosts well over a thousand active startups across a range of sectors. According to Region Lazio, the regional government, Rome (and the wider Lazio region) is second only to Milan/Lombardy in Italy for the number of registered innovative startups, with Lazio Innova reporting 1,600 registered startups in 2024. It has strong clusters in aerospace and security, life sciences, culture (including tourism and entertainment), agrifood and climate tech,  reflecting the city’s industrial legacy and research strengths. The pipeline of new tech companies in Rome has been growing steadily as founders are drawn by the quality of life and an international mindset fostered by a large expat community. Importantly, the larger Lazio region is buoyed by public-private investors like Lazio Innova and CDP Venture Capital, and it shows clear potential to scale further: in June 2025, the Lazio Region announced a new venture capital strategy, La nuova strategia per il Venture Capital, designed and managed by Lazio Innova, with a total endowment of more than €100 million to promote the development and innovation of startups in Lazio. 

Rome’s local wealth is also a latent asset: the city is among Europe’s top capitals for concentration of private wealth (after London and Paris), and as the base of Italy’s pension and institutional financial system, it holds significant capital that could be unlocked for venture investment. 

An interconnected academic and talent ecosystem

Rome boasts one of the largest university student populations in Europe, with roughly 300,000 students enrolled across its many universities. Major institutions like Sapienza University of Rome (Europe’s single largest university by enrollment), Tor Vergata, Roma Tre, LUISS and LUMSA form an expansive campus network in the city. These universities are increasingly engaged in innovation through incubators, entrepreneurship programs and tech transfer initiatives, creating a steady pipeline of talent and high-impact startups. On the research front, the region hosts numerous national research centers and labs – more than 150 science centers and around 7,800 academic researchers – giving it one of Europe’s highest concentrations of R&D professionals. 

International delegations and investors

Thanks to its global stature and diplomatic infrastructure, Rome regularly welcomes international delegations, investors and tech talent from around the world. The city hosts major startup and innovation events that draw participants from across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and beyond. For instance, Rome Startup Week has grown into a key annual festival attracting thousands of attendees and dozens of international delegations – the 2024 edition gathered around 5,000 people with over 30 delegations, solidifying Rome’s status as an international innovation hub. Similarly, the Rome Venture Forum, co-organized by SACE and Roma Startup, connects Italian startups with global venture capital; and Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition is one of Europe’s largest maker and tech exhibitions, held annually in Rome and showcasing innovators from around the globe. Emerging events like Rome Future Week (a week-long festival on technology, sustainability and the future) also highlight the city’s forward-looking agenda with hundreds of sessions and international partners. 

Living and working in Rome

Beyond its business appeal, Rome consistently ranks among the world’s most admired cities for its quality of life, history and culture. The city offers an exceptional living experience, combining historic charm with modern amenities at a relatively moderate cost of living compared to other major European capitals, especially in housing and day-to-day expenses. In Mercer’s Cost of Living City Ranking 2024, Rome was ranked 67th worldwide, making it less expensive for expats than other major cultural, tourist and historic hubs such as Zurich, Paris or Vienna and roughly 34% less expensive than London. The city is dotted with dozens of coworking spaces, incubators and accelerators that foster a collaborative community, from large hubs like Zest Group’s TheHub at Termini station to neighborhood coworking spots. A variety of tech meetups and communities add to the vibrancy: groups like Pizza AI (an informal AI network), Startup Grind Rome, ELIS Open Italy (an open innovation platform involving most of Italy’s large corporates) and the AI Salon regularly bring entrepreneurs and developers together to share ideas. 

It’s not uncommon to work by day in a cutting-edge innovation hub and spend the evening in a piazza surrounded by millennia of art and architecture, and the following morning on a beach of the city’s waterfront. With its climate, cuisine and cultural riches all contributing to a quality of life that few other tech hubs can match. While the city is large and can be challenging in terms of traffic or bureaucracy, the growing expat tech community attests to Rome’s attractiveness as a place to build a company.