São Paulo has climbed to the 49th position in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) ranking of global science and technology clusters — a remarkable jump of 24 spots. The rise reflects the inclusion of venture capital (VC) as a new indicator in the Global Innovation Index, highlighting the role of high-growth investments in fostering innovation.

Alongside Mexico City, São Paulo is the only hub in Latin America to appear in the world’s top 100. Over the course of four years, the city recorded 684 international patent applications, 24,349 scientific publications, and 1,587 venture capital deals.

The result underscores São Paulo’s growing relevance in the global innovation ecosystem and the importance of VC investments in supporting startups and frontier technologies.