The latest bearer of the nickname isCambridge, England.
The investment reportedly aims to create the Silicon Valley of Europe.
The city joins a growing list of places to earn the tired tagline.
Its a particularly prevalent desire in Europe, where half the continent seems to have earned the ambitious epithet.
Here are six leading contenders for the title.
The UK
British politicians have long aspired to replicate the Bay Areas magic formula.
In January, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt madeyet anotherproposal tomake the UK the next Silicon Valley.
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Critics have provenscepticalabout the lofty ambitions.
Danish islands
In 2019, Danish politicians unveiled plans to build nine artificial islands south of Copenhagen.
Dubbed Holmene, the project aims to create a futuristic tech zone.
The first plots of land were expected to go on sale in 2028.
The entire project was slated for completion by 2040.
Ireland
Irelandstax regime and IT talenthave attracted manytech giants to make the emerald isle their European home.
Such allures clearly caught the eye of Brian Halligan, the co-founder of Hubspot.
Ireland has the chance to be the Silicon Valley of Europe, for sure, HalligantoldSilicon Republic in 2018.
The progress since then has been bumpy.
While successful companies and research have emerged, the region has been beset byproblemswith housing and accessibility.
The Nordic-Baltic region
Our newest entry to the list combines Nordic and Baltic states.
In May, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas unveiled plans to merge the countries into a tech superpower.
Putting assets together could also create more sizeable tickets from large institutional players.
As this list shows, various contenders for that title have emerged in the intervening years.
None of them has fulfilled the promise yet, but at least theyve found a catchy marketing slogan.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
