Sydney’s start-up ecosystem is alive and well with at least 1300 active start-ups, compared to Melbourne with 961.

The ‘Deep Dives into Top 20 Global Startup Ecosystems’ report by Startup Genome is an annual look at how the start-up ecosystems in different cities rank against each other.

It examines factors such as the number of start-ups, their growth, number and size of exists, funding, market reach, and availability of talent.

The value of Sydney's start-up ecosystem was deemed to be US$6.6 billion compared to Melbourne's US$1.6 billion -- both a long way off number one on the list, Silicon Valley sitting on US$264 billion.

The report found Sydney had benefitted from “determined government incentives, gangbuster exits, and as a consequence, a new wave of growth.”

Sydney start-ups proved innovative in their approach, with 44% reporting they are offering a product that is the first of its kind. “This outlines the bold ambition to create a business of global significance,” stated the report.

While Sydney slipped one place from 16 to 17, Melbourne failed to make the list altogether, instead being labelled as an up-and-comer.

“Melbourne is an entrepreneurial city where people are exceptionally open to new ideas and innovation,” the report found.

“It is itching to crack the top 20 overall, but isn’t quite there and faces stiff competition.”

Melbourne ranked outside the list of the top 8 top runner-up cities, which included Jerusalem, Delhi, Moscow and Mumbai.

Sydney was found to have 1300 to 2100 start-ups compared to Melbourne’s 961 to 1200. The report said 22% of Sydney’s start-ups were founded by women, and 31% by immigrants.

One powerhouse start-up with its headquarters in Sydney is Nasdaq-listed Atlassian, currently valued at US$6.56 billion.

“In helping to grow Sydney’s start-up ecosystem, we remain passionately committed to creating a physical tech hub where people can live, work and play – an epicentre where everyone and everything is connected,” said Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes.

Meanwhile, Kate Cornick, CEO of LaunchVic, said the Melbourne start-up ecosystem is thriving. “Its strong grass roots community is producing successful scale-ups, and it is the choice location for APAC headquarters for global unicorns.”