16.397
No. of companies | Software Development
Calculations based on data from Statistics Portugal and Sabi (2021).
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Investment
Digital sector
Portugal has a growing and dynamic Digital sector, having attracted 120 foreign companies focused mainly on exporting services to other markets in the last 10 years.
Digital sector at a glance
Portugal presents a huge opportunity for innovative and highly specialized businesses in the Digital sector.
Such potential has been recognized by the 120 companies that established operations in Portugal in the last 10 years, exporting mainly value-added services.
Portugal started hosting the Web Summit in 2016, an event that positions the country on the investor’s map, gathering +70.000 people and companies each year.
Digital sector insights
Several factors contribute to such dynamism: high-quality talent in engineering fields, Portuguese universities with an increasingly international profile, a very high level of proficiency in English, technology readiness and digital transformation.
By the end of 2023, over 2.617 startups were registered in the country, and, of those, 6 are unicorns. Simultaneously, Portugal has over 160 certified incubators and accelerators ensuring that entrepreneurs receive the support and resources they need to thrive. Between 2017-21, the Venture Capital ecosystem rose 15x, with a record investment of €1,5B in startups in 2021.
Did you know that...
Between 2020-22, Portugal was the 4th European country to attract more FDI projects in Software & IT Services , according to the EY European Investment Monitor?
Recent FDI projects in Portugal
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TeamViewer (Germany)
In June 2021, TeamViewer chose Porto city to install its new Research and Development centre. With this investment, the company intends to strategically advance its engineering capabilities for world class software innovation.
PagerDuty (USA)
In late 2021, PagerDuty, a USA pioneer in the modernization of digital operations, chose Lisbon for the opening of its first European office, because the Portuguese capital offers access to a specialized pool of talent.
Five9 (USA)
Five9 is an industry leading provider of intelligent cloud contact centres solutions, having opened a European Research and Development Hub in Porto in January 2023. The investment will serve as the company’s European engineering headquarters, specializing on artificial intelligence, software engineering, and cloud operations.
Swiss Post (Switzerland)
In February 2023, Swiss Post opened its IT Campus in Lisbon, with the aim of capitalize on the strong existing talent base and overcome the scarcity of resources in Switzerland.
