A new European Commission (EC) study has created a European atlas of ICT activity, with the aim of pinpointing the biggest tech hotspots: and Munich has surprised many by emerging on top of the pile, leading Europe in the charge for global dominance in the entrepreneurship stakes.

The EC's survey incorporated 42 indicators across three key areas: R&D factors like local universities and publications, innovation factors like VC financing and international co-operations, and business factors like ICT employers and business networks.

Munich's strong R&D ecosystem is what gave the city the edge, with the city now ranking alongside Berlin, which is more commonly seen as the German contender for top tech innovator. But, as the report goes on to point out, "the current assets of each region appear to be rooted deep in time, with their current activities and profile resulting from a history several decades".

In short, Munich's ecosystem is the result of decades of shrewd investment, and the wealth of talent in Berlin can be viewed as an exciting starting point for an additional hub emerging in Germany; both of which can be incubated to excellence in years to come.

The key factor will be cultivating international business links. Munich ranked below top spot rivals for international investment (inward and outward) and co-inventions, suggesting that Munich should be courting corporate Goliaths to take tech Davids global. With such burgeoning potential coming out of one of Europe's biggest economies, startups in the region have plenty to be excited about.