Universidade de Lisboa once again stands out in the area of entrepreneurship: the 2025 edition of the “Ranking of Entrepreneurial Universities in Portugal” distinguishes ULisboa with 1st place in the national ranking.
This “Ranking of Entrepreneurial Universities”, awarded on the basis of metrics of entrepreneurship and innovation capacity of universities, was announced by Startup Portugal in the “Ranking the Universities - How can academia boost this Ecosystem?”, which took place on Tuesday, 11 November, at the Web Summit in Lisbon.
This Ranking of Entrepreneurial Universities, awarded on the basis of metrics of entrepreneurship and innovation capacity of universities, was presented during the session “Ranking the Universities - How can academia boost this Ecosystem?”, which featured a short talk on how academia can help transform research projects and transfer academic knowledge to the wider economy.
This distinction is in line with the results of the ULisboa Startup Impact Report 2025, carried out with Dealroom, which highlights the impact of ULisboa on the national ecosystem. According to the study, there are already more than 1,000 startups launched by students and alumni of ULisboa, with an aggregate valuation of more than 24 billion euros, present in more than 40 countries and which have raised more than 850 million euros in venture capital since 2024 alone.
From the universe of startups with ULisboa DNA, 4 out of the 6 national unicorns have emerged, namely Talkdesk, Tekever, Outsystems and Anchorage Digitail. From the startups founded by Alumni ULisboa, also emerging as a potential unicorns are companies such as Cambrian, Unbabel, Distalmotion and Amboss . Also considered as “rising stars”, i.e. companies valued at more than 200 million euros, are Bhout, Stake, Bloq.it, Indie Campers and Busup.
“This recognition reflects ULisboa's commitment to promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and the transfer of knowledge to society. It's a result that belongs to our entire academic community”, emphasises Francisco Correia dos Santos, Vice-Rector of ULisboa.
For all these reasons, ULisboa is today the most entrepreneurial university in Portugal.
Structures such as the Técnico Innovation Centre, Tec Labs and ULisboa's Technology Transfer and Knowledge Enhancement Centre, combined with accelerator programmes, open innovation and Interdisciplinary Networks, can help transform research projects and transfer scientific knowledge to the market, with an impact on the national economy.
