In general I agree with your sentiment but it's not the "innovation" that people are trying to copy. It's the loose regulatory environment and easy access to willing financiers that allow experimentation. Not many other cities have been able to cultivate an enivronment of billion-dollar bets on things.
Trying to cultivate a "billion-dollar bets" is like trying to cultivate GROWN-UP SEQUOIAS. First of all you have to start with seeds and probably if you are new gardener you should start with something smaller and easier.
People want to copy the Silicon Valley of today without the decades of smaller and organic growth. Rome wasn't built in a day. Rome started as a bunch of farmers on a hill next to a river. The Silicon Valley started around a tech university where geeks really wanted to build stuff so much they did in their parents garage. The money is only the petrol added to an existing flame.
I'd also add that you need at least one pretty good technical university nearby to lure talent from. Stockholm does indeed have one (KTH). Other candidates would be Zurich, London, Munich, or somewhere near Delft.
Not really, as long as you can bring needed talent to your location. I have barely seen graduates of Berlin universities on the job market, but Berlin startups are a thing and we have plenty of big names here. „Weltstadt“ can be attractive itself. On the other side, St.Petersburg does have at least one great technical university (ITMO), but is it more vibrant and innovative?
ftfy.
In general I agree with your sentiment but it's not the "innovation" that people are trying to copy. It's the loose regulatory environment and easy access to willing financiers that allow experimentation. Not many other cities have been able to cultivate an enivronment of billion-dollar bets on things.