HURUN GLOBAL LATEST AND MOST AWAITED UNICORN INDEX 2021
IN SEARCH OF START-UPS FROM THE 2000S WITH A VALUATION OF US$1BN, NOT YET LISTED ON A PUBLIC EXCHANGE.
HURUN GLOBAL UNICORN INDEX 2021
The Hurun Research Institute today released the Global Unicorn Index 2021, a ranking of the world’s start-ups founded in the 2000s, worth at least a billion dollars and not yet listed on a public exchange. The cut-off date used was 30 November 2021. Hurun Research has been tracking unicorns in China since 2017 and the world since 2019.
This report includes the Most Successful Unicorn Investors in the World 2021, a ranking of the 100 most successful unicorn investors, and the Most Successful Unicorn Investors in China 2021, a ranking of the 30 most successful unicorn investors, based on the number of unicorns they have invested in.
Hurun Research found 1,058 unicorns in the world, based in 42 countries and 221 cities. On average, they were set up eight years ago, ie in 2013. 81% sell software and services, with only 19% selling physical products. 53% are consumer-facing, whilst 47% sell to businesses. They are disrupting business management solutions, financial services and retail. The total value of all known unicorns in the world is US$3.7tn, equivalent to the GDP of Germany.
There were 673 ‘new faces’ and 201 drop-offs. Of the drop-offs, 28% or 162 were ‘promoted’ out of the unicorn list, after going public or being acquired, whilst 7% or 39 were ‘demoted’, after their valuations dropped below US$1bn. Of last year’s list, 175 unicorns saw their valuations rise, whilst 13 saw their valuations drop.
Unicorn founders are 44 years old on average, meaning that they founded their unicorn aged 36. Unicorns have 2 founders on average. One third are serial entrepreneurs, having sold out of a previous start-up.
40% met at a previous job, whilst 1 in 8 met at university. Computer Science and Business Studies were the most common degrees. One in five unicorns have at least one co-founder from outside of the country of origin of the unicorn.
The USA, especially Silicon Valley, attracted the most unicorn founders from abroad, followed by Europe. India led the way for emigrant unicorn founders, followed by China, Israel and Russia.
Anas Rahman Junaid MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India said:
“India is in the midst of a start-up boom, more than doubling its unicorns to take the country’s official tally of unicorns to 54, and overtake the UK to third place in the world. Whilst there are a further 65 unicorns founded by Indians abroad, mainly in Silicon Valley, the percentage of homegrown unicorns has increased from one third to 45%, suggesting that the start-up ecosystem in India is maturing.”
Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said:
“2021 is officially the most successful year for start-ups ever. There are today more than 1000 known unicorns, practically double the number from last year, mainly on the back of a surge in unicorns in the US.”
“The Global Unicorn Index 2021 is designed to highlight the world’s most successful start-ups. These unicorns are leading a new generation of disruptive technology, especially in business management solutions and financial services, and attracting the world’s top young talent.”
“Which sectors have the greatest potential? Half of the world’s unicorns are operating companies doing FinTech, SaaS, E-commerce, AI, HealthTech and Cyber security, specific sectors that the world’s smartest capital is investing into.”
“It is easy to see why unicorns are the most exciting companies in the world. If a unicorn, especially from the top of the Hurun Global Unicorn Index, goes public, it attracts worldwide attention.
When ByteDance goes public, for example, it is going to be world news. And when it goes wrong, as in the case of Alibaba’s failed IPO last year, or China’s taxi-app Didi, which delisted after just a few months due to data storage laws, or UK-based Greensill, which went bankrupt, ensnaring former British Prime Minister David Cameron in the process, it causes much soul searching and many more headlines.”
“Whilst no metaverse-related unicorns have appeared yet, expect this game-changing technology to spawn many in the future.”
“The speed of value creation is accelerating. It took the Hurun Unicorns only eight years to hit a billion-dollar valuation, meaning today’s unicorns started out in 2013 when their founders were 36 years old.
What were you doing eight years ago? Founder teams and investors are becoming more experienced at knowing how to build billion-dollar businesses with focus on value-creation over sales.”
“The Hurun Global Unicorn Index is compiled using data from the world’s leading investors, making this perhaps the most serious attempt to capture all of the world’s unicorns into one list.”
“The countries with the most unicorns give a picture of which countries have the world’s best start-up ecosystems. Building a start-up ecosystem takes years, but once up and running, it can provide rewards for decades to come.
Silicon Valley, centred around a world-class university like Stanford, launched the tech wave around the turn of the millennium but – twenty years later – is still going strong, attracting the likes of Elon Musk to set up shop there.”
“The US and China continue to dominate, with three quarters of the world’s known unicorns, despite representing only a quarter of the world’s population. The rest of the world is playing catch-up, growing their share of the world’s unicorns from 17% two years ago to 26% this year.”
“Countries with more unicorns are seen as having more dynamic economies. 42 countries are now able to boast of having at least one unicorn, up from 25 countries two years ago, but there are still large economies like Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Poland leading the list of 160 countries without a single known unicorn.
13 countries officially produced unicorns for the first time, led by Mexico and Holland, and including Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Senegal, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Vietnam.”
“As a continent, Europe’s start-up hubs underperform. Despite representing 20% of the world’s economy, Europe has only 11% of the world’s unicorns.
One key reason is the lack of stock exchanges for start-ups, especially when compared with the US and China. New York is the most popular destination for a public listing for start-ups, followed by China.
The recent launch of the Beijing Stock Exchange, following on from the STAR market in Shanghai, shows China’s commitment to providing a platform for start-ups and an opportunity for retail investors to gain access to their growth.”
“A comparison of unicorns in the USA and China throws up some interesting dynamics. In the US, SaaS and Fintech made up a third of their unicorns, whilst in China, E-commerce, HealthTech and AI made up a third.”
“A significant 28% of last year’s unicorns were ‘promoted’ out of this year’s list, mainly by going IPO and a small number being acquired. A further 7% dropped off because their valuation fell below US$1bn.”
“A successful start-up ecosystem requires rolemodels, both individuals, such as those from the Hurun Rich Lists, and companies, such as those from the Hurun 500 most valuable companies series.
If a city or country can attract the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and companies to set up shop there, that will have a roll-on effect. Entrepreneurship is infectious and cities with lots of rolemodels are likely to attract the brightest and best young entrepreneurs. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.”
“World-class universities are of critical importance to a successful start-up ecosystem. Stanford underpinned Silicon Valley’s early success, and today we are seeing deeper engagements of top universities with successful start-ups that – in turn – are fostering new generations of talent.”
“The role of investors is evolving to mentorship and scale-up opportunities, rather than just providers of cash. The world’s leading unicorn investors are building ecosystems with their portfolios, hugely attractive to the world’s fastest-growing start-ups. Being able to say you have one of the top unicorn investor brands as an investor adds significant credibility to a start-up.”
“Unicorns are supposed to be hard to find, but investors like Sequoia, Tiger Fund and Softbank make it look easy.”
“A unique feature of China’s start-up ecosystem is the ability of big tech companies to spin off unicorns, with 49 of the world’s 50 ‘spun-off’ unicorns coming from China, such as Ant Group, spun off from Alibaba in 2014. Curiously, the ‘World’s Big 4’ on the Hurun Global 500 most valuable companies, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet, are not as active as their China counterparts when it comes to investing into unicorns.”
“Hurun Report is committed to promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. Hurun’s ‘startup series’ has four main components.
It begins with the Hurun U30s Entrepreneurs to Watch, a list of the top entrepreneurs under the age of 30. Next up are two ‘future unicorn’ lists: Hurun Cheetahs, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within 5 years and currently with a valuation of between US$200 million and US$500 million, and Hurun Gazelles, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within 3 years and currently with a valuation of between US$500 million and US$1 billion. The Hurun Global Unicorn Index is the pinnacle of the world’s start-ups.”
“You have built your start-up into a unicorn with a billion-dollar valuation. Now, what’s next? The Hurun Global 500, currently requiring a valuation of US$30 billion.
7 unicorns last year have managed that jump, led by Airbnb, cloud data security provider Snowflake, China e-cars Xpeng Motors and Chehejia, crypto exchange Coinbase, games and app development platform Unity Technologies and big data analyser Palantir.”
“For every successful unicorn you see, there are thousands of failed companies, as well as a new generation of future unicorns coming through. I hope this list of the world’s unicorns can help young entrepreneurs find role models for their businesses.”
Top 10 Unicorns in the World
This year’s Top 10 make up 25% of the total value of the world’s unicorns. 4 are from the USA, 3 from China and 1 from each of Australia, UK and Sweden.
There were 5 new faces: Stockholm-based payments platform Klarna, Sydney-based online design platform Canva, San Francisco-based AI powered data startup Databricks, San Francisco-based Instacart, and London-based fintech start-up Revolut. They replaced Didi Chuxing, Lufax, Airbnb, Kuaishou and Palantir, which went public in the last year, raising US$15.5bn between them.
Table 1: Global Unicorn Index 2021 TOP 10
|
Rank |
Rank Change |
Company |
Valuation (US$bn) |
Valuation change (US$bn) |
Country |
Sector |
Year Founded |
|
1 |
1 |
ByteDance |
350 |
270 |
China |
Social Media |
2012 |
|
2 |
-1 |
Ant Group |
150 |
0 |
China |
FinTech |
2014 |
|
3 |
2 |
SpaceX |
100 |
64 |
USA |
Aerospace |
2002 |
|
4 |
1 |
Stripe |
95 |
59 |
USA |
FinTech |
2010 |
|
5 |
53 |
Klarna |
46 |
41 |
Sweden |
FinTech |
2005 |
|
6 |
102 |
Canva |
40 |
37 |
Australia |
SaaS |
2012 |
|
7 |
24 |
Instacart |
39 |
31 |
USA |
On-Demand Delivery |
2012 |
|
8 |
40 |
Databricks |
38 |
32 |
USA |
Big Data |
2013 |
|
9 |
0 |
Cainiao |
34 |
7 |
China |
Logistics |
2013 |
|
10 |
38 |
Revolut |
33 |
27 |
UK |
FinTech |
2015 |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Started only nine years ago, Beijing-based ByteDance is officially the world’s biggest unicorn, surging US$270bn in value to US$350bn.
With its flagship TikTok closing in on 3 billion daily users, it has now grown to become a serious challenger to Facebook. Founder Zhang Yiming, 38, stepped down as CEO in the last year.
Since its failed IPO this time last year, Hangzhou-based Ant Group has lost its title of the world’s most valuable unicorn to ByteDance, and has been restructuring its payments and lending businesses after multiple rounds with regulators.
SpaceX. Elon Musk founded what has become the largest unicorn in the US in 2002. Since then LA-based SpaceX has raised US$6.6bn in 51 funding rounds, with the latest one valuing the unicorn at US$100bn, moving it up 2 places to third.
SpaceX’s key projects include Starlink, aimed at providing Internet connectivity to the whole world, and the Starship rocket, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface and Mars.
Stripe. Started by Irish brothers John and Patrick Collison in 2010, San Francisco-based payment solutions platform Stripe was up one place to 4th. In March, Stripe announced a US$600mn investment round, valuing it at US$95bn.
With a valuation of US$46bn Klarna, Sweden-based payments platform, ranked 5th in the Global Unicorn Index 2021. Klarna, founded by Niklas Adalberth, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Victor Jacobsson, was up 53 places to break into the Top 10. Stockholm-based Klarna is Europe’s largest unicorn.
Sydney-based online graphic design platform Canva is 6th. In its latest round of funding in September, Canva raised US$200mn, which valued the company at US$40bn.
On-demand grocery delivery platform Instacart, founded in 2012, is the world’s seventh largest unicorn with a valuation of US$39bn. Instacart shot up 24 places to a Top 10 spot. Instacart has raised a total of US$2.7bn in funding over 17 rounds.
San Francisco-based Databricks, a Data and AI company, is 8th. In August, Databricks raised US$1.6bn in a Series H round, valuing it at US$38bn.
China logistics platform Cainiao kept its Top 10 place, after seeing its valuation rise to US$34bn.
With a valuation of US$33bn, London-based digital bank Revolut has grown into the UK’s largest unicorn, making the Top 10 in the world.
In July, Revolut raised US$800mn in a new funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management. Revolut has raised a total of US$1.7bn over 14 rounds.
Where are the World’s Unicorns based?
The world’s unicorns come from 42 countries around the world, up from 29, spread around 221 cities, up from 145.
The USA led with 487 unicorns, up 254, followed by China on 301, up 74, together accounting for 74% of the world’s unicorns. SpaceX is the USA’s biggest unicorn.
The USA added 347 ‘new faces’ this year, whilst China added 146. The USA had 94 drop-offs, of which 89 were promoted out of the unicorn list (75 IPOs & 14 acquisitions) and 5 dropped out because they no longer made the cut. In China, 72 dropped off, of which 41 were promoted (38 IPOs & 3 acquisitions), and 31 no longer made the cut.
India was third with 54, led by online educator BYJU’S worth US$21bn, mobile ad-tech firm InMobi (US$12bn), travel-stay finder OYO Rooms (US$9.5bn).
The UK was fourth with 39 unicorns, led by digital banking and payments platform Revolut (US$33bn).
Germany overtook South Korea for fifth place, whilst France overtook book Brazil and Israel for sixth place. Europe’s largest unicorn was Sweden-based payments platform Klarna worth US$46bn.
By city, San Francisco is the world’s unicorn capital with 151, up 83, followed by Beijing with 91. New York added 52 unicorns to third place. Shanghai and Shenzhen were in fourth and fifth.
Bengaluru, Paris and Berlin broke into the Top 10, at the expense of Palo Alto, Nanjing and Redwood. 6 of the Top 10 cities are in China and the USA. As a region, Silicon Valley leads the world with 208 or 20% of the world’s unicorns.
To make the World’s Top 30 start-up ecosystems, required at least 7 unicorns today. Chicago, Mumbai, San Jose and Cambridge, USA, broke into the Top 30 list for the first time.
Table 2: Top countries and cities where the world’s unicorns are based
|
Rank |
Country |
No. of Unicorns |
|
Rank |
City |
No. of Unicorns |
|
1– |
USA |
487 (+254) |
|
1↑ |
San Francisco |
151 (+83) |
|
2– |
China |
301 (+74) |
|
2↓ |
Beijing |
91 (-2) |
|
3↑ |
India |
54 (+33) |
|
3↑ |
New York |
85 (+52) |
|
4↓ |
UK |
39 (+15) |
|
4↓ |
Shanghai |
71 (+24) |
|
5↑ |
Germany |
26 (+16) |
|
5– |
Shenzhen |
32 (+12) |
|
6↑ |
France |
19 (+12) |
|
6↑ |
London |
31 (+15) |
|
7– |
Israel |
17 (+9) |
|
7↑ |
Bengaluru |
28 (+20) |
|
8↑ |
Canada |
15 (+12) |
|
8↓ |
Hangzhou |
22 (+2) |
|
9↓ |
Brazil |
12 (+4) |
|
9↑ |
Paris |
18 (+12) |
|
10↓ |
South Korea |
10 (-1) |
|
10↑ |
Berlin |
17 (+12) |
|
11↓ |
Indonesia |
7 (+2) |
|
11* |
Chicago |
15 (+12) |
|
11↑ |
Singapore |
7 (+5) |
|
12↓ |
Palo Alto |
12 (+0) |
|
13↓ |
Japan |
6 (+3) |
|
12– |
Boston |
12 (+4) |
|
14– |
Australia |
5 (+3) |
|
12↑ |
Mountain View |
12 (+6) |
|
14* |
Mexico |
5 (+5) |
|
12↑ |
Gurugram |
12 (+6) |
|
16↓ |
Sweden |
4 (+2) |
|
16↓ |
Redwood City |
11 (+1) |
|
16↓ |
Switzerland |
4 (-1) |
|
16↑ |
Tel Aviv |
11 (+6) |
|
18↓ |
Spain |
3 (+1) |
|
16↑ |
Sao Mateo |
11 (+7) |
|
18* |
Netherlands |
3 (+3) |
|
19↓ |
Guangzhou |
10 (+2) |
|
20↓ |
Ireland |
2 (+1) |
|
19↓ |
Nanjing |
10 (-1) |
|
20↓ |
Colombia |
2 (+1) |
|
19↓ |
San Paulo |
10 (+3) |
|
20* |
Turkey |
2 (+2) |
|
22* |
Mumbai |
9 (+8) |
|
20↓ |
Malta |
2 (+0) |
|
22↑ |
Los Angeles |
9 (+5) |
|
20↓ |
Austria |
2 (+1) |
|
24↓ |
Sunnyvale |
8 (+3) |
|
20↓ |
Finland |
2 (+1) |
|
24* |
San Jose |
8 (+5) |
|
20* |
Thailand |
2 (+2) |
|
26↓ |
Seoul |
7 (-2) |
|
20↓ |
Nigeria |
2 (+1) |
|
26* |
Seattle |
7 (+5) |
|
20* |
UAE |
2 (+2) |
|
26* |
Cambridge, USA |
7 (+4) |
|
20* |
Norway |
2 (+2) |
|
26↓ |
Atlanta |
7 (+3) |
|
20↓ |
Philippines |
2 (+1) |
|
26↓ |
Hong Kong |
7 (+2) |
|
20* |
Denmark |
2 (+2) |
|
26* |
Singapore |
7 (+5) |
* New to list
Source: Hurun Research Institute
A comparison of the USA and China
Both countries are remarkably similar in terms of concentration of unicorns by city, with the Big Two cities of each country making up over half of the country’s unicorns. In China, third and fourth placed-cities of Shenzhen and Hangzhou make up a further 20% compared to Chicago and Boston with 5%.
By industry, the ‘Big Five’ of each country represents half of their unicorns, although the US unicorns are doing SaaS and Fintech, whilst China’s are in E-commerce and HealthTech.
Table 3: China Unicorns by City USA Unicorns by City
|
|
City |
No. of Unicorns |
% of China Unicorns |
|
|
City |
No. of Unicorns |
% of USA Unicorns |
|
1- |
Beijing |
91 (-2) |
30% |
|
1- |
San Francisco |
151 (+83) |
31% |
|
2- |
Shanghai |
71 (+24) |
24% |
|
2- |
New York |
85 (+52) |
17% |
|
3- |
Shenzhen |
32 (+12) |
11% |
|
3↑ |
Chicago |
15 (+12) |
3% |
|
4↓ |
Hangzhou |
22 (+2) |
7% |
|
4↓ |
Palo Alto |
12 (+0) |
2.5% |
|
5↑ |
Guangzhou |
10 (+2) |
3% |
|
4↑ |
Boston |
12 (+4) |
2.5% |
|
5– |
Nanjing |
10 (-1) |
3% |
|
4↑ |
Mountain View |
12 (+6) |
2.5% |
|
7- |
HK |
7 (+2) |
2% |
|
7↓ |
Redwood City |
11 (+1) |
2.3% |
|
8* |
Suzhou |
5 (+5) |
2% |
|
7↑ |
San Mateo |
11 (+7) |
2.3% |
|
8- |
Chengdu |
5 (+1) |
2% |
|
9↓ |
Los Angeles |
9 (+5) |
1.8% |
|
8↑ |
Qingdao |
5 (+2) |
2% |
|
10↓ |
Sunnyvale |
8 (+3) |
1.6% |
* New to list
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Table 4A: China Unicorns by Industry
|
Rank |
Industry |
Unicorn % |
% of Total Value |
Key unicorns |
|
1 |
E-commerce |
14% |
9% |
Shein, Cars |
|
2 |
HealthTech |
10% |
5.2% |
Ping An Healthcare Technology, WeDoctor |
|
2 |
Artificial Intelligence |
10% |
5.1% |
SenseTime, Didi Autonomous Driving |
|
4 |
SaaS |
6% |
4% |
Xiaohongshu, 58 |
|
4 |
Semiconductor |
6% |
3% |
Horizon Robotics, Huaqin |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Table 4B: USA Unicorns by Industry
|
Rank |
Industry |
Unicorn % |
% of Total Value |
Key unicorns |
|
1 |
SaaS |
20% |
16% |
Figma, ServiceTitan |
|
2 |
FinTech |
12% |
19% |
Stripe, Chime |
|
3 |
Artificial Intelligence |
9% |
9% |
Grammarly, Talkdesk |
|
3 |
HealthTech |
9% |
6% |
Ro, Color |
|
5 |
Cyber Security |
7% |
5% |
Tanium, Lacework |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
India. Indians founded 119 unicorns, of which 65 are outside of India and 54 are in India. Of those founded abroad, significantly all are in the USA, led by the Bay Area, with two in each of the UK and Singapore, and one in each of Germany and Mexico. For the full 65 list, see the Appendix 2.
Can’t find a unicorn here
Italy is the only Top 10 country in the world without a unicorn.
Table 5: Largest countries in the world without a unicorn
|
Rank |
Country |
Ranking in World by GDP |
GDP (US$bn) |
|
1 |
Italy |
8 |
1,886 |
|
2 |
Russia |
11 |
1,483 |
|
3 |
Saudi Arabia |
20 |
700 |
|
4 |
Poland |
21 |
594 |
|
5 |
Venezuela |
25 |
501 |
|
6 |
Egypt |
32 |
363 |
|
7 |
Bangladesh |
39 |
324 |
|
8 |
South Africa |
40 |
302 |
|
9 |
Pakistan |
44 |
264 |
|
10 |
Romania |
46 |
249 |
Source: Hurun Research Institute. GDP rankings and dollar values based on World Bank 2020 estimates
North America overtook Asia as the continent creating the most unicorns in the world, whilst Asia pipped the USA in terms of total valuations of unicorns, on the back of ByteDance and Ant, which between them are worth US$500bn.
Table 6: Continents where the world’s unicorns are based
|
Rank |
Continent |
No. of Unicorns |
% of Total Value |
|
1↑ |
North America |
509 |
43% |
|
2↓ |
Asia |
411 |
45% |
|
3 – |
Europe |
114 |
10% |
|
4 – |
South America |
16 |
1% |
|
5 – |
Oceania |
5 |
1% |
|
6 – |
Africa |
3 |
0.1% |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
New Faces
Hurun Research identified 673 new unicorns in 38 countries. The USA added 347, followed by China with 146 and India with 41. These new unicorns are worth US$1.4tn, equivalent to the GDP of Russia.
Table 7: Top 10 new faces
|
Rank |
Company |
Valuation (US$bn) |
Country |
Sector |
Year Founded |
|
1 |
FTX |
25 |
Bahamas |
Blockchain |
2018 |
|
2 |
J&T Express |
20 |
Indonesia |
E-commerce |
2015 |
|
3 |
Lineage Logistics |
18 |
USA |
Logistics |
2012 |
|
4 |
Genki Forest |
15 |
China |
Food & Beverages |
2016 |
|
4 |
Gopuff |
15 |
USA |
On-Demand Delivery |
2013 |
|
6 |
Plaid |
13.5 |
USA |
FinTech |
2013 |
|
7 |
InMobi |
12 |
India |
Adtech |
2007 |
|
7 |
GoodLeap |
12 |
USA |
FinTech |
2003 |
|
9 |
Sunshine Insurance |
11 |
China |
Insurance |
2005 |
|
10 |
Didi Huoyun |
10 |
China |
Logistics |
2020 |
|
10 |
Digital Currency Group |
10 |
USA |
Blockchain |
2015 |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Biggest losers
39 unicorns from the last year saw their valuation drop below US$1bn. China led with 31, followed by the USA with 5, India by 2 and UK by 1.
Augmented reality platform Magic Leap led the way with the biggest drop in valuations, down US$8bn to US$2bn this year.
Table 8: Drop-offs with valuations falling below US$1bn
|
Rank |
Company |
Valuation 2020 (US$bn) |
Country |
Sector |
Year Founded |
|
1 |
Katerra |
4 |
USA |
Construction |
2015 |
|
1 |
Zume |
4 |
USA |
Big Data |
2015 |
|
3 |
Greensill |
3.5 |
UK |
FinTech |
2011 |
|
4 |
Paytm Mall |
3 |
India |
E-commerce |
2010 |
|
4 |
Singulato |
3 |
China |
E-Cars |
2014 |
|
4 |
UCAR |
3 |
China |
Shared Economy |
2015 |
|
4 |
Yiguo |
3 |
China |
E-commerce |
2005 |
|
4 |
Yixia |
3 |
China |
Media & Entertainment |
2013 |
|
4 |
Youxia |
3 |
China |
E-Cars |
2014 |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
What industries do they come from?
Hurun Research has broken down the industries of these unicorns into three. First is the industry they are disrupting, second is their core industry and third is the detailed industry they are operating.
Industries Disrupted
Financial Services, Business Management Solutions, Healthcare and Retail have seen the biggest increase in number of unicorns in the past year.
Table 9: Industries most disrupted by unicorns
|
Rank |
Industry |
% of Unicorns |
|
1 (+3) |
Business Management Solutions |
18.1% (+104%) |
|
2 (-1) |
Financial Services |
17.0% (+131%) |
|
3 (-1) |
Retail |
9.7% (+56%) |
|
4 (+1) |
Healthcare |
9.3% (+219%) |
|
5 (+1) |
Logistics |
4.4% (+62%) |
|
6 (+9) |
Cyber Security |
4.2% (+238%) |
|
7 (+1) |
Transportation |
3.5% (+37%) |
|
8 (+9) |
Consumer Electronics |
2.7% (+222%) |
|
9 (-2) |
Automobile |
1.8% (-32%) |
|
9 (+8) |
Food & Beverages |
1.8% (+111%) |
|
9 (+11) |
Energy |
1.8% (+138%) |
|
9 (+1) |
Education |
1.8% (-5%) |
|
13 (-1) |
Hospitality |
1.6% (+0%) |
|
14 (-3) |
Life Sciences |
1.5% (-11%) |
|
14 (-11) |
Media & Entertainment |
1.5% (-53%) |
|
14 * |
Gaming |
1.5% (+45%) |
|
17 (+1) |
Real Estate |
1.4% (+15%) |
|
17* |
Communications |
1.4% (+200%) |
* New to list
Source: Hurun Research Institute
What is the core business of these unicorns?
FinTech and SaaS are the core industries of today’s unicorns, followed by E-commerce and AI.
Table 10: Industries of the unicorns
|
Rank |
Industry |
No. of Unicorns |
% of Total Value |
|
1 (+1) |
FinTech |
139 |
19.5% |
|
2 (+2) |
SaaS |
134 |
10.4% |
|
3 (-2) |
E-commerce |
122 |
8.4% |
|
4 (-2) |
Artificial Intelligence |
84 |
6.0% |
|
5 (+1) |
HealthTech |
80 |
4.7% |
|
6 * |
Cyber Security |
40 |
2.5% |
|
7 (+3) |
Biotech |
31 |
1.9% |
|
8 * |
Blockchain |
30 |
4.0% |
|
9 (-4) |
Shared Economy |
29 |
2.4% |
|
10 (-3) |
Big Data |
27 |
2.4% |
* New to list
Source: Hurun Research Institute
FinTech. There are 139 fintech unicorns in the world today. 31% are payment technology-related unicorns. The most valuable FinTech unicorn is Ant Group (US$150bn), followed by payments platform Stripe (US$95bn) and Klarna (US$46bn). FinTech dominates with US$720bn or 19% of the total value of all unicorns.
SaaS. With 134 unicorns, SaaS is second. Top SaaS companies are Australia based Canva (US$40bn) is one of the most valuable software startup followed by Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu (US$20bn) and San Francisco-based software startup Airtable (US$12bn). The total value of all SaaS unicorns is US$383bn.
E-commerce. There are 122 e-commerce unicorns with a total value of US$310bn. Guangzhou-based apparel retailer Shein and Indonesia’s J&T Express lead the industry with US$20bn valuations, followed by Beijing-based Cars with US$10bn.
With 42 unicorns, China has the largest number of e-commerce unicorns followed by USA (28) and India (15).
Artificial Intelligence boasts 84 unicorns up from 63 the previous year. With a US$13bn valuation San Francisco-based AI-powered writing assistant Grammarly leads the industry followed by China-based SenseTime (US$12bn).
AI unicorns are worth US$219bn or 6% of the total value of all unicorns. The USA leads with 44 AI unicorns, followed by China with 30.
HealthTech has 80 unicorns, making it the fifth largest sector with 7.6% of the unicorns. San Francisco has seen the most unicorn activity in HealthTech and is home to 13 unicorns.
With its own online healthcare ecosystem, PingAn Healthcare Technology is the most valuable at US$9bn, followed by Hangzhou-based WeDoctor (US$7bn).
Cyber Security has 40 unicorns led by Emerville-based Tanium (US$9bn), followed by San Jose-based Lacework (US$8.5bn) and New York-based Fireblocks (US$8bn). These unicorns make up 3.7% of the global list and their combined valuation comes to US$93bn
Biotech is in seventh place with 31, or just under 3% of the unicorns. At the top is clinical-stage biotechnology company Biosplice Therapeutics (US$12bn), followed by Chicago-based Tempus (US$8.1bn). The total value of all biotech unicorns comes to US$70bn or just under 1.9% of the total.
Blockchain has 30 unicorns led by Bahamas-based FTX (US$25bn) and Malta-based crypto exchange Binance (US$15bn), followed by New York-based Digital Currency, San Francisco-based Kraken and Ripple with US$10bn each. These unicorns make up 3% of the global list and their combined valuation comes to US$147bn.
Shared Economy is in ninth place with 29 unicorns and the total value of industry unicorn comes to US$89bn or just 2.4%. The sector is led by Indonesia-based online car-hailing platform GO-JEK (US$10.5bn) comes second followed by Indian hotel aggregator OYO (US$9.5bn).
Big Data has 27 unicorns, making it the 10th largest sector with 2.5% of the unicorns. Top big data companies are US-based AI-powered data startup Databricks (US$38bn) followed by China-based Ping An International Smart City (US$8bn) and US-based data science platform Dataiku (US$4.6bn).
Table 11: Core business of the world’s unicorns
|
Rank |
Sector |
No. of Unicorns |
Total Value (US$bn) |
|
1 |
Market Place |
67 |
149 |
|
2 |
Payments |
43 |
377 |
|
3 |
Banking |
20 |
42 |
|
4 |
Online car-hailing |
14 |
44 |
|
4 |
Biopharmaceutical |
14 |
20 |
|
6 |
Online education |
13 |
27 |
|
7 |
Crypto Currency Exchange Platform |
12 |
73 |
|
8 |
Aerospace |
11 |
117 |
|
8 |
Cloud Data Services |
11 |
17 |
|
8 |
Express delivery |
11 |
62 |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Years to Unicorn
The average age of the Global Unicorn Index 2021 is eight years, of which 68 are less than three years old. Three went unicorn within their first year of operations.
Table 12: Youngest unicorns
|
Year Founded |
Unicorn |
Valuation (US$bn) |
Sector |
Country |
|
2021 |
ClickHouse |
2 |
Big Data |
USA |
|
Candy Digital |
1.5 |
FinTech |
USA |
|
|
Mensa Brands |
1 |
Investments |
India |
|
|
2020 |
Didi Huoyun |
10 |
Logistics |
China |
|
Wiz |
6 |
Cyber Security |
Israel |
|
|
Xiaodu |
5 |
Consumer Goods |
China |
|
|
Clubhouse |
4 |
Social Media |
USA |
|
|
DJ New Ease |
4 |
Logistics |
China |
|
|
1inch |
2 |
Blockchain |
USA |
|
|
Flink |
2 |
On-Demand Delivery |
Germany |
|
|
Capchase |
2 |
FinTech |
USA |
|
|
Huitian Aerospace |
1.5 |
Aerospace |
China |
|
|
RSMC |
1.5 |
Semiconductor |
China |
|
|
Cerebral |
1 |
HealthTech |
USA |
|
|
Merama |
1 |
E-commerce |
Mexico |
|
|
SellerX |
1 |
Investments |
Germany |
|
|
Cider |
1 |
E-commerce |
China |
|
|
Drata |
1 |
Cyber Security |
USA |
|
|
Gorillas |
1 |
E-commerce |
Germany |
|
|
Heyday |
1 |
E-commerce |
USA |
|
|
Lepu Scientech |
1 |
HealthTech |
China |
|
|
Pacaso |
1 |
Real Estate Tech |
USA |
|
|
Playco |
1 |
Gaming |
Japan |
|
|
Razor Group |
1 |
E-commerce |
Germany |
|
|
Stytch |
1 |
Cyber Security |
USA |
|
|
Wego |
1 |
HealthTech |
China |
|
|
Xiao ice |
1 |
Artificial Intelligence |
China |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Which investors are the best at finding unicorns?
Sequoia kept its title as Number One Most Successful Unicorn Investor in the World, whilst Tiger Fund overtook Softbank to make up the ‘Big Three’ of the world’s most successful unicorn investors.
Between them, the ‘Big Three’ invested into 50% of the world’s known unicorns. Insight Partners and Coatue broke into the Top 10 for the first time at the expense of IDG and Alibaba.
The vast majority of the investors are headquartered in the USA with 79, followed by China with 11. Singapore and the UK each had 2, with France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan and Russia with one each.
For the full list of the Most Successful Unicorn Investors in the World 2021, see the Appendix 1.
Table 13: Most successful investors into unicorns – Top 10
|
Rank |
Investor |
No. of Unicorns |
HQ by Country |
Key Leadership Team |
|
1– |
Sequoia |
206 (+97) |
USA |
Greg Golub, Bob Lawson, Neil Shen Nanpeng |
|
2↑ |
Tiger Fund |
147 (+112) |
USA |
Chase Coleman, Scott Shleifer |
|
3– |
Softbank |
146 (+95) |
Japan |
Masayoshi Son, Rajeev Misra |
|
4↑ |
Accel |
74 (+51) |
USA |
Philippe Botteri, Andrew Braccia |
|
5* |
Insight Partners |
71 (+52) |
USA |
Jeff Horing, Lonne Jaffe |
|
5↑ |
Goldman Sachs |
71 (+39) |
USA |
David Solomon, John Waldron |
|
7↑ |
Andreessen Horowitz |
70 (+46) |
USA |
Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz |
|
8↓ |
Tencent |
68 (+16) |
China |
Pony Ma Huateng, Liu Chiping, Li Zhaohui |
|
9* |
Coatue |
67 (+62) |
USA |
Philippe Laffont, Thomas Laffont |
|
10↓ |
Hillhouse |
64 (+27) |
China |
Zhang Lei |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Start-up or incubated?
50, up from 20 last year, of the world’s unicorns were incubated by large companies before being spun off and attracting outside investors. All were from China other than Ovo, a US$2.9bn fintech spin-off from Indonesia-based Lippo.
Leading the way were Alibaba with 5 spin-offs, JD and Baidu with 3 each.
Table 14: Unicorns spun off from large corporations
|
Spun off from |
Company |
Country |
Valuation (US$bn) |
Sector |
|
Alibaba |
Ant Group |
China |
150 |
FinTech |
|
Cainiao |
China |
34 |
Logistics |
|
|
Taobao Dianying |
China |
2 |
E-commerce |
|
|
Banma |
China |
1.5 |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
|
Alisports |
China |
1 |
Entertainment |
|
|
JD |
JDT |
China |
30 |
Digital Technology |
|
JD Chanfa |
China |
5 |
Enterprise Services |
|
|
JD Mro |
China |
2.4 |
E-commerce |
|
|
Baidu |
Xiaodu |
China |
5 |
Consumer Goods |
|
Du Xiaoman Financial |
China |
3 |
FinTech |
|
|
Baidu Kunlun |
China |
2 |
Semiconductor |
|
|
Didi |
Didi Huoyun |
China |
10 |
Logistics |
|
Didi Autonomous Driving |
China |
5.5 |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
|
Ping An |
Ping An Healthcare Technology |
China |
9 |
HealthTech |
|
Ping An International Smart City |
China |
8 |
Big Data |
|
|
Geely |
Zeekr |
China |
9 |
E-Cars |
|
Caocao |
China |
2.5 |
Shared Economy |
|
|
FSH |
Huitongda |
China |
5.5 |
E-commerce |
|
Hosjoy |
China |
1 |
SaaS |
|
|
SF-Express |
Hivebox |
China |
3.5 |
Logistics |
|
Shunfeng Express |
China |
1.5 |
Logistics |
|
|
58 |
Zhuanzhuan |
China |
3 |
E-commerce |
|
58 Home Services |
China |
1.4 |
SaaS |
|
|
Haier |
COSMOPlat |
China |
2.4 |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
RRS |
China |
1.5 |
Logistics |
|
|
Skyworth |
Coocaa |
China |
1.5 |
Consumer Goods |
|
Skywell |
China |
1.5 |
E-Cars |
|
|
Lepu |
Lepu Biotech |
China |
1 |
Biotech |
|
Lepu Scientech |
China |
1 |
HealthTech |
|
|
Lianjia |
Ziroom |
China |
6.5 |
Shared Economy |
|
BGI |
MGI |
China |
5 |
HealthTech |
|
Great Wall Motor |
Svolt |
China |
4 |
New Energy |
|
NetEase |
NetEase Music |
China |
3 |
Entertainment |
|
China UnionPay |
China UMS |
China |
3 |
FinTech |
|
Lippo |
Ovo |
Indonesia |
2.9 |
FinTech |
|
Wumart |
Dmall |
China |
2.5 |
Enterprise Services |
|
Hillhouse |
Cowell Health |
China |
2 |
HealthTech |
|
HaiDiLao |
Shuhai |
China |
2 |
Logistics |
|
Foxconn |
Jusda |
China |
2 |
Logistics |
|
Hualan |
Hualan Bio |
China |
1.9 |
Biotech |
|
Xpeng |
Huitian Aerospace |
China |
1.6 |
Aerospace |
|
BYD |
BYD Micro |
China |
1.5 |
Semiconductor |
|
Meinian |
MediTrustHealth |
China |
1.4 |
HealthTech |
|
Yonghui |
Yonghui Fresh Food |
China |
1.2 |
New Retail |
|
Huazhu |
CJia |
China |
1 |
Shared Economy |
|
36Kr |
Kr Space |
China |
1 |
Shared Economy |
|
Shou Qi |
Shouqi |
China |
1 |
Shared Economy |
|
Wego |
Wego |
China |
1 |
HealthTech |
|
COFCO |
Womai |
China |
1 |
E-commerce |
|
Xiaomi |
Smartmi |
China |
1 |
Consumer Goods |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Unicorns recently listed
Of the 201 companies from last year that left the Hurun Unicorns, 162 were ‘promoted’, as in 137 went IPO and 25 were acquired, whilst 39 were ‘demoted’, because their valuation dropped below US$1bn.
Of the promotions, 7 shot straight into the Hurun Global 500, becoming one of the 500 most valuable companies in the world, led by San Francisco-based online marketplace for lodging Airbnb. Others include Snowflake, e-cars Xpeng Motors and Chehejia, crypto exchange Coinbase Global, Unity Technologies and Palantir Technologies.
New York was the preferred destination for a public listing for 105 of last year’s unicorns, followed by Shanghai with 7, HK with 6 and London with 5.
Xpeng Motors was the best-performing ex unicorn, seeing its share price almost triple to US$47bn and a place on the Hurun Global 500.
Table 15A: Best-Performing Unicorns since IPO
|
Rank |
Company |
% Rise in value since IPO
|
Current Valuation (US$bn) |
Industry |
Country |
|
1 |
Xpeng Motors |
159% |
47 |
E-cars |
China |
|
2 |
Asana |
158% |
17 |
SaaS |
USA |
|
3 |
QuantumScape |
151% |
12 |
New Energy |
USA |
|
4 |
Nuvei |
149% |
14 |
FinTech |
Canada |
|
5 |
ChargePoint |
119% |
8 |
New Energy |
USA |
|
6 |
Chehejia |
115% |
37 |
E-cars |
China |
|
6 |
Unity Technologies |
115% |
44 |
Gaming |
USA |
|
8 |
Palantir Technologies |
106% |
40 |
Big Data |
USA |
|
9 |
DigitalOcean |
102% |
10 |
SaaS |
USA |
|
10 |
Novogene |
85% |
3 |
Biotech |
China |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Table 15B: Worst-Performing Unicorns since IPO
|
Rank |
Company |
% Fall in value since IPO |
Current Valuation (US$bn) |
Industry |
Country |
|
1 |
17zuoye |
-95% |
0.1 |
EdTech |
China |
|
2 |
Zhangmen |
-93% |
0.2 |
EdTech |
China |
|
3 |
Root Insurance |
-87% |
0.9 |
Artificial Intelligence |
USA |
|
4 |
RELX |
-86% |
5.5 |
Consumer Goods |
China |
|
4 |
Perfect Diary |
-86% |
1.7 |
E-commerce |
China |
|
4 |
Wish |
-86% |
2.2 |
E-commerce |
USA |
|
7 |
Shuidi |
-84% |
0.6 |
FinTech |
China |
|
8 |
Bright Health |
-80% |
2.1 |
Insurance |
USA |
|
9 |
Boqii |
-79% |
0.1 |
E-commerce |
China |
|
9 |
Poshmark |
-79% |
1.4 |
E-commerce |
USA |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Software and services versus physical products?
81% sell software and services, led by FinTech and followed by SaaS, E-commerce and AI.
19% have a physical product as a core business offering, led by Biotech, HealthTech and Consumer Goods.
Key Statistics
28% or 162 unicorns from last year’s list were promoted, compared with 6% or 30 unicorns from the previous year.
Table 16: Key Statistics
|
Year |
No. of unicorns |
New faces |
Drop-offs |
of which, IPO |
of which, acquired |
of which, no longer with US$1bn valuation |
|
2019 |
494 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
2020 |
586 |
142 |
50 |
19 |
11 |
20 |
|
2021 |
1,058 |
673 |
201 |
137 |
25 |
39 |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Methodology
The Global Unicorn Index 2021 is compiled by the Hurun Research Institute, and includes companies founded in the 2000s with a current valuation of US$1bn, not yet listed on a public exchange. Cut-off for this year’s list was 30 November 2021.
Many of the world’s top investment houses provided details of their portfolio, which the Hurun research team cross-checked against specialized investment databases, industry experts, media sources, as well as unicorn co-founders.
Valuing unicorns can be tricky. The very nature of these super-fast growing companies makes valuations hard to pin down, but to ensure consistency of the valuations, the Hurun research team used the most recent valuation based on a sizeable round.
Where it becomes harder is when a unicorn is underperforming or on its way down, since it is unlikely to have a new round of investment at a valuation lower than the previous round. In this case, Hurun uses industry comparatives to ascertain a new lower valuation.
Countries and cities are ranked according to the unicorn head office.
Unicorns leave the Hurun Global Unicorn Index either by being ‘promoted’, ie by listing on a public exchange (IPO) or being acquired, or by being ‘demoted’, when their value drops below US$1bn.
Hurun Research has been tracking unicorns since 2017.
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Global Unicorn Index 2021 TOP 100
For the full list of 1,058 unicorns, see www.hurun.net
|
Rank |
Rank Change |
Company |
Valuation (US$bn) |
Valuation Change (US$bn) |
Country |
City |
Core Sector |
|
1 |
1 |
ByteDance |
350 |
270 |
China |
Beijing |
Social Media |
|
2 |
-1 |
Ant Group |
150 |
0 |
China |
Hangzhou |
FinTech |
|
3 |
2 |
SpaceX |
100 |
64 |
USA |
Los Angeles |
Aerospace |
|
4 |
1 |
Stripe |
95 |
59 |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
5 |
53 |
Klarna |
46 |
40.5 |
Sweden |
Stockholm |
FinTech |
|
6 |
102 |
Canva |
40 |
37 |
Australia |
Sydney |
SaaS |
|
7 |
24 |
Instacart |
39 |
31 |
USA |
San Francisco |
On-Demand Delivery |
|
8 |
40 |
Databricks |
38 |
32 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Big Data |
|
9 |
0 |
Cainiao |
34 |
7 |
China |
Hangzhou |
Logistics |
|
10 |
38 |
Revolut |
33 |
27 |
UK |
London |
FinTech |
|
11 |
0 |
WeBank |
30 |
10 |
China |
Shenzhen |
FinTech |
|
11 |
1 |
JDT |
30 |
11 |
China |
Beijing |
Digital Technology |
|
13 |
New |
FTX |
25 |
New |
Bahamas |
Nassau |
Blockchain |
|
13 |
35 |
Chime |
25 |
19 |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
15 |
16 |
BYJU’S |
21 |
13 |
India |
Bengaluru |
EdTech |
|
16 |
New |
J&T Express |
20 |
New |
Indonesia |
Jakarta |
E-commerce |
|
16 |
43 |
Xiaohongshu |
20 |
15 |
China |
Shanghai |
SaaS |
|
16 |
241 |
Shein |
20 |
18.5 |
China |
Guangzhou |
E-commerce |
|
19 |
New |
Lineage Logistics |
18 |
New |
USA |
Novi |
Logistics |
|
20 |
-6 |
DJI |
16 |
1 |
China |
Shenzhen |
Robotics |
|
21 |
New |
Genki Forest |
15 |
New |
China |
Beijing |
Food & Beverages |
|
21 |
New |
Gopuff |
15 |
New |
USA |
Philadelphia |
On-Demand Delivery |
|
21 |
87 |
Binance |
15 |
12 |
Malta |
Malta |
Blockchain |
|
21 |
149 |
Checkout.com |
15 |
13 |
UK |
London |
FinTech |
|
21 |
149 |
Discord |
15 |
13 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Social Media |
|
26 |
New |
Plaid |
13.5 |
New |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
27 |
322 |
Grammarly |
13 |
12 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
28 |
New |
InMobi |
12 |
New |
India |
Bengaluru |
Adtech |
|
28 |
New |
GoodLeap |
12 |
New |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
28 |
142 |
Northvolt |
12 |
10 |
Sweden |
Stockholm |
New Energy |
|
28 |
20 |
SenseTime |
12 |
6 |
China |
Beijing |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
28 |
321 |
Airtable |
12 |
11 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
28 |
-8 |
Biosplice Therapeutics |
12 |
0 |
USA |
San Diego |
Biotech |
|
34 |
New |
Sunshine Insurance |
11 |
New |
China |
Beijing |
Insurance |
|
34 |
122 |
Celonis |
11 |
8.5 |
Germany |
Munich |
SaaS |
|
36 |
-10 |
GO-JEK |
10.5 |
1.5 |
Indonesia |
Kebayoran Baru |
Shared Economy |
|
37 |
New |
Didi Huoyun |
10 |
New |
China |
Tianjin |
Logistics |
|
37 |
New |
Digital Currency Group |
10 |
New |
USA |
New York |
Blockchain |
|
37 |
-17 |
JUUL Labs |
10 |
-2 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Consumer Goods |
|
37 |
312 |
Lalamove |
10 |
9 |
China |
Hong Kong |
Logistics |
|
37 |
-14 |
Ripple |
10 |
0 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Blockchain |
|
37 |
133 |
Figma |
10 |
8 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
37 |
34 |
Kraken |
10 |
6 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Blockchain |
|
37 |
312 |
Talkdesk |
10 |
9 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
37 |
-11 |
Cars |
10 |
1 |
China |
Beijing |
E-commerce |
|
37 |
34 |
Gusto |
10 |
6 |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
37 |
312 |
Envision |
10 |
9 |
China |
Shanghai |
New Energy |
|
37 |
71 |
|
10 |
7 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Social Media |
|
49 |
New |
Klaviyo |
9.5 |
New |
USA |
Boston |
SaaS |
|
49 |
New |
Weilong |
9.5 |
New |
China |
Luohe |
Food & Beverages |
|
49 |
121 |
Dfinity |
9.5 |
7.5 |
Switzerland |
Zug |
Blockchain |
|
49 |
-18 |
OYO |
9.5 |
1.5 |
India |
Gurugram |
Shared Economy |
|
49 |
121 |
ServiceTitan |
9.5 |
7.5 |
USA |
Glendale |
SaaS |
|
49 |
300 |
OutSystems |
9.5 |
8.5 |
USA |
Boston |
SaaS |
|
55 |
New |
Zeekr |
9 |
New |
China |
Ningbo |
E-Cars |
|
55 |
283 |
Rapyd |
9 |
7.8 |
UK |
London |
FinTech |
|
55 |
-29 |
Ping An Healthcare Technology |
9 |
0 |
China |
Shanghai |
HealthTech |
|
55 |
16 |
Niantic |
9 |
5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Gaming |
|
55 |
-10 |
Tanium |
9 |
2.5 |
USA |
Emeryvile |
Cyber Security |
|
60 |
New |
Kavak |
8.5 |
New |
Mexico |
Mexico city |
E-commerce |
|
60 |
New |
Lacework |
8.5 |
New |
USA |
San Jose |
Cyber Security |
|
60 |
New |
Tipalti |
8.5 |
New |
USA |
San Mateo |
FinTech |
|
60 |
New |
58 |
8.5 |
New |
China |
Beijing |
SaaS |
|
60 |
48 |
Nuro |
8.5 |
5.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Robotics |
|
65 |
New |
Hopin |
8 |
New |
UK |
London |
SaaS |
|
65 |
New |
Fireblocks |
8 |
New |
USA |
New York |
Cyber Security |
|
65 |
New |
Ping An International Smart City |
8 |
New |
China |
Shenzhen |
Big Data |
|
65 |
-6 |
Tempus |
8 |
3 |
USA |
Chicago |
Biotech |
|
69 |
New |
Dapper Labs |
7.5 |
New |
Canada |
Vancouver |
Blockchain |
|
69 |
New |
Getir |
7.5 |
New |
Turkey |
Istanbul |
On-Demand Delivery |
|
69 |
New |
Gong |
7.5 |
New |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
69 |
39 |
Brex |
7.5 |
4.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
69 |
-34 |
Argo AI |
7.5 |
0.5 |
USA |
Harrisburg |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
69 |
280 |
Scale AI |
7.5 |
6.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
69 |
101 |
Carta |
7.5 |
5.5 |
USA |
Palo Alto |
FinTech |
|
69 |
39 |
Netskope |
7.5 |
4.5 |
USA |
Santa Clara |
SaaS |
|
69 |
101 |
Toss |
7.5 |
5.5 |
South Korea |
Seoul |
FinTech |
|
69 |
-34 |
Tokopedia |
7.5 |
0.5 |
Indonesia |
Jakarta |
E-commerce |
|
69 |
New |
Razorpay |
7.5 |
New |
India |
Bengaluru |
FinTech |
|
80 |
New |
Qianxun |
7 |
New |
China |
Hangzhou |
E-commerce |
|
80 |
New |
Gemini |
7 |
New |
USA |
New York |
Blockchain |
|
80 |
270 |
Xsyx |
7 |
6 |
China |
Changsha |
New Retail |
|
80 |
270 |
Faire |
7 |
6 |
USA |
San Francisco |
E-commerce |
|
80 |
-44 |
Meicai |
7 |
0 |
China |
Beijing |
E-commerce |
|
80 |
-8 |
Impossible Foods |
7 |
3 |
USA |
Redwood City |
Food & Beverages |
|
80 |
-31 |
Ola |
7 |
1 |
India |
Bengaluru |
Shared Economy |
|
80 |
-31 |
WeDoctor |
7 |
1 |
China |
Hangzhou |
HealthTech |
|
80 |
-44 |
Automation Anywhere |
7 |
0 |
USA |
San Jose |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
89 |
New |
Upgrade |
6.5 |
New |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
89 |
New |
Mollie |
6.5 |
New |
Netherlands |
Amsterdam |
FinTech |
|
89 |
82 |
Heytea |
6.5 |
4.5 |
China |
Shenzhen |
Food & Beverages |
|
89 |
261 |
DataRobot |
6.5 |
5.5 |
USA |
Boston |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
89 |
-40 |
Ziroom |
6.5 |
0.5 |
China |
Beijing |
Shared Economy |
|
94 |
New |
Wiz |
6 |
New |
Israel |
Tel Aviv |
Cyber Security |
|
94 |
New |
Better.com |
6 |
New |
USA |
New York |
FinTech |
|
94 |
New |
Meione |
6 |
New |
China |
Shanghai |
E-commerce |
|
94 |
-22 |
Hellobike |
6 |
2 |
China |
Shanghai |
Shared Economy |
|
94 |
-48 |
Samsara Networks |
6 |
-0.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
94 |
-22 |
Weltmeister |
6 |
2 |
China |
Shanghai |
E-Cars |
|
94 |
-22 |
Wind |
6 |
2 |
China |
Shanghai |
FinTech |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
Appendix 1 – Most Successful Unicorn Investors in the World 2021
|
Rank |
Rank Change |
Investor |
No. of Unicorns 2021 |
No. of Unicorns 2020 |
Founded in (Country) |
|
1 |
0 |
Sequoia* |
206 |
109 |
USA |
|
2 |
4 |
Tiger Fund |
147 |
35 |
USA |
|
3 |
0 |
SoftBank |
146 |
51 |
Japan |
|
4 |
6 |
Accel |
74 |
23 |
USA |
|
5 |
2 |
Goldman Sachs |
71 |
32 |
USA |
|
5 |
8 |
Insight Partners |
71 |
19 |
USA |
|
7 |
2 |
Andreessen Horowitz |
70 |
24 |
USA |
|
8 |
-6 |
Tencent |
68 |
52 |
China |
|
9 |
52 |
Coatue |
67 |
5 |
USA |
|
10 |
-5 |
Hillhouse Capital Group |
64 |
37 |
China |
|
11 |
New |
SV Angel |
58 |
New |
USA |
|
11 |
13 |
Y Combinator |
58 |
15 |
USA |
|
13 |
21 |
Lightspeed Venture Partners |
56 |
12 |
USA |
|
14 |
20 |
Fidelity |
50 |
12 |
USA |
|
14 |
-10 |
IDG Capital |
50 |
41 |
USA |
|
16 |
12 |
General Catalyst |
48 |
14 |
USA |
|
17 |
11 |
Founders Fund |
47 |
14 |
USA |
|
17 |
7 |
ICONIQ Capital |
47 |
15 |
USA |
|
17 |
2 |
Index Ventures |
47 |
17 |
USA |
|
20 |
-9 |
DST Global |
44 |
22 |
Russia |
|
20 |
New |
GV |
44 |
New |
USA |
|
20 |
-7 |
Temasek Holdings |
44 |
19 |
Singapore |
|
23 |
-6 |
General Atlantic |
43 |
18 |
USA |
|
23 |
-12 |
GGV Capital |
43 |
22 |
USA |
|
23 |
46 |
Salesforce Ventures |
43 |
4 |
USA |
|
26 |
43 |
Dragoneer Investment Group |
42 |
4 |
USA |
|
27 |
1 |
Baillie Gifford |
41 |
14 |
UK |
|
28 |
-4 |
Bessemer Venture Partners |
39 |
15 |
USA |
|
29 |
-1 |
Kleiner Perkins |
36 |
14 |
USA |
|
30 |
2 |
T. Rowe Price |
35 |
13 |
USA |
|
31 |
38 |
BlackRock |
34 |
4 |
USA |
|
31 |
-14 |
Matrix Partners |
34 |
18 |
USA |
|
33 |
1 |
New Enterprise Associates |
33 |
12 |
USA |
|
34 |
12 |
Battery Ventures |
32 |
9 |
USA |
|
34 |
23 |
Sapphire Ventures |
32 |
6 |
USA |
|
34 |
12 |
Spark Capital |
32 |
9 |
USA |
|
37 |
32 |
CICC Capital |
30 |
4 |
China |
|
37 |
-18 |
Institutional Venture Partners |
30 |
17 |
USA |
|
39 |
1 |
GIC |
29 |
11 |
Singapore |
|
39 |
1 |
Khosla Ventures |
29 |
11 |
USA |
|
41 |
New |
D1 Capital Partners |
28 |
New |
USA |
|
41 |
New |
Thrive Capital |
28 |
New |
USA |
|
43 |
New |
500 Startups |
27 |
New |
USA |
|
43 |
18 |
Ribbit Capital |
27 |
5 |
USA |
|
43 |
-24 |
Warburg Pincus |
27 |
17 |
USA |
|
46 |
New |
G Squared |
26 |
New |
USA |
|
46 |
11 |
Redpoint |
26 |
6 |
USA |
|
46 |
-6 |
Wellington Management |
26 |
11 |
USA |
|
49 |
New |
Felicis Ventures |
25 |
New |
USA |
|
49 |
-36 |
Qiming Venture Partners |
25 |
19 |
China |
|
49 |
New |
Silicon Valley Bank |
25 |
New |
USA |
|
49 |
12 |
TCV |
25 |
5 |
USA |
|
53 |
New |
Endeavor Catalyst |
24 |
New |
USA |
|
53 |
1 |
Greenoaks Capital |
24 |
7 |
USA |
|
55 |
-1 |
Meritech Capital Partners |
23 |
7 |
USA |
|
56 |
New |
Counterpart Advisors |
22 |
New |
USA |
|
56 |
New |
FJ Labs |
22 |
New |
USA |
|
56 |
-43 |
YF Capital |
22 |
19 |
China |
|
59 |
New |
8VC |
21 |
New |
USA |
|
59 |
New |
Altimeter Capital |
21 |
New |
USA |
|
59 |
2 |
Norwest Venture Partners |
21 |
5 |
USA |
|
62 |
New |
DCVC |
20 |
New |
USA |
|
62 |
-40 |
Shunwei |
20 |
16 |
China |
|
64 |
New |
BoxGroup |
19 |
New |
USA |
|
64 |
New |
Citi Ventures |
19 |
New |
USA |
|
64 |
New |
InnoVen Capital |
19 |
New |
India |
|
64 |
-40 |
ZhenFund |
19 |
15 |
China |
|
68 |
-60 |
Alibaba |
18 |
25 |
China |
|
68 |
New |
American Express Ventures |
18 |
New |
USA |
|
68 |
-19 |
Bain Capital Ventures |
18 |
8 |
USA |
|
68 |
New |
Bond |
18 |
New |
USA |
|
68 |
-14 |
CapitalG |
18 |
7 |
USA |
|
68 |
New |
Gaingels |
18 |
New |
USA |
|
74 |
New |
Alkeon Capital |
17 |
New |
USA |
|
74 |
18 |
Franklin Templeton Investments |
17 |
3 |
USA |
|
74 |
18 |
Glynn Capital Management |
17 |
3 |
USA |
|
74 |
-40 |
Greylock |
17 |
12 |
USA |
|
74 |
18 |
Social Capital |
17 |
3 |
USA |
|
79 |
New |
5Y Capital |
16 |
New |
China |
|
79 |
New |
B Capital Group |
16 |
New |
USA |
|
79 |
13 |
CRV |
16 |
3 |
USA |
|
79 |
New |
Eurazeo |
16 |
New |
France |
|
79 |
New |
FirstMark |
16 |
New |
USA |
|
79 |
New |
Global Founders Capital |
16 |
New |
Germany |
|
79 |
New |
Greenspring Associates |
16 |
New |
USA |
|
79 |
New |
GS Growth |
16 |
New |
USA |
|
79 |
-47 |
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts |
16 |
13 |
USA |
|
79 |
New |
Sound Ventures |
16 |
New |
USA |
|
89 |
-32 |
Benchmark |
15 |
6 |
USA |
|
89 |
-55 |
CDH Investments |
15 |
12 |
China |
|
89 |
-40 |
DFJ Growth |
15 |
8 |
USA |
|
89 |
New |
Durable Capital Partners |
15 |
New |
USA |
|
89 |
New |
FundersClub |
15 |
New |
USA |
|
94 |
-2 |
Atomico |
14 |
3 |
UK |
|
94 |
New |
Coinbase Ventures |
14 |
8 |
USA |
|
94 |
New |
Initialized Capital |
14 |
New |
USA |
|
94 |
-2 |
Menlo Ventures |
14 |
3 |
USA |
|
94 |
-2 |
SAIF Partners |
14 |
3 |
China |
|
94 |
New |
Sands Capital |
14 |
New |
USA |
|
94 |
New |
Vintage Investment Partners |
14 |
New |
Israel |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
* Sequoia includes Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Sequoia Capital India, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Sequoia Heritage, Sequoia Capital Israel, Sequoia Scout.
Appendix 2 – Unicorns founded by Indians outside of India
Table: Unicorns outside of India with an Indian co-founder
|
Rank |
Company |
Valuation (US$bn) |
Country |
City |
Sector |
|
1 |
Instacart |
39 |
USA |
San Francisco |
On-Demand Delivery |
|
2 |
Lacework |
8.3 |
USA |
San Jose |
Cyber Security |
|
3 |
Netskope |
7.5 |
USA |
Santa Clara |
SaaS |
|
3 |
Carta |
7.5 |
USA |
Palo Alto |
FinTech |
|
5 |
Automation Anywhere |
7 |
USA |
San Jose |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
6 |
Samsara Networks |
6 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
7 |
Workato |
5.5 |
USA |
Mountain View |
SaaS |
|
7 |
Postman |
5.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
9 |
Zenefits |
4.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
10 |
Benchling |
4 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Biotech |
|
11 |
FalconX |
3.5 |
USA |
San Mateo |
Blockchain |
|
11 |
Cohesity |
3.5 |
USA |
San Jose |
SaaS |
|
11 |
Alchemy |
3.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Blockchain |
|
11 |
Rubrik |
3.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
11 |
Scopely |
3.5 |
USA |
Culver City |
Gaming |
|
16 |
HighRadius |
3 |
USA |
Houston |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
16 |
Workrise |
3 |
USA |
Austin |
E-commerce |
|
16 |
OakNorth |
3 |
UK |
London |
FinTech |
|
16 |
Icertis |
3 |
USA |
Bellevue |
SaaS |
|
20 |
Cambridge Mobile Telematics |
2.5 |
USA |
Cambridge |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
20 |
BitSight Technologies |
2.5 |
USA |
Boston |
Cyber Security |
|
20 |
Transmit Security |
2.5 |
USA |
Boston |
Cyber Security |
|
23 |
Eightfold |
2 |
USA |
Mountain View |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
23 |
Moveworks |
2 |
USA |
Mountain View |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
23 |
6Sense |
2 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
23 |
Deliverr |
2 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Logistics |
|
23 |
Clip |
2 |
Mexico |
Mexico City |
FinTech |
|
23 |
Improbable |
2 |
UK |
London |
Gaming |
|
23 |
Druva |
2 |
USA |
Sunnyvale |
SaaS |
|
23 |
ThoughtSpot |
2 |
USA |
Sunnyvale |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
31 |
Harness |
1.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Farmers Business Network |
1.5 |
USA |
San Carlos |
AgriTech |
|
31 |
H2O.ai |
1.5 |
USA |
Mountain View |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
31 |
Reltio |
1.5 |
USA |
Redwood City |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Buzzfeed |
1.5 |
USA |
New York |
Media |
|
31 |
Clari |
1.5 |
USA |
Sunnyvale |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Zenoti |
1.5 |
USA |
Bellevue |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Zeta |
1.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
FinTech |
|
31 |
Dexterity |
1.5 |
USA |
Redwood City |
Robotics |
|
31 |
ChargeBee |
1.5 |
USA |
Walnut |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Gupshup |
1.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Communication Platform |
|
31 |
Rippling |
1.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Plume |
1.5 |
USA |
Palo Alto |
SaaS |
|
31 |
Signifyd |
1.5 |
USA |
San Jose |
Cyber Security |
|
31 |
Yugabyte |
1.5 |
USA |
Sunnyvale |
Cloud |
|
31 |
Innovaccer |
1.5 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Big Data |
|
31 |
Starry |
1.5 |
USA |
Boston |
Telecommunication |
|
48 |
Starburst |
1 |
USA |
Boston |
Data Analytics |
|
48 |
Alation |
1 |
USA |
San Francisco |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
48 |
MindTickle |
1 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
48 |
Headspin |
1 |
USA |
Palo Alto |
SaaS |
|
48 |
Misfits Market |
1 |
USA |
Pennsauken |
E-commerce |
|
48 |
Aura |
1 |
USA |
Burlington |
Cyber Security |
|
48 |
Tekion |
1 |
USA |
San Ramon |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
48 |
Moglix |
1 |
Singapore |
Singapore |
E-commerce |
|
48 |
Nium |
1 |
Singapore |
Singapore |
FinTech |
|
48 |
Instabase |
1 |
USA |
San Francisco |
SaaS |
|
48 |
ShipBob |
1 |
USA |
Chicago |
Logistics |
|
48 |
Pendo |
1 |
USA |
Raleigh |
SaaS |
|
48 |
Omio |
1 |
Germany |
Berlin |
E-commerce |
|
48 |
Vise |
1 |
USA |
New York |
FinTech |
|
48 |
Tresata |
1 |
USA |
Charlotte |
Big Data |
|
48 |
Axtria |
1 |
USA |
Berkeley Height |
Big Data |
|
48 |
o9 Solutions |
1 |
USA |
Dallas |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
48 |
CloudBees |
1 |
USA |
San Jose |
SaaS |
Source: Hurun Research Institute
