The unprecedented world economic conditions in the last 2 and a half years brought about the growth of the Unicorn herd. The mythical creature represents a privately-held startup that is valued at over $1 billion in US dollars.
Fundamental changes in societal models, workflows, and industries resulted in high demand for conceptually new solutions in a multitude of markets. These attracted considerable investments in 2020 and 2021, giving birth to many Unicorns.
In 2021 alone, 519 new Unicorns emerged, doubling the total number of these startups to over 1,000 at the beginning of 2022. Recent data from the Unicorn Startups Report, as of June 2022, published by CB Insights, shows that the totality of these rare companies has surpassed 1140.
TradingPedia analysts looked into this data and ran different queries on it, striving to compile the most comprehensive visual report on the compelling subject of Unicorns.
valued at over $1 bln
valued at over $10 bln
valued at over $100 bln
The New Breed of Unicorns
A privately-owned startup company with a valuation of over $1 billion is generally considered a Unicorn.
There are, however, additional breeds of the mythological animal. If the company reaches $10 billion, it is considered a Decacorn. And the rare case of a privately-owned startup, reaching $100 billion or more in valuation, is called a Hectocorn (or also Super Unicorn by some definitions).
In the data, TradingPedia found all three breeds:
- 3 Hectocorns (also known as Super unicorns, with a 4th on the way with just $5 billion short of the $100 billion mark)
- 54 decacorns
- 1,079 unicorns
Top 10 Unicorns by Valuation
China’s Bytedance – the company behind TikTok, is top on the list. SpaceX justly makes the number two spot as the first private company to successfully launch and land an orbital flight.
The Chinese B2C E-commerce platform SHEIN, focusing on women’s wear is at number three.
Countries with the Most Unicorns
According to the Unicorn Startups Report, there are 47 countries that have at least one Unicorn with the US, China, and India being the ones that have the most – 612, 174, and 65, respectively.
Another region worth mentioning is Europe with UK, Germany, and France next in the table with their number of Unicorns being 43, 29, and 24. Israel, Canada, Brazil, and South Korea are the other countries that make the top 10 list, all with a double-digit Unicorn count. Australia and South America are also represented, and so is Africa.
The Unicorn Capitals of the World
The analysis from the Unicorn Startups Report also grouped the dataset by city to identify the “Unicorn Capitals” of the world – the cities with the most Unicorns.
San Francisco undoubtedly leads by virtue of Silicon Valley. New York seems like the logical number two as one of the world’s most prominent financial centers.
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Beijing and Shanghai at number 3 and 4 show that China is catching up technologically and seems to be challenging the status quo more and more.
London, Berlin, and Paris naturally make the list, and so do Bangalore, Paolo Alto, Shenzhen, and Boston.
Combined Valuation by Industries
Fintech is the leading industry by far, with a considerable 49.8% larger total valuation than the second industry in the list, which unsurprisingly is Internet Software and Services.
“The last health crisis highlighted the advantages of being able to manage your funds online, ideally via a mobile app,” said Brian McColl, a financial analyst at TradingPedia.
The year 2021 saw a 144% YoY increase in Fintech investments, according to a recent Deloitte report.
“My estimation is that this trend will continue, as we have seen many industries like Manufacturing, E-commerce, and even Real Estate adopting and integrating Fintech solutions,” Brian continued.
Society is on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital finances are a fundamental cornerstone of that. “I expect another double or triple-digit percentage increase in Fintech investments on a YoY basis in 2022.”
Who Owns the Unicorns?
The analysis also counted the major investors across all 1,043 Unicorns to identify and map the big players in the industry.
The top 10 list consists mostly of Venture Capital firms and these 10 entities have ownership in a total of 474 Unicorns, which is over 40% of the entire mythical herd. 80% are headquartered in the US and 20% in Asia.
