What are Unicorn startups?
The term Unicorn, was first coined in 2013, by the venture capitalist Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy VC. Stating in her article ‘Welcome to the Unicorn Club: Learning from Billon-Dollar Startups,’ she estimated the software startups founded in 2000s and figured that a mere 0.7% of them reach a US $ 1billion valuation. The rare occurrence of such firms led to the association of the term Unicorn, the mythical animal. A Unicorn, is a privately-owned startup company valued at over US $ 1billion. A startup is a newly emerged business venture, initiated by individual founders or entrepreneurs, to establish a marketplace need. According to TechChurch, there are 279 Unicorn startups as of March, 2018.
Associated terms are called ‘Deadcorn‘ and ‘Hectocorn’, which are used for companies with valuation over US $ 10 billion and US $ 100 billion, respectively. Notable lists of Unicorn companies are maintained and updated by the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, CB Insights and TechCrunch.
When the term was first given by Lee, there prevailed only 39 companies that were categorized as Unicorns. The Harvard Business Review, studied the pacing rates of the Unicorn startups and speculated the companies between 2012-2015 to grow in valuation, twice as fast as companies from startups found in 2000-2013. It is firmly believed that a large number of companies with high valuations, reflect a new wave of technologically driven growth. On the other hand, opinions have formed around the age of globalization and the policies of central banks, in the creation of vast pool of capital that slosh around the globe hunting for Unicorns.
The rationale behind the speedy growth of the Unicorns is multi-fold. The strategy of GBF (Get Big Fast), adopted by the startups, includes cutting back on prices to gain an advantage on market share and simultaneously expanding at high rates through massive funding. This clears the path and pushes back the rival competitors. Secondly, using of technological advancements to their advantage, the startups have got an edge over attaining Unicorn status. The social media explosion, mobile smartphones, cloud computing have fostered in the development of these companies towards the Unicorn level. The availability of easy access to private capital and policy measure in favor of these startups have thrusted their growth rates and increased the investment rates by three-folds from 2013-2015.
The evaluations of the unicorn startups are different than the well-established companies. The valuation for Unicorns, comes from funding rounds of large venture capital firms investing in startup companies. Additionally, the practice of sharing-economy, also called as ‘collaborative consumption’ or ‘on-demand economy,’ is based on the concept of sharing personal resources. This has resulted in some of the startups gaining the Unicorn status.
The concept of Unicorn startups is far from being mythical, and have become a regular feature in today’s business and economy. According to CBInsights, the total tallied figure of Unicorns is 220 with a cumulative value of US $763 billion, in 2017. A few of the top Unicorn startups by valuation are:
Uber: Projecting a current valuation of US $ 69 billion, as of December 2017, it tops the list of Unicorn startups with the highest value. Uber, was formerly known as UberCab, is a car sharing, transportation network company, that also constitutes a mobile app to reach to its customers for transport services. Founded in 2009, it is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA.
Didi Chuxing: Presenting a current valuation of US $ 56 billion, it is the second most successful Unicorn startup. It was founded in 2012, as a car sharing, transportation network company. Services spanning across 400 cities with almost 400 million users in China, it is headquartered in Haidian district, Beijing, China.
Airbnb: Featuring a current valuation of US $ 31 billion, it ranks third in terms of value, in the successful Unicorns. Airbnb, is a property sharing, online marketplace company, with short-term lodging services in variety of vacation rentals, apartment rentals, hostel beds and hotel rooms. It was founded in 2008 and is headquartered at San Francisco, California, USA.
Below mentioned are the Unicorn startups by valuation by CBInsights listing:
| Company | Valuation ($B) | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Uber | $72.0 | United States |
| Didi Chuxing | $56.0 | China |
| Airbnb | $29.3 | United States |
| SpaceX | $21.5 | United States |
| Palantir Technologies | $20.0 | United States |
| WeWork | $20.0 | United States |
| Toutiao (Bytedance) | $20.0 | China |
| Stripe | $20.0 | United States |
| Lu.com | $18.5 | China |
| JUUL Labs | $15.0 | United States |
| $12.3 | United States | |
| Bitmain Technologies | $12.0 | China |
| Lyft | $11.5 | United States |
| Global Switch | $11.1 | United Kingdom |
| GrabTaxi | $11.0 | Singapore |
| Infor | $10.0 | United States |
| DJI Innovations | $10.0 | China |
| One97 Communications (operates Paytm) | $10.0 | India |
| Slack Technologies | $7.1 | United States |
| Snapdeal | $7.0 | India |
| Manbang Group | $6.0 | China |
| Lianjia (Homelink) | $5.8 | China |
| EasyHome | $5.7 | China |
| Vice Media | $5.7 | United States |
| Robinhood | $5.6 | United States |
| Intarcia Therapeutics | $5.5 | United States |
| Outcome Health | $5.0 | United States |
| United Imaging Healthcare | $5.0 | China |
| Coupang | $5.0 | South Korea |
| UBTECH Robotics | $5.0 | China |
| Tanium | $5.0 | United States |
| Oyo Rooms | $5.0 | India |
| Magic Leap | $5.0 | United States |
| Meizu Technology | $4.6 | China |
| Fanatics | $4.5 | United States |
| SenseTime | $4.5 | China |
| Social Finance (SoFi) | $4.5 | United States |
| Faraday Future | $4.4 | United States |
| Compass | $4.4 | United States |
| Instacart | $4.4 | United States |
| Olacabs | $4.3 | India |
| Yello Mobile | $4.0 | South Korea |
| Houzz | $4.0 | United States |
| DoorDash | $4.0 | United States |
| XPeng Motors | $3.7 | China |
| Auto1 Group | $3.5 | Germany |
| Otto Bock HealthCare | $3.5 | Germany |
| Credit Karma | $3.5 | United States |
| Indigo Agriculture | $3.5 | United States |
| Youxia Motors | $3.4 | China |
| The Hut Group | $3.3 | United Kingdom |
| Oscar Health Insurance Co. | $3.2 | United States |
| Zoox | $3.2 | United States |
| Kuaishou | $3.0 | China |
| Royole Corporation | $3.0 | China |
| Maoyan-Weiying | $3.0 | China |
| VANCL | $3.0 | China |
| Moderna | $3.0 | United States |
| ContextLogic (dba. Wish) | $3.0 | United States |
| BGL Group | $3.0 | United Kingdom |
| Circle Internet Financial | $3.0 | United States |
| Xiaohongshu | $3.0 | China |
| Unity Technologies | $3.0 | United States |
| CrowdStrike | $3.0 | United States |
| Vipkid | $3.0 | China |
| SouChe Holdings | $3.0 | China |
| UiPath | $3.0 | United States |
| Niantic | $3.0 | United States |
| ESR Cayman (e-Shang Redwood) | $2.8 | China |
| Meicai | $2.8 | China |
| Klarna | $2.5 | Sweden |
| VistaJet | $2.5 | Malta |
| Qualtrics | $2.5 | United States |
| Zhihu | $2.5 | China |
| GRAIL | $2.5 | United States |
| YITU Technology | $2.4 | China |
| Uptake | $2.3 | United States |
| ACORN OakNorth | $2.3 | United Kingdom |
| NuCom Group | $2.2 | Germany |
| Babytree | $2.2 | United States |
| ReNew Power Ventures | $2.0 | India |
| Traveloka | $2.0 | Indonesia |
| Huimin | $2.0 | China |
| Zenefits | $2.0 | United States |
| Avant | $2.0 | United States |
| Trendy Group International | $2.0 | China |
| Weiying | $2.0 | China |
| Deliveroo | $2.0 | United Kingdom |
| Affirm | $2.0 | United States |
| Nubank | $2.0 | Brazil |
| Cambricon | $2.0 | China |
| Preferred Networks | $2.0 | Japan |
| Improbable | $2.0 | United Kingdom |
| LegalZoom | $2.0 | United States |
| Tempus Labs | $2.0 | United States |
| OpenDoor Labs | $2.0 | United States |
| Go-Jek | $1.8 | Indonesia |
| Quora | $1.8 | United States |
| Zocdoc | $1.8 | United States |
| Sprinklr | $1.8 | United States |
| $1.8 | United States | |
| Automation Anywhere | $1.8 | United States |
| L&P Cosmetic | $1.8 | South Korea |
| Apttus | $1.8 | United States |
| Squarespace | $1.7 | United States |
| Buzzfeed | $1.7 | United States |
| Revolut | $1.7 | United Kingdom |
| Carbon3D | $1.7 | United States |
| UCommune | $1.7 | China |
| Insidesales.com | $1.7 | United States |
| Discord | $1.7 | United States |
| CureVac | $1.7 | United Kingdom |
| Darktrace | $1.7 | Germany |
| Afiniti | $1.6 | United States |
| Infinidat | $1.6 | Israel |
| BlaBlaCar | $1.6 | France |
| Beijing LaKala Billing Services | $1.6 | China |
| Coinbase | $1.6 | United States |
| CAOCAO | $1.6 | China |
| Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals | $1.6 | China |
| TransferWise | $1.6 | United Kingdom |
| Dataminr | $1.6 | United States |
| Quanergy Systems | $1.6 | United States |
| Promasidor Holdings | $1.6 | South Africa |
| Oxford Nanopore Technologies | $1.6 | United Kingdom |
| DouyuTV | $1.5 | China |
| Mu Sigma | $1.5 | United States |
| STX Entertainment | $1.5 | United States |
| GuaHao (We Doctor) | $1.5 | China |
| JetSmarter | $1.5 | United States |
| Tujia | $1.5 | China |
| ironSource | $1.5 | Israel |
| 23andMe | $1.5 | United States |
| Snowflake Computing | $1.5 | United States |
| Nextdoor | $1.5 | United States |
| Aihuishou | $1.5 | China |
| Freshworks | $1.5 | United States |
| Hellobike | $1.5 | China |
| Tuandaiwang | $1.5 | China |
| Coocaa | $1.5 | China |
| Gett | $1.4 | Israel |
| CGTZ | $1.4 | China |
| Koudai Gouwu | $1.4 | China |
| AvidXchange | $1.4 | United States |
| Hike | $1.4 | India |
| C3 IoT | $1.4 | United States |
| AppLovin | $1.4 | United States |
| Anaplan | $1.4 | United States |
| Toast | $1.4 | United States |
| DraftKings | $1.4 | United States |
| PagerDuty | $1.3 | United States |
| Rubrik | $1.3 | United States |
| Zeta Interactive | $1.3 | United States |
| Peloton Interactive | $1.3 | United States |
| Docker | $1.3 | United States |
| Swiggy | $1.3 | India |
| Intercom | $1.3 | United States |
| Atom Bank | $1.3 | United Kingdom |
| Thumbtack | $1.2 | United States |
| Ten-X | $1.2 | United States |
| Clover Health | $1.2 | United States |
| Appnexus | $1.2 | United States |
| Warby Parker | $1.2 | United States |
| Human Longevity | $1.2 | United States |
| OfferUp | $1.2 | United States |
| Careem Networks | $1.2 | United Arab Emirates |
| Postmates | $1.2 | United States |
| HeartFlow | $1.2 | United States |
| Logical Thinking (Luojisiwei) | $1.2 | China |
| Automattic | $1.2 | United States |
| NetEase Cloud Music | $1.2 | China |
| Tuhu | $1.2 | China |
| LIfeMiles | $1.2 | Colombia |
| BrewDog | $1.2 | United Kingdom |
| Global Fashion Group | $1.1 | Luxembourg |
| Shopclues | $1.1 | India |
| Proteus Digital Health | $1.1 | United States |
| Actifio | $1.1 | United States |
| TangoMe | $1.1 | United States |
| OVH | $1.1 | France |
| Tradeshift | $1.1 | United States |
| Lime | $1.1 | United States |
| GitLab | $1.1 | United States |
| Yijiupi (易久批) | $1.1 | China |
| Radius Payments Solutions | $1.1 | United Kingdom |
| Jiuxian | $1.1 | China |
| Jumia | $1.0 | Nigeria |
| AppDirect | $1.0 | United States |
| Avaloq Group | $1.0 | Switzerland |
| Kendra Scott Jewelry | $1.0 | United States |
| Ofo | $1.0 | China |
| Katerra | $1.0 | United States |
| Yuanfudao | $1.0 | China |
| Yixia | $1.0 | China |
| Medallia | $1.0 | United States |
| Apus Group | $1.0 | China |
| CloudFlare | $1.0 | United States |
| Procore Technologies | $1.0 | United States |
| Lookout | $1.0 | United States |
| Funding Circle | $1.0 | United Kingdom |
| Fanli | $1.0 | China |
| Zomato Media | $1.0 | India |
| TechStyle Fashion Group | $1.0 | United States |
| Desktop Metal | $1.0 | United States |
| Illumio | $1.0 | United States |
| BeiBei | $1.0 | China |
| Panshi | $1.0 | China |
| InMobi | $1.0 | India |
| MarkLogic | $1.0 | United States |
| Zhaogang | $1.0 | China |
| Vox Media | $1.0 | United States |
| Kik Interactive | $1.0 | Canada |
| letgo | $1.0 | Netherlands |
| Kabbage | $1.0 | United States |
| iTutorGroup | $1.0 | China |
| Gusto | $1.0 | United States |
| Dt Dream | $1.0 | China |
| Cell C | $1.0 | South Africa |
| MindMaze | $1.0 | Switzerland |
| Mia.com | $1.0 | China |
| iCarbonX | $1.0 | China |
| Symphony Communication Services Holdings | $1.0 | United States |
| Age of Learning | $1.0 | United States |
| Quikr | $1.0 | India |
| SMS Assist | $1.0 | United States |
| benevolent.ai | $1.0 | United Kingdom |
| Mofang Gongyu | $1.0 | China |
| Adaptive Biotechnologies | $1.0 | United States |
| HuJiang | $1.0 | China |
| Guazi (Chehaoduo) | $1.0 | China |
| Rubicon Global | $1.0 | United States |
| YH Global | $1.0 | China |
| Cylance | $1.0 | United States |
| Rocket Lab | $1.0 | United States |
| Zoom Communications | $1.0 | United States |
| Tongdun Technology | $1.0 | China |
| Supreme | $1.0 | United States |
| Particle | $1.0 | United States |
| Face++ (Megvii) | $1.0 | China |
| XiaoZhu | $1.0 | China |
| Ginkgo BioWorks | $1.0 | United States |
| Canva | $1.0 | Australia |
| OrCam Technologies | $1.0 | Israel |
| 17zuoye | $1.0 | China |
| Ding Xiang Yuan | $1.0 | China |
| Soundhound | $1.0 | United States |
| Huike Group (Uniquedu Corporation) | $1.0 | China |
| JOLLY Information Technology | $1.0 | China |
| Bird Rides | $1.0 | United States |
| taxify | $1.0 | Estonia |
| New Dada | $1.0 | China |
| luckin coffee | $1.0 | China |
| PolicyBazaar | $1.0 | India |
| Celonis | $1.0 | Germany |
| 9f Group | $1.0 | China |
| OutSystems | $1.0 | Portugal |
| Pony.ai | $1.0 | United States |
| MediaMath | $1.0 | United States |
| Tiger Brokers | $1.0 | China |
| About You | $1.0 | Germany |
| Revolution Precrafted | $1.0 | Philippines |
| Klook | $1.0 | Hong Kong |
| GoodRx | $1.0 | United States |
| Bukalapak | $1.0 | Indonesia |
| Root Insurance | $1.0 | United States |
| Cohesity | $1.0 | United States |
| Shansong Express (FlashEx) | $1.0 | China |
| BYJU’S | $1.0 | India |
| Udaan | $1.0 | India |
| Rappi | $1.0 | Colombia |
| Xinyang Technology (SoYoung) | $1.0 | China |
| Roblox | $1.0 | United States |
| Aijia Life | $1.0 | China |
| Nxin (农信互联) | $1.0 | China |
| WalkMe | $1.0 | United States |
| Convoy | $1.0 | United States |
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