Biggest World’s Unicorn Startups by Valuation & Venture Capital Raised

The term unicorn usually describes startups that are valued at more than $1 billion. But that definition has its pitfalls—after all, who decides what qualifies as a startup?

Once a rare beast, 1 billion-dollar startups have become commonplace. More than 580 new unicorn companies were formed in this year. Globally, there were more than 1,230 active unicorns in 2023.

According to PitchBook, defines a unicorn more narrowly as a venture-backed company that raised a round at post-money valuation of $1 billion or more. We stop considering the company a unicorn if it is no longer venture-backed because it goes public or is acquired, or if its valuation falls below the $1 billion threshold—for example, because it went out of business or had a down round.

What are the biggest unicorns in the world?

The top unicorns in the world—in terms of valuation—include ByteDance, last valued at $360 billion, Ant Group ($200 billion), Stripe ($152 billion) and SpaceX ($100 billion), according to PitchBook data.

Because the elite group of unicorns has become so large, some have argued that new terms are needed to describe them. The term decacorn is often used to describe startups with a valuation above $10 billion. Axios’ Dan Primack, who helped to refine the meaning of unicorns, has made a case for the term “dragon” to describe private companies valued at $12 billion or more, net of venture funding.

The valuations of the largest unicorns are especially vulnerable to the ups and downs of the stock markets. Facing a selloff of tech stocks in 2023, many of the most valuable tech startups are expected to struggle to maintain or increase recent valuations.

1000 World’s Most Valuable Unicorns in 2023

Source: Beinsure.com by PitchBook Data

Which country has the most unicorns? 

The US has the most active unicorns of any country with 667 companies, or 54% of the global total as of Nov. 1, 2022. Chinese unicorns are the second-most common at 211 companies, followed by India (63 unicorns), UK (36 unicorns) and Israel (29 unicorns).

Unicorn creation over time (Quarterly)

Top unicorns` industries

Regional breakdown

In the past year and a half 711 companies have joined the Unicorn list, meaning that new entries account for almost 62% of all Unicorn companies. Thirteen of these can also call themselves ‘Decacorn’ companies, meaning they have a value of over $10 billion.

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AUTHOR: Oleg Parashchak – CEO Finance Media & Editor-in-Chief at Beinsure Media