China is home to four of the world’s five largest unicorns, led by Alibaba’s Ant Group
- Ant Group, the digital financial services arm of Alibaba, had a US$150 billion valuation to top the rankings of this year’s Hurun Global Unicorn Index
- The total value of all known unicorns in the world is US$1.9 trillion, equivalent to the GDP of Italy
China is home to four of the world’s five largest unicorns – start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion – as the country recorded 227 such companies at the end of March, despite its protracted tech and trade war with the United States.
That total was behind the US tally of 233 unicorns in the same period, according to this year’s edition of the Hurun Global Unicorn Index released by Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute on Tuesday. It said the US and China accounted for a combined 79 per cent of the world’s 586 known unicorns, based on valuations at the end of March.
“The US and China continue to dominate … despite representing only 40 per cent of the world’s GDP and a quarter of the world’s population,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of privately held Hurun Report, in a statement on Tuesday. “The rest of the world needs to wake up to providing an ecosystem that allows unicorns to flourish.”
The total value of all known unicorns in the world is US$1.9 trillion, equivalent to the GDP of Italy, according to Hurun Research.
“These young companies, only nine years old on average, are the world’s most exciting start-ups, leading a new generation of disruptive technology and attracting the world’s top young talent,” Hoogewerf said.