The term unicorn refers to startups that have reached a valuation of more than 1 billion US dollars. This term was first used by a venture capitalist, Aileen Lee in 2013.
At first it was difficult to find a unicorn, because reaching a valuation of 1 billion US dollars is a huge achievement for a company, let alone for a startup. But, over time the number of unicorns increased rapidly. Even as of 2022, there are 1,100 unicorns with the most in the United States and China.
Before discussing further, there are differences in the definition of a unicorn among the general public. Some think that a unicorn is one of the stages in a startup, meaning that there are subsequent levels that a startup will reach. For example, like Decacorn which reached a valuation of $ 10 billion, Hectocorn reached a valuation of $ 100 billion and so on.
But, basically the term unicorn is just one term to classify startups that have reached a valuation of $1 billion or higher. So that when a startup reaches a valuation of $10 billion and even $100 billion, they are still called unicorns and not Decacorns, Hectocorns or the like.
In addition, another definition states that a unicorn company is a private start-up company that has reached a minimum valuation of $1 billion dollars. That is, when the company has become a public company it is usually no longer considered a unicorn. And because of that, in various statistics related to unicorns, there are no Google, Tesla, Facebook and other public companies that are included in the list.
List of 5 Unicorns with the Highest Valuation
Valuation is an indicator to assess how valuable a company is. Especially for startup companies where their growth is usually driven by investor funding.
The high valuation of a startup shows that there are many investors who view the company as having good prospects in the future. For this reason, valuations can reflect the business prospects of startup companies by looking at how valuable the company is from an investor’s point of view.
In general, the top 5 unicorns with the highest valuation are startups from China and the United States. These two countries are the countries with the highest startup growth in the world and in fact each has a very large number of startups. So, it’s no wonder that these two also dominate the list of top unicorns with the highest valuation.
Which unicorns have the highest valuation? The list is below:
1. ByteDance (China)
ByteDance is a China-based multinational technology company. The company was founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming and is one of the largest technology companies in the world. ByteDance owns several well-known products and services, such as TikTok, Douyin, Toutiao, and Xigua Video.
Douyin became the first with a market valuation of $200 billion. The valuation is actually lower than the previous year’s $350 billion.
2. SpaceX (U.S.)
SpaceX is an aerospace company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. The company is headquartered in Hawthorne, California, and its goal is to make space more accessible to people and help solve the problems faced by humanity. SpaceX has several well-known products and services, such as the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, which are rockets used to put satellites into orbit and send people to the International Space Station (ISS). The company also plans to put people on the moon and Mars in the future. In addition, SpaceX is also involved in a broad internet provisioning program called Starlink.
SpaceX takes second place in the list of unicorn companies with the highest valuation in the world. SpaceX has a valuation of around $125 billion and is the highest in the US.
3. ANT Group (China)
Ant Group is a China-based financial technology company. The company was founded by Jack Ma, the founder of China’s leading e-commerce company, Alibaba Group. Ant Group is a company engaged in digital payments, digital finance and other financial services. The company has several well-known products and services, such as Alipay which is a digital payment platform, and Ant Fortune which is a wealth management platform. Ant Group has also developed financial solutions for small and medium businesses in China.
Ant Group’s valuation reaches $120 billion dollars and makes this company in the 3rd position in the list of Unicorns with the Highest Valuation in the World.
4. Stripe (U.S.)
Stripe is a financial technology company based in San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 2010 by brothers Patrick and John Collison, and is one of the leading technology companies in the field of online payments. Stripe provides a platform that enables businesses to easily and securely accept payments from their customers over the internet. Stripe offers a wide range of features such as integration with e-commerce platforms, mobile payment processing and international payment processing. The company has become a popular choice for businesses around the world looking to increase their online payment capabilities.
Stripe is in fourth place with a valuation of $62 billion. And Stripe is the unicorn with the second largest valuation in the US behind SpaceX.
5. Shein (China)
Shein is a China-based online fashion company. The company was founded in 2010 by Chris Xu and is one of the leading e-commerce companies in the world. Shein provides a wide selection of fashion, including clothing, accessories and jewelry, which are sold at affordable prices. The company targets young consumers and offers products that are constantly being updated according to the latest trends. Shein also has an affiliate program that allows individuals or businesses to sell Shein products through their website or social media and earn a commission from every sale that occurs.
Shein has a valuation of around 60 billion US dollars and ranks 5th in the list of unicorns with the largest valuation in the world.
