In 2019, China became the country with the most unicorn startups, or companies valued at over USD 1 billion, with 206 firms, surpassing the United States with 203 companies, and India with 21, according to Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.
In 2020, New York-based research firm CB Insights, and consumer data provider Statista, released their list of unicorns, with one Chinese company consistently ranking first in both reports as the word’s most valued privately held firm.
While CB Insights and Statista differ in some of their analyses, both firms have listed, among their top-10, a slew of Chinese companies in industries including fintech, logistics, entertainment, robotics, and real estate.
KrASIA has created a video to share insights about these top 10 Chinese unicorns, sorted by their valuation. These companies’ products and services are industry-leading and affect many aspects of life in China, while of these firms some are also taking steps to expand internationally.
Notes: On Statista, Ke.com and Beike Zhaofang were listed separately, while CB Insights only shared Beike Zhaofang’s valuation. We decided to use the same parameters provided by CB Insights for our list. Also, we decided to omit Alibaba’s Local Services Company (only appears on Statista’s list), which combined Ele.me and Koubei for a valuation of USD 30 billion.
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