USA Ranks Among Top Countries for Unicorn Startups in the World
![usa_flag_unicorn-companies](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/usa_unicorn-companies.jpg?itok=NhcOgoDg)
Known as ‘unicorns’ for their rarity, there are currently only 779 such unicorn businesses in the world as of August 2021, according to CB Insights. Their total cumulative valuation is $2,505B.
Interested in learning more about these businesses, Money.co.uk set out to find out which countries and sectors produce the start-ups that reach a $1 billion valuation fastest by analyzing every unicorn company’s start date and the date of its $1 billion valuation.
Turns out China is best country in the world for unicorn start-ups, with the US producing the most unicorn businesses.
Top Countries for Unicorn Startups
The country that produces the start-ups that reach a $1 billion valuation fastest is China, with its 155 unicorn companies taking an average of just 5 years and 10 months to reach $1 billion.
It has taken the USA’s 378 unicorn businesses currently valued at over $1 billion an average of 6 years and 11 months to reach the valuation of $1 billion.
The second fastest country for unicorn businesses to reach $1 billion is Hong Kong, whose 5 unicorn businesses took an average of 6 years and 1 month, followed by Japan’s whose 6 unicorn companies took an average of 6 years and 3 months to reach $1 billion.
In terms of fastest countries for unicorn businesses to reach the $1 billion valuation mark, the fourth spot is jointly taken by the USA, Singapore, and Australia, whose unicorn companies all took an average of 6 years and 11 months to reach $1 billion.
The country that produces the most unicorn businesses overall is the USA (378 businesses), followed by China (155), and India (34).
Below is the world’s countries’ unicorn companies overview:
Country
Total number of unicorn companies
Average years taken to reach $1B
#1
China
155
5 years, 10 months
#2
Hong Kong
5
6 years, 1 month
#3
Japan
6
6 years, 3 months
=#4
USA
378
6 years, 11 months
=#4
Singapore
6
6 years, 11 months
=#4
Australia
6
6 years, 11 months
#7
Israel
17
7 years, 3 months
#8
France
16
8 years, 3 months
#9
UK
31
8 years, 7 months
#10
India
34
8 years, 9 months
#11
Brazil
12
8 years, 10 months
#12
Canada
12
10 years, 9 months
#13
South Korea
10
10 years, 10 months
#14
Germany
16
11 years, 5 months
#15
Switzerland
5
14 years, 11 months
Sectors Producing Most Unicorn Companies Overview
Money.co.uk can also reveal that Auto & Transportation is the sector that produces the most unicorn start-ups in the world, followed by Artificial Intelligence and Hardware respectively.
Below are sectors that produce the most unicorn companies around the world:
Sector
Total number of unicorn companies
Average years taken to reach $1B
#1
Auto & Transportation
31
4 years, 5 months
#2
Artificial Intelligence
62
5 years, 6 months
#3
Hardware
27
5 years, 7 months
=#4
Mobile & Telecommunications
35
6 years, 4 months
=#4
E-Commerce & Direct-to-Consumer
82
6 years, 4 months
=#6
Supply Chain, Logistics & Delivery
42
6 years, 11 months
=#6
Cybersecurity
30
6 years, 11 months
#8
Data Management & Analytics
27
7 years, 0 months
#9
Fintech
131
7 years, 1 month
#10
Travel
13
7 years, 4 months
List of World's Top Unicorn Companies
The top five unicorn companies in the world currently are:
#1. Bytedance (Artificial intelligence) in China: Valued at $140B
#2. Stripe (Fintech) in the US: Valued at $95B
#3. SpaceX (Aerospace technology) in the US: Valued at $74B
#4. Klarna (Fintech) in Sweden: Valued at $45.6B
#5. Instacart (Supply chain, logistics, & delivery) in the US: Valued at $39B.
Popular former unicorns include Airbnb, Facebook, and Google. Variants include a decacorn, valued at over $10 billion, and a hectocorn, valued at over $100 billion, per CB Insights.