Most Unicorns of the start-up world can be spotted in the United States, no surprises there. The rest of the world, however, is not leaving any stone unturned to match that pace. We have looked into the top 100 startups that have reached the $1 billion mark and became Unicorn. While 61% of the top 100 Unicorn start-ups are from the United States alone, China holds the second place with 16%. Read our complete list of countries with most Unicorn start-ups here.
United States of America
Countries that are receptive of innovations, provide ample of entrepreneurial resources and have the infrastructure for effective functioning, are the ones where ideas can thrive. These along with the obvious factors such as connectivity with the rest of the world, technological expertise, skilled labour force and educated population helped to boost the start-up ecosystem of United States. As a result, out of the top 100 Unicorn start-ups, 61 are from the United States. Names like Uber, Airbnb, Palantir Technologies, Snapchat and WeWork, are top 5 from the country.
| Company | Valuation |
| Uber | $68 billion |
| Airbnb | $30 billion |
| Palantir Technologies | $20 billion |
| Snapchat | $18 billion |
| WeWork | $16.9 billion |
China
Being world’s one of the fastest-growing major economies, Chinese government realizes the importance of sustaining entrepreneurial growth. This makes China second in the list of countries with most Unicorn start-ups. Increased purchasing power of the population, government subsidies to venture capitalists, advanced technological innovation and industrial growth are the key reasons for start-up growths in China. Therefore, 16 Chinese Unicorn start-ups can be found on the top 100 list. Xiaomi, Didi Chuxing, Lu.com, China Internet Plus Holding and DJI Innovations are the most prominent ones.
| Company | Valuation |
| Xiaomi | $46 billion |
| Didi Chuxing | $33.8 billion |
| Lu.com | $18.5 billion |
| China Internet Plus Holding | $18 billion |
| DJI Innovations | $10 billion |
India
India has seen a momentous growth in start-up ecosystem in the past decade. Rising population of educated youth, technical proficiency of entrepreneurs and government support for the community has made India a coveted place to set-up a start-up. Flipkart, Snapdeal, Olacabs, Paytm and Hike are the 5 Unicorn start-ups from India among the top 100.
| Company | Valuation |
| Flipkart | $16 billion |
| Snapdeal | $7 billion |
| Olacabs | $5 billion |
| Paytm | $4.83 billion |
| Hike | $1.4 billion |
United Kingdom
Despite having a promising start-up scenario, United Kingdom ranks low on the list due to high cost of living and lack of office space availability in particular. As a result, only 3 start-ups from the top 100 are from the United Kingdom. They are Global Switch, Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Farfetch.
| Company | Valuation |
| Global Switch | $6.02 billion |
| Oxford Nanopore Technologies | $1.55 billion |
| Farfetch | $1.5 billion |
South Korea
South Korea realized the need to create a start-up economy after years of struggle with youth unemployment and threat of global competition. Accordingly, in less than 5 years they have started working towards building a Silicon Valley in South Korea, focused on Asian Innovation. 3 South Korean start-ups – Yello Mobile, CJ Games and Coupang are among the top 100.
| Company | Valuation |
| Coupang | $5 billion |
| Yello Mobile | $4 billion |
| CJ Games | $1.79 billion |
Germany
Being one of the most dynamic, diverse and biggest start-up hubs in the world, Germany has 3 Unicorn start-ups among top 100 in the world. They are Delivery Hero, Hellofresh and CureVac.
| Company | Valuation |
| Delivery Hero | $3.1 billion |
| Hello Fresh | $2.09 billion |
| CureVac | $1.65 billion |
Singapore
If you’re a follower of start-up trends, you’d know that the growth of start-ups in Singapore is a relatively new phenomenon. However, with the availability of funding, technically sound and eager entrepreneurs, cosmopolitan population and international outlook are working in favour of the country’s start-up ecosystem. There are 2 Unicorn start-ups from Singapore named Garena and Grab Taxi among the top 100.
| Company | Valuation |
| Garena | $3.75 billion |
| Grab Taxi | $3 billion |
Sweden
Spotify and Klarna – 2 most prominent start-ups from Sweden can be found on the list of top 100 Unicorn start-ups.
| Company | Valuation |
| Spotify | $8.53 billion |
| Klarna | $2.25 billion |