A unicorn is a term in business world to indicate a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion. In 2013, when the term emerged, only 40 private companies had a valuation of $1 billion in the world. Since then, the number of these financial giants surged, rising to a new record in 2020. According to data presented by Buy Shares, the number of unicorn companies hit 500 globally, with a combined market valuation of around $1.5trn.

In 2014, 18 companies hit a market valuation of one billion dollars revealed the CBInsights data. Over the next two years, another 138 companies joined the unicorn club. According to the statistics, the number of financial giants surged in 2018, with 114 companies entering the list. The increasing trend continued in 2019, with 122 new unicorns, the highest annual increase so far.

The CBInsights data revealed that 89 companies joined the unicorn club in 2020 with a combined market valuation of $138.7bn, despite the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Analyzed by geography, the United States represents the leading unicorn market, with 242

According to the statistics, the number of financial giants surged in 2018, with 114 companies entering the list

companies valued at one billion dollars or more. China ranked second with 119 unicorns as of November.

The United Kingdom ranked as the third-largest unicorn market globally, with 24 companies valued at billion dollars or more. India and Germany follow, with 24 and 12 unicorns, respectively.

In the city level, data from the Hurun Research Institute revealed that Beijing tops the list of the cities with the highest number of unicorns. As of 2020, 93 such startups had their headquarters in the Chinese capital. San Francisco ranked second with 68 unicorns. Shanghai, New York, and Hangzhou follow with 47, 33, and 20 unicorn companies.

The statistics also shows that most of the world’s unicorns, a number of 72 companies, are actively fintech organizations. The internet software & services segment follows with 65 unicorn companies. Another 62 privately owned startups with a valuation of over one billion dollars are working in the e-Commerce market. Artificial intelligence (AI), mobile & telecommunications market, and the health industry follow with 45, 33, and 31 unicorns, respectively. Transportation and supply chain follow 28 each. 20 companies are active from hardware space, 19 from Ed-Tech and 18 from data management and analytics. Cybersecurity, consumer & retail and travel industry follow with 17, 16, and 13 unicorns, respectively.