There are 174 private unicorn companies globally valued at a billion dollars or more as of 10/31/16, according to our unicorn tracker.
We used the CB Insights platform to examine which countries are home to the most unicorns, i.e. private companies valued at $1B+.
In 2016, the US gained the most new unicorns, adding 13. China added 10. Meanwhile, 5 countries — Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates — birthed their first unicorns to-date.
Country unicorn count
The US still claims the majority of unicorns around the world. Of the 174 unicorns currently running wild, 96 (or 55%) are headquartered in the US. China places second internationally, with 37 of the world’s unicorns, and India trails further behind with only 8. As a continent, Asia collectively has 55 unicorns. Additionally, Europe has 19 unicorns, with the United Kingdom (7) and Germany (4) the headquarters of 11 unicorns in aggregate.
US vs. China
We compared the numbers on new unicorns to data from past years, for China and the US. In 2015, the US added 38 unicorns, and China added 19. 2014 was another big year for the US with 26 new unicorns to China’s 5.
However, of the 32 startups achieving a $1B valuation for the first time in 2016, 40% were in the US and 30% were in China. The two countries are on near-equal ground with respect to new unicorns. And while the US may have an advantage in its total unicorn count, 2016 has not been a strong year for the US in minting new unicorns compared to 2014 and 2015.
Note: keep up to date with the world’s $1B+ private companies with the CB Insights Unicorn List.
If you aren’t already a client, sign up for a free trial to learn more about our platform.