Our market map visualizes the 842 private companies with billion-dollar valuations, across artificial intelligence, e-commerce, fintech, and more.
There are over 800 private companies around the world valued at $1B+, all featured on our real-time unicorn tracker. These tech startups are collectively worth over $2T and have raised a combined total of more than $485B.
Using the CB Insights database, we mapped all 842 global unicorn companies valued at $1B or more according to the primary markets in which they operate.
Global unicorn club market map
Our market map sorts unicorns into 15 categories, from auto & transportation to supply chain & logistics. Our “Other” category includes renewable energy, space tech, ad tech, and more.
Categories are not mutually exclusive and companies are sorted by primary use case. Data is as of 9/29/2021.
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Key takeaways
Most valuable private companies
The world’s most valuable private company is China-based ByteDance, in the artificial intelligence category. The company, which operates content platforms such as TikTok and Toutiao, reached a $140B valuation following an investment from Tiger Global Management in March 2020. The company raised a private equity round from China Internet Investment Fund in August 2018.
Rounding out the top 5 most valuable private companies are payments processor Stripe (valued at $95B), aerospace manufacturer SpaceX ($74B), payments platform Klarna ($45.6B), and collaborative online design tool Canva, which recently reached a $40B valuation following a $200M Series G round in September 2021.
Notably, ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, which used rank in the top 5 unicorns at a valuation of $62B, went public in an IPO in June 2021.
Unicorn company trends by category
Fintech is the most highly represented category on our map, accounting for almost a fifth of all unicorns (19%). It is followed by internet software & services (17%), e-commerce & direct-to-consumer (11%), and artificial intelligence (9%).
The most valuable fintech unicorn is Stripe, with a $95B valuation as of March 2021. In internet software & services, the most valuable unicorn is Canva ($40B, September 2021).
In e-commerce & direct-to-consumer, the top spot goes to Fanatics ($18B, August 2021), which provides e-commerce, marketing, and merchandising for professional sports leagues and teams. ByteDance ($140B, March 2020) leads the artificial intelligence category.
Valuation distribution
ByteDance is the only private company considered to be a “hectocorn” (worth $100B+) — though Stripe is approaching hectocorn status, at $95B.
Thirty-eight private companies (4% of total unicorns) are considered “decacorns,” worth $10B+. Meanwhile, 24% of companies included in the global unicorn club are valued at exactly $1B.
Geographic trends
Since our last analysis in June 2021, the US has seen a slight decrease in its leading share of unicorns, now accounting for half of all unicorn startups (down from 51%). China, in second place (20%), held steady in the same time frame.
India claims the third spot at 5%, while the UK is home to 4% of unicorns.
Unicorn club growth
Seventy-one percent of the companies in our market map have joined the unicorn club since 2019. Of those, 114 made the list in 2020. As of September, 2021 has already seen the birth of 366 current unicorns.
Since our last analysis in June 2021, the unicorn club has grown in size by 16%, from 728 to 842 unicorns. At this rate, the unicorn club is likely to break 1,000 by early 2022.
For more unicorn research, check out our reports on which investors have backed the most billion-dollar companies and our comprehensive unicorn club in data infographic.
This report was created with data from CB Insights’ emerging technology insights platform, which offers clarity into emerging tech and new business strategies through tools like:
- Earnings Transcripts Search Engine & Analytics to get an information edge on competitors’ and incumbents’ strategies
- Patent Analytics to see where innovation is happening next
- Company Mosaic Scores to evaluate startup health, based on our National Science Foundation-backed algorithm
- Business Relationships to quickly see a company’s competitors, partners, and more
- Market Sizing Tools to visualize market growth and spot the next big opportunity