Guangzhou added in the first six months of 2022 nine new global unicorns, a privately held startup company valued at over US$1 billion – taking its total to 19, according to a new list from the Hurun List, writes the China Daily. “These unicorns are leading a new generation of disruptive technology,” says Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher of the Hurun Report.
China Daily:
“These unicorns are leading a new generation of disruptive technology. With fintech, e-commerce, business management solutions, health tech and AI, industries are now attracting the world’s top young talent and smart capital,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.
Hurun has been tracking global unicorns since 2017. The index ranking the world’s startups was introduced in the 2000s. It is worth at least $1 billion but not yet listed on a public exchange.
The world’s unicorns came from 48 countries and regions, with the United States leading with 625 companies, followed by China with 312 in the first half of this year, the report said.
Beijing-based Douyin, with 1.2 billion monthly active users for its flagship TikTok, is the world’s most valuable unicorn for the second year running.
The half-year index was released on the occasion of the Global Unicorn CEO Conference, which was also held in Guangzhou on Tuesday. It invited the world’s unicorns, investors and advisers to discuss innovation and entrepreneurship, new technologies and business models.
“Unicorns are a benchmark of a world-class startup ecosystem. The more unicorns a country has, the better the startup ecosystem,” Hoogewerf said.
There has been a massive surge in unicorns since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 369 new unicorns being found in the first six months of 2022 — or two a day — according to Hoogewerf.
“The 1,200 new unicorns minted in the last two years are disrupting financial services, business management solutions, healthcare and retail,” he said.
Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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