On April 18, 2023, Hurun Research Institute released the "Global Unicorn Index 2023" in Guangzhou, listing non-listed companies around the world established after 2000 and valued at more than US$1 billion.
The deadline for valuation calculation for this list is December 31, 2022. Major changes in valuations were updated before publication. Hurun Research Institute has been tracking and recording unicorn companies since 2017. This is the fifth time the Global Unicorn List has been released.
The report also includes the 2023 Global Unicorn Investment Institutions Top 100, which lists the world's most successful unicorn investment institutions based on the number of unicorns on this list that they have invested in.
There are currently 1,361 unicorns in the world, located in 48 countries and 271 cities. In the past year, 508 new unicorns were born, 133 of which were "downgraded" and exited the list due to their value falling below $1 billion, and 72 were "upgraded" and exited the list, of which 57 went public and 15 were acquired.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said: "Unicorns are greatly changing our lives and consumption habits. OpenAI's ChatGPT may be the most influential of all the unicorns in the world, with its value soaring to 138 billion yuan and reaching 100 million users in just over two months, becoming the fastest growing consumer application in history. Other companies that have seen a significant increase in value include Guangzhou-based fast fashion platform Shein, Los Angeles-based SpaceX, as well as Web3 NFT market leader OpenSea, health insurance service provider Devoted Health, human resources software company Rippling, and shared takeaway kitchen operator CloudKitchens."
What industries are unicorns in? Financial technology, software services, e-commerce and artificial intelligence. The industries with the fastest growth in the number of unicorns in the past year are financial technology, enterprise services, blockchain, logistics, network security and artificial intelligence.
Among the top ten, five are from China, three are from the United States, and one each is from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The threshold for the top ten is US$27 billion, a decrease of US$6 billion from a year ago. The top ten account for 17% of the total value of global unicorn companies.
Dubai-based messaging app Telegram rounded out the top ten, valued at RMB 207 billion. Since its founding in 2013, Telegram has raised a total of $2.7 billion in two rounds of funding. Telegram has become one of the most downloaded apps in the world, with nearly 900 million monthly active users, 150 million of which are in India.
The main industries for unicorns in the United States are software services, financial technology and health technology, in China they are artificial intelligence, semiconductors and e-commerce, and in the rest of the world they are financial technology and e-commerce.
The biggest newcomer is Dubai-based social media platform Telegram, which is valued at $207 billion. The biggest dropout is Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was valued at $32 billion last year and declared bankruptcy in November. Its spinoff FTX US, which was valued at $5 billion last year, has also dropped out.
The fastest growing industries in terms of the number of unicorns are fintech, enterprise services, blockchain, logistics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The blockchain industry has 53 unicorns, 23 more than a year ago, led by Malta-based Binance ($138 billion), followed by San Francisco-based Ripple ($105 billion) and New York-based OpenSea ($90 billion).
These unicorns account for 3.9% of the world's total unicorns, with a total value of 1.4 trillion yuan.
Among the top 100 of the 2023 Global Unicorn List, there are 11 blockchain companies on the list, namely:
Binance ranked 17th, up 4 places from last year, with a value of RMB 138 billion, an increase of RMB 34.5 billion from last year, and is headquartered in Malta;
Ripple ranked 23rd, up 14 places from last year, with a value of RMB 105 billion, an increase of RMB 34.5 billion from last year. It is headquartered in San Francisco, USA;
OpenSea ranked 30th, up 496 places from last year, with a value of RMB 90 billion, an increase of RMB 79.4 billion from last year, and is headquartered in New York, USA;
Kucoin, ranked 48th, is new to the list this year, valued at RMB 69 billion and headquartered in Seychelles;
Alchemy ranked 48th, up 146 places from last year, with a value of RMB 69 billion, an increase of RMB 44.9 billion from last year. It is headquartered in San Francisco, USA;
Blockchain.com ranked 48th, up 62 places from last year, with a value of RMB 69 billion, an increase of RMB 34.5 billion from last year, and is headquartered in London, UK;
Digital Currency Group, ranked 48th, dropped 11 places from last year, is valued at RMB 69 billion and is headquartered in New York, USA;
Dfinity ranked 60th, down 11 places from last year, with a value of RMB 65.5 billion and headquartered in Zug, Switzerland;
StarkWare ranked 84th, up 284 places from last year, with a value of 55 billion RMB, an increase of 41.4 billion RMB from last year, and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel;
FalconX ranked 84th, up 104 places from last year, with a value of RMB 55 billion, an increase of RMB 29.7 billion from last year, and is headquartered in San Mateo, USA;
Dapper Labs, ranked 93rd, dropped 24 places from last year. It is valued at RMB 52.5 billion, an increase of RMB 700 million from last year. It is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Among these blockchain companies on the list, Binance, OpenSea, Kucoin, Blockchain.com, and FalconX are trading platforms, Ripple and Alchemy focus on payment channels, Digital Currency Group is an investment institution, Dfinity, StarkWare, and Dapper Labs are blockchain infrastructure developers with their own public chains and products, namely Internet Computer, StarkNet, and Flow.
From the perspective of blockchain projects alone, only five companies, Ripple, Alchemy, Dfinity, StarkWare and Dapper Labs, have been shortlisted. They have also issued their own tokens, namely XRP, ACH, ICP, STRK and FLOW. Currently, XRP has the highest market value in circulation, followed by ICP, then FLOW, and finally ACH. STRK has not yet been listed.
DFINITY was also on the "2022 Mid-Year Global Unicorn List" released by Hurun Report last year. Its inclusion on the list again this time fully demonstrates that DFINITY's industry status has been recognized externally.
However, due to the decline of the entire crypto industry and market, DFINITY's ranking and total value have also declined to a certain extent. Difficulties are temporary. With the overall rise of the crypto industry and the recovery of the market, we have reason to believe that DFINITY's ranking and value will return and rise.
With the completion of the integration of Bitcoin and Ethereum, IC (Internet Computer) is actually in its best stage at present, and its technical and ecological strength is much stronger than it was a year ago.
The DFINITY Foundation is well-funded, financially strong, and has a wealth of talent. It is internally stable and has a long-term vision. It is constantly carrying out various offline and online activities, and its ecological projects are flourishing. Developers, investors, and enthusiasts are pouring in, and the community is thriving. These are all visible and happening.
Of course, while the general direction is correct, DFINITY also has many areas where it is not good enough, and the project team is also working hard to find problems and actively improve them. Pessimists are often right, and optimists are often successful. I hope everyone can be an optimist who is wise but foolish, and finally succeed!
Further reading: Hurun Report's 2022 Mid-Year Global Unicorn List is released, DFINITY is on the list
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