Introduction: The 6th edition of the “Global Unicorn Index 2024” by the Hurun Institute ranks India at 3rd position with 67 unicorns, down by one compared to 2023. The report assesses 82 countries to determine the best environments for fostering unicorn companies.
Top Rankings:
- 1st Place: United States (703 unicorns, +37 from 2023)
- 2nd Place: China (340 unicorns, +34 from 2023)
- 3rd Place: India (67 unicorns, -1 from 2023)
- 4th Place: United Kingdom (53 unicorns, +4 from 2023)
- 5th Place: Germany (36 unicorns, unchanged)
Top Global Unicorns 2024:
- ByteDance (China): USD 220 billion, Social Media
- SpaceX (USA): USD 180 billion, Aerospace
- OpenAI (USA): USD 100 billion, AI
- Ant Group (China): USD 80 billion, Fintech
- Shein (China): USD 65 billion, E-Commerce
Key Points:
- Total Unicorns: The index lists 1,453 unicorns worldwide, up by 37% from 2023.
- Total Value: Combined value of USD 5 trillion, equivalent to Japan’s GDP.
- New Unicorns: 171 new unicorns in the past year, with the US leading at 70 new unicorns, followed by China with 56.
- Sector Trends: Fintech, SaaS, and AI account for 33% of all unicorns. AI has surpassed E-Commerce to rank third.
City Rankings:
- Top City: San Francisco with 190 unicorns.
- Other Leading Cities: New York (133), Beijing (78), London (most active outside the US and China), Bengaluru (7th), and Mumbai (19th).
India-Specific Highlights:
- Top Unicorns: Swiggy (USD 8 billion), Dream11 (USD 8 billion), Razorpay (USD 7.5 billion).
- Challenges: Slowed startup ecosystem due to lack of investment and higher number of Indian-founded unicorns based outside India.
- Indian Unicorns Abroad: 109 unicorns established by Indian co-founders are based outside India, with 95 in the US, 4 in the UK, 3 in Singapore, and 2 in Germany.
Drop Outs:
- Valuation Drops: 128 unicorns saw a decrease in valuation, losing USD 210 billion.
- Exclusions: 42 unicorns from 2023 dropped off the list as their valuation fell below USD 1 billion.
About Global Unicorn Index:
- Compiled by: Hurun Research Institute
- Criteria: Companies founded since 2000 with a valuation of USD 1 billion or more, not yet listed on public exchanges.
- Tracking Period: January 2023 to January 2024, compared with January 2022 to January 2023.
- Tracking Since: 2017
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