Unicorns are the most promising startups, which are the startups that are valued over $1 trillion. There are more than 500 unicorns in the world. Startup culture is breeding across the world, but some countries are more supportive than others to startups. Such countries have a more conducive environment for the startups that help to turn them into a unicorn. In this article, we will discuss the top ten countries for unicorns.
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Top Ten Countries For Unicorns
Our list of the top ten countries for unicorns is based on the Hurun Global Unicorn List 2020. Following are the top ten countries for unicorns:
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Switzerland (5)
Switzerland increased its unicorn count by 2 last year to 5. The country has a thriving startup ecosystem, thanks to its location, access to the European market, government regulations and low tax rates. Most of the startups in the country are based in Zurich, Zug and Geneva. Two popular unicorns in the country are MindMaze (a brain technology company) and Sportradar (collects and analyzes sports data).
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France (7)
France increased its unicorn count by 3 last year to 7. The country, however, is making efforts to grow this number to 25 unicorns by 2025. To achieve this goal, the French government is taking all possible measures, including convincing institutional investors to invest in late stage VC funds and asset managers. Some of the popular unicorns in the country are BlaBlaCar, OVH cloud, Deezer, Doctolib, and Meero.
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Israel (8)
Israel increased its unicorn count by 1 last year to 8. A point to note is that Israel has more unicorns per capita than any other country. Similar to India, several Israeli-founded unicorns are headquartered abroad, mainly in Silicon Valley and New York. Some of the popular Israeli unicorns are Monday.com (workplace collaboration and communication software), Infinidat (petabyte data storage), and AppsFlyer (a mobile ad attribution platform).
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Brazil (8)
Brazil increased its unicorn count by 4 last year to 8. The country’s unicorns are primarily fintechs, delivery companies and mobility apps. However, executives expect new unicorns from the country in the field of artificial intelligence, health, logistics and agribusiness. Five popular unicorns from Brazil are Wildlife (mobile games startup), Gympass (fitness membership program), Loggi (delivery platform), QuintoAndar (a real estate startup) and EBANX (a fintech company).
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Germany (10)
Germany increased its unicorn count by 3 last year to 10. The country boasts of a strong foundation for startups. Almost all unicorns in Germany are tech-based startups. Some of the most popular unicorns in the country are GetYourGuide (an online marketplace and internet booking engine), Wefox (insurance tech startup), N26 (a banking app), Celonis (AI-enhanced process mining and process excellence software) and Omio (a multi-modal travel booking platform).
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South Korea (11)
South Korea increased its unicorn count by 5 last year to 11. Three major reasons for the rise in the startup unicorn rankings in the country are venture boom, government support, and robust mobile infrastructure. Some of the most popular unicorns in the country are Coupang (Amazon of Korea), Bluehole (game developer company), Woowa Brothers (operator of Korea’s biggest food delivery app), Yello Mobile (integrated data platform), and Viva Republica (mobile payment solution app).
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India (21)
India was unable to raise its unicorn count last year. The majority of Indian unicorns are based in Bangalore. A point to note is that Indians founded 61 unicorns, but two thirds of those are based outside the country, primarily in Silicon Valley. Some of the most popular Indian unicorns are One97 Communications (parent company of Paytm), OYO Rooms (travel-stay finder), BYJU’s (online educator) and Ola Cabs.
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UK (24)
The UK increased its unicorn count by 11 last year to 24. As can be expected, London has the most number of unicorns in the UK. Some of the most popular unicorns in the UK are BrewDog, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Transferwise, BenevolentAI, Oxford Nanopore, The Hut Group, OakNorth and more. In the UK, a startup takes an average of 6.4 years to become a unicorn, while the average size of a founding team is just 2.5 people.
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China (227)
China increased its unicorn count by 21 last year to 227. Like the U.S., China is also home to some of the most popular and valuable unicorns in the world. Two of the world’s most popular unicorns – Bytedance and Didi Chuxing – are based in China. Other popular Chinese unicorns are Lufax, TikTok rival Kuaishou and Cainiao, which is Alibaba’s logistics affiliate. Talking of cities, Beijing is home to the most number of unicorns globally.
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U.S. (233)
The U.S. increased its unicorn count by 30 in 2020 to 233. Some of the world’s most popular unicorns are based in the U.S., such as Postmates, SpaceX, Epic Games, Reddit, 23andMe, Quora, Ibotta, Grammarly, Credit Karma, Buzzfeed and more. SpaceX is the most valuable U.S. unicorn, but it is not the most valuable unicorn globally. In terms of U.S. cities, San Francisco has the most number of unicorns, followed by New York and Palo Alto.
