The Top Unicorns of 2021

Many entrepreneurs start new companies all around the world. Still, only the most successful of these new ventures go on to become "unicorns," which are the most valuable startups with a market capitalization of more than $1 billion.

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Some unicorns are small, little-known enterprises making significant but unnoticed advances in software, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.

Others, such as aerospace company SpaceX and video game creator and publisher Epic Games, have already established themselves as market leaders in their fields.

According to Raul Amoros of Visual Capitalist, more than 800 unicorn businesses have been identified worldwide, outlined below.

Private Companies with a Market Capitalization of More Than $10 Billion

The values of the world's most renowned unicorns are continually changing as they join fresh fundraising rounds or reach different stages of maturation.

In December 2021, 35 startups with a market capitalization greater than $10 billion were scattered across a variety of nations and sectors.

Many of the most valuable companies are already established as industry leaders in their respective sectors.

For example, the social media business Bytedance, which developed the video network platform Douyin and its foreign equivalent, TikTok, has accrued $140 billion and is the developer of the video network platform TikTok.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, the value of financial services and payment software business Stripe increased from $36 billion to $95 billion in market capitalization.

Even less well-known brands in their respective professions, such as the Swedish fintech Klarna ($45.6 billion) and the Australian graphic design platform Canva ($40.0 billion), are well-known among their fields of expertise.

Personal values, on the other hand, do not last indefinitely.

The majority of them eventually go public, such as electric car manufacturers and Tesla competitor Rivian, valued at $27.6 billion before going public on the NASDAQ.

The Most Successful Startups, Organized By Industry and Country

Considering the world's most successful startups by sector reveals that technology is still king in most investment circles.

A whopping 77 percent of unicorns with over $10 billion market capitalization are classified directly in technology-related industries, particularly banking and commerce software.

Furthermore, many of the unicorns classified in non-tech areas are technology enterprises at their heart.

J&T Express, a logistics and package delivery firm based in Jakarta, Indonesia, is one of the few unicorns not directly related to technology, even though it still utilizes automated organization in its existing warehouses. Moreover, it was one of the few firms to emerge from a country other than the United States or China, which together accounted for the most successful startups.

The United Kingdom ranked second on the most often listed headquarters list. At the same time, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, and Sweden had one of these unicorns on the list of most frequently listed headquarters.

As a result of continually shifting valuations and the endless possibility of technical breakthroughs, the next $10 billion unicorns may emerge from practically any place.