Hurun Index: China Has 381 Unicorns, Ranking Second Globally
Guangzhou (ANTARA) - The number of unicorn companies in China reached 381 as of 1 January this year, according to the Global Unicorn Index 2026 by the Hurun Research Institute.
This figure represents an increase of 38 companies compared to the previous year, according to the index released on Thursday (25/6) in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, southern China.
According to the index, the number of unicorn companies worldwide reached a record high of 1,603, up 5.3 per cent from the previous year, with a combined valuation of 54 trillion yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,638) or approximately 7.92 trillion US dollars (1 US dollar = 17,942).
The United States leads globally with 806 unicorn companies, an increase of 48 companies from the previous year, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the total unicorns worldwide. China ranks second globally with 381 unicorn companies, with the nation’s unicorns primarily concentrated in the semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), life sciences, and new energy sectors.
Chairman and lead researcher of Hurun Report, Rupert Hoogewerf, stated that the industrial focus of global unicorn companies has shifted over the last eight years from e-commerce to fintech, and now to the AI sector. Over the past year, the number of unicorns in the AI sector has grown far more rapidly than other industries, with the total number of AI unicorns now nearly matching fintech for the top position, while their combined valuation has reached three times that of fintech.
In the fields of semiconductors, new energy, robotics, and the low-altitude economy, China outperforms other countries in the world, said Hoogewerf, who is also known by his Mandarin name, Hu Run.
The Global Unicorn Index 2026 is a ranking of the world’s start-ups founded after the year 2000, with a minimum valuation of 1 billion US dollars, and which are not yet listed on public stock exchanges. The Hurun Research Institute has been monitoring unicorn companies since 2017, and this report marks the eighth edition of the Global Unicorn Index.