Hurun Index: China Has 381 Unicorns, Ranking Second Globally

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. The figure represents an increase of 38 companies compared to the previous year, according to the index released on Thursday in Guangzhou, the capital of southern China’s Guangdong Province. 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 (approximately 7.92 trillion US dollars). The United States led globally with 806 unicorn companies, an increase of 48 from the previous year, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the world’s total unicorns. China ranked second globally with 381 unicorn companies, which are primarily concentrated in the semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), life sciences, and new energy sectors. Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, said the industry focus of global unicorn companies has shifted over the past eight years from e-commerce to financial technology (fintech), and now to the AI sector. Over the past year, the number of unicorns in the AI sector grew much faster than in any other industry, with the total number of AI unicorns now nearly matching fintech for the top spot, while their combined valuation has reached three times that of fintech. Hoogewerf noted that China surpasses other countries in the fields of semiconductors, new energy, robotics, and the low-altitude economy. The Global Unicorn Index 2026 ranks start-ups worldwide founded after the year 2000, with a minimum valuation of 1 billion US dollars and not yet listed on a public stock exchange. The Hurun Research Institute began tracking unicorn companies in 2017, and this report marks the eighth edition of the Global Unicorn Index.