The era of Tech Unicorns: companies to keep an eye on

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The term of Unicorns has been known only for several years, but is already one of the most used word in the tech world. So why is that? Apart from that, we will also take a look at the most well-known & the most valuable Tech Unicorns of recent years, and see the predictions for the upcoming years.

Why are unicorns called unicorn? A list of new expressions

In the business world, Unicorns are those private companies or startups with an estimated valuation of more than $1 billion. Several years ago it could be named as a myth to be a startup company with a billion dollars profit, but now it is more and more common.

Firstly, the term was used by Aileen Lee, venture capitalist and founder of CowboyVC, a seed stage venture capital fond that is based in Palo Alto, California. In her article, “Welcome To The Unicorn Club: Learning From Billion-Dollar Startups“, she watched tech startups founded in the previous decade and settled the boundary lines for “Unicorn Club” members.

Moreover, she has determined that on that time, 3 years ago, in the exclusive Unicorn club were included only 39 members,” the top .o7 % that ever reached $1 billion valuation: Dropbox, Tumblr, Facebook, Youtube, Palo Alto Networks, Yelp, FireEye, Groupon, ServiceNow, Linkedin, Gilt, etc.

However, according to Techcrunch, the total number of Unicorn companies, for today, is already more than 267.

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Another exciting term for your lexicon that is related to Unicorns – Decacorns, companies that achieved a $10 billion valuation and automatically moved to the new level.

Let’s start our list with top and most promising tech unicorns nowadays:

Top 10 tech decacorns

Take a look at the main decacorns of recent years according to Techcrunch:

1. Uber
San Francisco, California
Transportation Services
Valuation: $62 billion

2. ANT Financial
Xihu District, Hangzhou, China
Financial services
Valuation: $60 billion

3. Didi Chuxing
Beijing, China
Consumer Internet
Valuation: $50 billion

4. Xiaomi
Beijing, China
Hardware
Valuation: $45 billion

5. Airbnb
San Francisco
Lodging Services
Valuation: $31 billion

6. SpaceX
Howthorne, California
Aerospace and defence
Valuation: $21 billion

7. Palantir
Palo Alto, California
Data Analytics Software
Valuation: $20 billion

8. Toutiao
Beijing, China
Consumer internet
Valuation: $20 billion

9. Wework
New York City, New York, United States
Real Estate
Valuation: $20 billion

10. Lufax
Shanghai, China
Financial services
Valuation: $18 billion

..and many-many others from all over the world.

Top 10 tech unicorns

1. Stripe
San Francisco, California, United States
Financial services
Valuation: $9 billion

2. Spotify
Stockholm, Sweden
Consumer internet, music
Valuation: $8 billion

3. Zhong An
Shanghai, China
Financial services
Valuation: $8 billion

4. Dji
Shenzhen, China
Financial services
Valuation: $8 billion

5. Koubei
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Search Engine
Valuation: $8 billion

6. One97 Communications
Shenzhen, China
Financial services
Valuation: $8 billion

7. Cainiao Logistics
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Transportation
Valuation: $7 billion

8. Lyft
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Transportation
Valuation: $7 billion

9. Jiedaibao
Beijing, Beijing, China
Financial services
Valuation: $7 billion

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10. JD Finance
Beijing, Beijing, China
Financial services
Valuation: $7 billion

I would like to mention that this list is based on latest news, ventures, investors and ratings published online. Generally, the new year is expected to be even more successful on new tech Unicorns of the year.

This year Forbes asked venture firms which companies they thought most likely to hit the billion-dollar mark soon. Then we cut that list down to a final 10.

So who is next on the list?

The next billion-dollar startups or tech unicorns

1.BetterCloud
Estimated 2017 revenue: $21 million
Lead investors: Accel, Flybridge Capital Partners

Better Cloud makes software that lets IT departments manage employees’ cloud-based applications.

2. Blend
Estimated 2017 revenue: $27 million
Lead investors: 8VC, Founders Fund, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Blend makes cloud-based software that lenders use to originate mortgages online.

3. Bright Health
Estimated 2017 revenue: $45 million
Lead investors: Bessemer Venture Partners, Greenspring Associates, New Enterprise Associates

Bright Health provides health insurance.

4. Cohesity
Estimated 2017 revenue: $50 million
Lead investors: Artis Ventures, GV, Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Wing Venture Capital

Cohesity makes systems that help companies store and recover backup data like inventory logs and personnel records.

5. Farmers Business Network
Estimated 2017 revenue: More than $60 million
Lead investors: Acre Venture Partners, DBL Investors, GV, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Farmers Business Network uses data analytics to give farmers price information on supplies. It also sells seeds, fertilizers and pesticides online.

6. Flexport
Estimated 2017 revenue: $500 million
Lead investors: First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Y Combinator

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Flexport provides automated freight-forwarding and tracking services.

7. Fundbox
Estimated 2017 revenue: $55 million
Lead investors: General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Spark Capital

Fundbox provides short-term financing to small businesses.

8. Ginkgo Bioworks
Estimated 2017 revenue: More than $20 million
Lead investors: Senator Investment Group, Viking Global Investors, Y Combinator

Ginkgo makes custom-designed living cells for companies in the fragrance, food, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries.

9. Interactions
Estimated 2017 revenue: $100 million
Lead investors: Comcast Ventures, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, NewSpring Capital, Revolution Growth, Sigma Partners, SoftBank Capital

Makes software for robo-voice customer-service systems.

10. Jive Communications
Equity raised: $19 million
Estimated 2017 revenue: $100 million; Lead investor: Guidepost Growth Equity

Makes a cloud-based system that integrates voice, video and other communications applications.

We will be posting more articles about things to keep an eye on in terms of technology and innovation, if you are interested in it, we recommend you to subscribe to our monthly newsletter. Have a great day!