Caixin
Caixin Global – Latest China News & Headlines

Home >

By Dave Yin / Jan 29, 2019 06:07 AM / Business & Tech

Photo: VCG

Photo: VCG

Nearly 100 tech companies in China became unicorns last year, reaching a valuation of $1 billion, according to a report (link in Chinese) from market research firm Hurun Research Institute.

According to Hurun’s Greater China Unicorn Index 2018, a new unicorn appeared “every 3.8 days.”

E-commerce and video streaming led the way, with ByteDance’s Toutiao news feed, Tencent-backed video service Kuaishou and farmer-oriented e-commerce platform Meicai seeing valuations rise 400% in 2018.

China had a total of 186 unicorns at the end of last year, up from 120 at the end of 2017. While 97 names were added, 31 companies were removed because of IPOs, mergers and acquisitions or declining business. Financially troubled bike-sharing giant Ofo wasn’t on the list.

Aside from internet services, healthcare, education and AI industries recorded the most growth. Alibaba’s fintech platform Ant Financial had the highest valuation at 1 trillion yuan ($148 billion), followed by Toutiao at 500 billion yuan and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing at 300 billion yuan.

Related: Meituan to Retire Mobike Name as Major Overhaul Takes Shape

Share this article
Open WeChat and scan the QR code