Despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic and the global economy’s impact, there have been some major investment deals in 2021. As per a report by CB Insights, there are 936 tech unicorns worldwide this year. On the whole, these companies have an estimated valuation of $3,049 billion so far this year.
Of these, 51% of the world’s unicorns are in the US, and the Chinese unicorns lead the list. While US and China have added over 40 unicorns to the list, India occupies the third spot. Here, at TFN, we have listed the top 10 biggest unicorns in the world of 2021.
ByteDance (China)
Founders: Zhang Yiming
Founded year: 2012
Total funding: $4.2B
Valuation: $140B
ByteDance is operating a range of content platforms that inform, educate, entertain and inspire people across languages, cultures, and geographies. It is the developer of a suite of mobile apps including Douyin, Tou⁸tiao, TikTok, Helo, and more. ByteDance’s platforms aim to help users explore and discover creativity, knowledge and moments directly from their smartphones.
The valuation of ByteDance is said to have hit $425 billion, claimed anonymous private equity trades after the company shelves its plans for an IPO. Its latest funding was raised in December last year led by U.S. private equity firms Sequoia Capital and KKR & Co.
SpaceX (US)
Founders: Elon Musk
Founded year: 2002
Total funding: $5.6B
Valuation: $100.3B
Brainchild of Tesla mastermind Elon Musk, SpaceX, a private space exploration firm based in California, manufacturers and launches the world’s most advanced spacecraft and rockets. It revolutionses space transportation and aims to make life multi-planetary.
In October this year, SpaceX, has landed a $100 billion valuation based on a private agreement between new and existing investors. Prior to this, the company secured $850 million in funding for its Starlink and Starship projects.
Stripe (US)
Founders: Patrick Collison, John Collison
Founded year: 2010
Total funding: $2.2B
Valuation: $95B
California-based Stripe offers payment processing and card issuance solutions for businesses. Its solutions include payment gateways, billing & subscription payments, hardware-based POS terminals, and more. With machine learning helps increase revenue across conversion, fraud, revenue recovery, and others. Stripe provides plugin extensions for Shopify, Magento, Woocommerce, and more.
In March this year, Stripe bagged $600 million funding, which took its valuation to $95 billion. The round saw investments from Allianz X, Axa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Sequoia Capital, and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
Klarna (Sweden)
Founders: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, Victor Jacobsson
Founded year: 2005
Total funding: $3.4B
Valuation: $45.6B
An online platform for purchase financing for merchants and shoppers, Klarna, features an online checkout solution and an in-store checkout solution for physical stores. It lets users make installment payments via credit/debit cards as it is a popular buy now pay later service. Also, it lets users create wishlists and also receive price changes and deal alerts. Klarna provides a virtual credit card to users for making payments.
In June this year, Klarna raised $639 million in a funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, which values it at $45.6 billion. With this, the company becomes the most valuation fintech unicorn in Europe.
Canva (Australia)
Founders: Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht,Cameron Adams
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: $569M
Valuation: $40B
The online designing platform from Sydney, Canva, has simplified designing. It is one of the successful platforms used for creating images. It lets professionals create graphics for invitations, presentations, flyers, and business cards among others. It offers pre-designed graphics and templates. There is a library of illustrations, photographs, and imagery within the Canva platform.
In September 2021, Canva secured $200 million, which took its valuation to $40 billion, thereby making it the world’s most valued female-founded company. The round was led by American publicly owned global investment management firm T. Rowe Price.
Instacart (US)
Founders: Apoorva Mehta, Max Mullen, Brandon Leonardo
Founded year: 2012
Total funding: $2.7B
Valuation: $39B
Instacart, a hyperlocal grocery delivery service lets users to purchase groceries, organic produce, alcoholic beverages, and processed food. Via its web and app-based platform, it lets users create shopping lists, search for products as per diet and nutritional information. Also, users can receive same-day doorstep deliveries as well.
Back in March, the on-demand grocery delivery platform raised $265 million in a funding round from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, D1 Capital Partners and others, which took its valuation to $39 billion.
Revolut (UK)
Founders: Nik Storonsky, Vladyslav Yatsenko
Founded year: 2014
Total funding: $1.7B
Valuation: $33B
London-based challenger bank for individuals and businesses, Revolut offers services such as deposit accounts, debit cards for online/offline purchases, cash withdrawals, cryptocurrency exchange, and more. Also, the company lets users send and request money, split bills with friends and family, and more.
In July 2021, the digital bank bagged nearly $800 million in a funding round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management. It valued the company at nearly $33 and made Revolut the most valuation British fintech surpassing NatWest, a mainstream lender.
Nubank (Brazil)
Founders: David Vélez
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: $2.4B
Valuation: $30B
Nubank, a leading fintech based in Latin America and the largest independent neobank in the world offers a no-fee credit card fully managed by a mobile app. Nubank launched its proprietary loyalty rewards program and a digital account used for millions.
In June this year, Nubank announced a $750 million extension to complete its Series G round, which totals $400 million. The extension funding was led by Berkshire Hathaway, which invested $500 million along with participation from other investors.
Epic Games (US)
Founders: Tim Sweeney, Mark Rein
Founded year: 1991
Total funding: $4.4B
Valuation: $28.7B
Epic Games, a cross-platform game engine and game developer is best known for its Unreal game engine. The first version of the engine was used in the company’s own games Fortnite and Unreal. Other popular games developed by Epic Games are Battle Breakers, Robo Recall, Infinity Blade, Shadow Complex, and more.
In April, Epic Games announced that it has completed a $1 billion round of funding to support future growth opportunities, thereby reaching a valuation of $28.7 billion. This round includes a $200 million strategic investment from Sony Group Corporation along with others including Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, and Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, among others.
Chime (US)
Founders: Chris Britt, Ryan King
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: $2B
Valuation: $25B
US fintech Chime operates with the mission to make financial peace of mind a reality for millions of Americans. The fastest-growing fintech offers helpful, easy, and free banking services. It partners with regional banks to design member-first financial products and creates a more competitive market with better, lower-cost options for those who are not served well by traditional banks.
In August 2021, Chime raised $750 million funding in a round led by Sequoia Capital Global Equities along with investors such as SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2, General Atlantic, Tiger Global Management LLC and Dragoneer Investment Group LLC.
