(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- China’s ByteDance pushed aside compatriot Ant Group to rank first by value among global unicorns, or privately owned startup companies worth more than USD1 billion, according to an annual list compiled by the Hurun Research Institute. The TikTok owner came second last year.

ByteDance’s value climbed CNY1.7 trillion to nearly CNY2.3 trillion (USD361 billion) this year, according to the Global Unicorn Index 2021 published today. Chinese fintech giant Ant was second at CNY1 trillion, while Elon Musk’s SpaceX rose two places to third, becoming the most valuable US unicorn at CNY400 billion to CNY640 billion (USD62.7 billion to USD100.4 billion).

Three Chinese businesses were among the top 10, also including Cainiao Network Technology which stayed in ninth place after its valuation climbed by CNY45 billion to CNY220 billion.

The Global Unicorn Index also showed that 50 startups were incubated from parent companies, 49 of them in China. Alibaba Group Holding was the parent of five unicorns, the most among those on the list, followed by JD.Com and Baidu, with three each.

There were a total of 1,058 unicorns globally, up 80 percent from a year earlier. The United States ranked first with 487, an increase of 254 from 2020. China was second with 301, up 74. The US and China accounted for 74 percent of the total. India surpassed the United Kingdom to rank third with 54, adding 33 from last year. The UK was fourth with 39, an increase of 15.

The total value of the unicorns on the list was CNY23.7 trillion (USD3.72 trillion).

San Francisco, with 151, versus 83 last year, was the city with the most unicorns. Beijing ranked second with 91. New York was third with 85, rising from 52 last year. Shanghai ranked fourth with 71, a gain of 24. Shenzhen remained fifth with 32. Six of the top 10 cities with the most unicorns are in China and the US.

Some 201 unicorns from last year dropped off the list, of which 162 went public or acquired, and 39 were valued below USD1 billion.

Half of the world’s unicorns are companies engaged in financial technology, software services, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and health technologies, with cybersecurity and blockchain entering the top 10 industries this year. In addition, though there are none yet related to the metaverse, this game-changer is expected to spawn many future unicorns, according to the Hurun Research Institute.

The Global Unicorn Index ranks non-listed companies established after 2000 and valued at more than USD1 billion each. It is the third time that the Hurun Research Institute has published the list.

Editor: Peter Thomas