The 10 most valuable private companies in the world
6 of the 10 most valuable unicorns are in the U.S.
In the startup world, a ‘unicorn’ is a private company valued at $1 billion or more — and it’s a status all aspiring firms dream of achieving.
This year so far, 38 companies have joined the list of unicorns, according to TechCrunch. These firms span across industries, from supply chain management to financial technology and health tech.
While it’s not as rare as it once was for a startup to gain unicorn status (some 2,500 firms founded over the past 20 years have reached the milestone, according to research from consultancy Bain & Co.), just a fraction of these companies are able to continue to scale to new heights.
Some of these companies have reached valuations in the hundreds of billions of dollars — and continue to barrel forward. Read on to see which 10 startups from around the world have become the most valuable private firms, according to an analysis of Carbon Finance, CB Insights, and Bloomberg data by Visual Capitalist.
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10. Chime
Coming in at no. 10 is San Francisco-based fintech firm Chime. Since its founding in 2012, the alternative banking platform reached a valuation of $25 billion as of 2021. The company is looking to go public as early as next year, Bloomberg reported in September.
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9. Canva
Graphic design platform Canva has a valuation of $26 billion — down from a high of about $40 billion three years ago. That makes the Sydney, Australia-headquartered company the most valuable startup led by women. This unicorn has also been eyeing an IPO, which could finally come in 2025.
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8. Fanatics
Based in Jacksonville, Florida, sports merchandise company Fanatics is eighth on the list with a valuation of $31 billion, following a $700 million funding round in December 2022.
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7. Databricks
Cloud-based data and artificial intelligence platform Databricks was valued at $43 billion one year ago after raising over $500 million from investors. Co-founder and chief executive Ali Ghodsi said last month that the Silicon Valley-based company is ready for an IPO, but is waiting for the right time.
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6. Revolut
London-based fintech firm Revolut announced a secondary share sale valuing the company at $45 billion in August. According to the company, it is the fastest-growing finance app in 19 markets and is on track to have more than 50 million customers by the end of 2024.
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5. Shein
Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein is the fifth-most valuable unicorn in the world, last valued at $66 billion. Private stock sales by shareholders in January of this year valued the company between $45 and $55 billion, however. While Shein has been reportedly looking at a U.S. IPO for years, the path to a public listing on an American exchange remains uncertain given the company’s ties to China and concerns over the alleged use of forced labor to manufacture its garments.
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4. Stripe
Online payment processing platform Stripe was valued at $70 billion as of July, when venture capital firm Sequoia Capital reportedly bought shares from early investors in the Dublin-based fintech giant.
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3. OpenAI
After a $6.6 billion funding round closed out last week, AI pioneer OpenAI reached a $157 billion valuation — making it the third-most valuable startup in the world.
The ChatGPT-maker said in a blog post following the completion of its funding round that it has also secured a $4 billion credit facility with major banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS). That gives the San Francisco-based company access to $10 billion in liquidity.
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2. SpaceX
Elon Musk’s aerospace firm SpaceX is worth more than $200 billion, a tender offer launched in the second half of 2024 shows. Its billionaire CEO — and the richest person in the world — owns an estimated 42% stake in the company, according to Forbes.
Although SpaceX is based in Hawthorne, California, Musk is reportedly looking to move its headquarters to Texas, where his other company, electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA), is currently situated.
Musk’s AI venture and OpenAI competitor, xAI, also became a unicorn this year with a $24 billion valuation.
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1. ByteDance
ByteDance, parent company to popular social media platform TikTok, is the most valuable startup in the world. Valued at roughly $225 billion, the Chinese technology firm is looking to expand with its own AI chips and models to compete with Chinese rivals.