The number of start-ups qualifying as Unicorns (valued at over US$1bn) has grown significantly in the last year and a half.
The exact percentage of unicorns growth in numbers since the beginning of last year comes to 162 percent, with 707 new unicorns emerging in that period. Up until the end of 2020, the total headcount of the mythical herd was just 436.
Recently, researchers at TradingPedia published a comprehensive visual report, where they analysed the volumes, geographical distribution, density and ownership behind unicorns. Today, it is delving deeper into the data, running additional queries and analysis to get a better understanding of the explosive growth we are witnessing.
Fintech is the leading industry with 241 unicorns in total. It is followed by Internet Software and Services, with 217 mythical creatures. At number 3 is E-commerce and direct-to-consumer with, 115 unicorns. As shown in the previous report, fintech is also leading by total valuation of its start-ups. However, the most fascinating aspect of the fintech market is the compelling growth of the number of fintech unicorns.
Fintech unicorns quadruple in less than 18 months
The number of fintech unicorns on New Year’s Eve 2020 was just 56. What happened in 2021 was unheard of – 138 new fintech companies emerged into the herd. Just in the first five months of 2022, another 47 start-ups joined the ranks for a total of 241 fintech unicorns as of June, 2022.
Many other industries also thrived throughout this period. We see Internet Software and Services at number 2 with a massive 274 percent growth. Number three and four in the list are occupied by Cyber-security and Health, both of which saw an improvement of beyond 200 percent, with 267 percent and 207 percent growth in numbers, respectively.
“With the unforeseen events of recent years, the world became even more reliant on the Internet. That is clearly visible by the fact where most of the venture capital went into in the last 18 months. It comes as no surprise that the first five industries by unicorn growth in numbers are fintech, Internet Software & Services, Cyber Security, Health and Big Data, in that order.
Fintech is the undisputed number 1, with banks and decentralised exchanges competing who will shape the future of digital currencies and finance,” said Brian McColl, analyst at TradingPedia.
