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Judy Xue

China is breeding a new generation of unicorns – start-ups currently valued at US$1 billion or more – at an accelerating pace, cementing its place alongside the United States in a major global index.
The world’s second-largest economy saw 381 Chinese unicorns on the 2026 Hurun Global Unicorn Index, an increase of 38 from last year. The annual list, released on Tuesday, ranks the world’s most valuable start-ups.
China now mints a new unicorn every five days on average, double last year’s pace of one every 10 days, the ranking agency said.
ByteDance, the Chinese technology company behind TikTok and its domestic sister app, Douyin, was ranked third with a valuation of 3.3 trillion yuan (US$465 billion). Ahead of it were ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and American AI company Anthropic, which ranked first and was valued at US$965 billion.
The US maintained its lead with 806 unicorns, up 48 from last year, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the global total. The United Kingdom overtook India to capture third place, with 70 unicorns against 61.
The rankings highlight a deepening valuation divide between the world’s two biggest economies. As the US pours capital into generative AI, China is doubling down on chips, robotics and green technology.
Semiconductors now account for 13 per cent of the country’s unicorns, narrowly ahead of artificial intelligence at 12 per cent, with life sciences, green technology and advanced robotics rounding out the top five.
By contrast, AI companies account for 36 per cent of the total unicorn valuation globally, with the US home to the lion’s share of high-value foundation model start-ups.
But as China’s unicorn expansion tilts decisively towards hardware and industrial technology, DeepSeek was among the biggest outliers on the list. The Hangzhou-based generative AI start-up debuted as the world’s highest-valued new entrant at 340 billion yuan, vaulting straight into the global top 15 and tying with social media app RedNote for fourth place in China.
Regionally, Beijing and Shanghai were mainland China’s leading hubs for AI and fintech clusters, while the Greater Bay Area – comprising Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province – hosted 80 unicorns, the index showed.
Hong Kong had five unicorns on the list, unchanged from last year. The city’s most prominent was Klook, a travel experiences platform founded in 2014.
“The core inflection point is that AI has completely rewritten the logic of sector value,” Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of the Hurun list, was quoted as saying by Chinese media.
“China’s strength is in semiconductors, vertical AI, new energy and industrial robots – an application- and manufacturing-driven playbook, while the US leads in foundation models, universal software as a service, life sciences and fintech infrastructure.”


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The tech firm is valued behind only OpenAI and Anthropic – while DeepSeek enters the global top 15


The tech firm is valued behind only OpenAI and Anthropic – while DeepSeek enters the global top 15.


China’s unicorns rise to 381 as ByteDance ranks in top 3 globally: Hurun index

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The tech firm is valued behind only OpenAI and Anthropic – while DeepSeek enters the global top 15

The tech firm is valued behind only OpenAI and Anthropic – while DeepSeek enters the global top 15