China ranks second for new unicorns in 2023

An aerial view of Canton Tower in Guangzhou

Led mainly by artificial intelligence, semiconductors and new energy, China developed 56 new unicorns in 2023, following the United States’ 70 such firms, according to a global unicorn index released this week, according to China Daily.

The world has minted one unicorn — privately held startups with valuations of $1 billion or more — every two days over the past year to take the total of known unicorns in the world to a new record, according to the index, which was released by the Hurun Research Institute in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

Since 2019, the number of unicorns has tripled from 494 to 1,453. They are based in 53 countries and 291 cities, ushering in an explosion of new technologies to the market, according to the index.

The index was released during the Guangzhou Annual Investment Conference held earlier this week. The conference, which focused on promoting the city’s business and investment environment, attracted more than 1,000 government officials and business representatives from 18 countries and regions.

Additionally, a large number of domestic and foreign investment projects were signed during the conference.

In the city’s Huadu district, 45 new investment projects worth 75 billion yuan ($10.37 billion) were inked, involving industries such as low-altitude economy, modern logistics, vehicles, intelligent manufacturing, new energy and digital economy.

Of the projects, 10 are involved in the low-altitude economy, as Huadu, in the northern part of Guangzhou, has been promoting strategic and geographical positions in emerging industries.

Guangzhou, along with Hefei of Anhui province, Hangzhou of Zhejiang province as well as Jiangsu province’s Suzhou and Nanjing, have become the fastest-growing cities in China in terms of new unicorns.

Guangzhou has 24 unicorns — almost equal to that of Israel or Canada. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the number of unicorns now stands at 70, according to the Hurun report.