I The World’s Top 5 Most Valuable Unicorns

Startups

The World’s Top 5 Most Valuable Unicorns

In 2021, the world saw the highest rate of startups hitting a $1 billion valuation ever, with 136 new unicorns born in Q2 2021 alone, according to Forbes.

Here are the five most valuable unicorn startups in the world, according to CBInsights. The firms were chosen based on Forbes Middle East’s definition of a unicorn—a private company with a valuation of over $1 billion and no more than seven years old. Figures are as of December 2021.

Revolut

Cofounders: Nik Storonsky; Vlad Yatsenko

Value: $33 billion Total funding: $1.7 billion Last round of funding: $800 million in July 2021 Industry: Fintech / Digital banking Country: U.K. Established: 2015 London-based Fintech Revolut was founded by billionaires Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko in 2015. Forbes estimated Storonsky’s net worth at $7.1 billion and Yatsenko’s at $1.1 billion as of December 13, 2021. Revolut offers currency exchange, surcharge-free ATMs, global transfer payments, and budgeting services. The company has 16 million customers worldwide. It became the U.K.’s most valuable startup in July 2021 when it announced that it had raised $800 million in a Series E round from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global Management. This increased the startup’s value to $33 billion. Revolut’s value increased by 500% in just over a year—it was worth $5.5 billion in February 2020.

Sam Bankman

FTX

Cofounders: Sam Bankman-Fried; Gary Wang Value: $25 billion Total funding: $1.4 billion Last round of funding: $420.7 million in October 2021 Industry: Fintech - Cryptocurrency Exchange Country: Bahamas Established: 2019 The value of Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange platform, FTX, jumped by around 38.9% from $18 billion to $25 billion when it announced a $420.7 million funding round in October 2021 from 69 investors, including Iconiq Growth, Tiger Global, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. FTX was founded by Gary Wang and billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried in 2019. Following the startup’s July fundraising of $900 million, Bankman-Fried, who owns about half of FTX, became the world’s richest 29-yearold, with a net worth of $22.5 billion at that time. The October funding round raised his wealth to $26.5 billion, according to Forbes.

J&T Express

Cofounders: Jet Lee; Tony Chen

Value: $20 billion Total funding: $4.6 billion Last round of funding: $2.5 billion in November 2021

Industry: Logistics Country: Indonesia Established: 2015 Indonesian courier J&T Express reached a valuation of $20 billion after raising $2.5 billion in funding in late November 2021, according to a report by Reuters. The Catalyst. Devoted Health said it would also announce $80 million in additional Series D funding at a later date, bringing its total funding to nearly $2 billion.

Faire’s value jumped from $7 billion in June 2021 to $12.4 billion.

startup is planning an IPO in Q1 2022, when it will list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The six-year-old unicorn was founded by Jet Lee and Tony Chen, according to Crunchbase. It began operations in Indonesia and expanded to 13 countries worldwide, launching J&T Express U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, and Egypt in June 2021. The startup’s network covers 2.5 billion people globally, with over 240 distribution centers and more than 400,000 service providers.

Devoted Health

Cofounders: Ed Park; Todd Park Value: $12.6 billion Total funding: $1.99 billion Last round of funding: $1.2 billion in October 2021 Industry: Healthcare Country: U.S. Established: 2017 Founded in 2017 by brothers Todd and Ed Park, Devoted Health is a U.S.-based healthcare company that provides services for senior citizens. On October 8, 2021, the company announced that it had closed a $1.1 billion Series D funding round, with Uprising and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 leading with the most significant investment. Other investors included GIC, Andreessen Horowitz, ICONIQ Growth, Maverick, and General Faire

Cofounders: Max Rhodes; Daniele Perito; Marcelo Cortes; Jeff Kolovson Value: $12.4 billion Total funding: More than $1 billion Last round of funding: $400 million in November 2021

Industry: E-commerce Country: U.S. Established: 2017 U.S.-based online marketplace Faire’s total funding reached over $1 billion when it announced a $400 million Series G round in November 2021. The series was co-led by Durable Capital Partners LP, D1 Capital Partners, and Dragoneer Investment Group. Faire’s value jumped from $7 billion in June 2021 to $12.4 billion. In just over a year, its value increased around five times— in October 2020 it was worth $2.5 billion. Today, the four-year-old startup serves 300,000 retailers across North America and Europe, as well as 40,000 brands from over 80 countries.

• Correction •

Our December 2021 issue erroneously used a wrong image to represent the late Jai Hari Dalmia in the "2021's Lost Billionaires" leaderboard. We sincerely regret the error.