Fewer than 1% of unicorns generate more than $1 billion in revenue and operating cash
Select a type of unicorn for characteristics and examples
Type
Quantity
Revenue
Cash from ops
Scale insurgents
9
$10B+
$1B+
Established insurgents
6
$1B+
$1B+
Emerging insurgents
<250
$1B+
Unicorns 1.0
2,210
—
—
—
Notes: Unicorn defined as company with market cap over $1 billion; emerging, established, and scale insurgents are based on latest available financials trailing 12 months from August 2023; market capitalization as of August 2023; cash from ops is adjusted for stock-based compensation; excludes companies from sectors requiring government support; excludes companies with significant state-owned-enterprise shareholding stakes, spin-offs, rebranded or relisted firms, and merged entities
Sources: Crunchbase; CapIQ; company financial statements; Bain analysis
couple sizable revenue with the ability to self-sustain by generating cash
These include Airbnb, BioNTech, Daqo New Energy, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto Networks, and ServiceNow
have achieved significant scale and are self-sustaining
These include JD.com, Li Auto, Meituan, Meta, Pinduoduo, Sunshine Insurance, Tesla, Vipshop, and Xiaomi
have significant customer traction, translating into sizable revenue
These include DoorDash, Etsy, Pinterest, Snap, Spotify, and Uber
have high investor enthusiasm and are focused on customer acquisition
These include Bumble, MongoDB, ReNew Energy, Udemy, UiPath,
and Zomato
Established insurgents
6
$1B+
$1B+
—
Emerging insurgents
<250
$1B+
—
Unicorns 1.0
2,210
—
$1B+
$10B+
9
Scale insurgents
—
$1B+
<250
Emerging insurgents
—
—
2,210
Unicorns 1.0
$1B+
$10B+
9
Scale insurgents
$1B+
$1B+
6
Established insurgents
—
—
2,210
Unicorns 1.0
$1B+
$10B+
9
Scale insurgents
$1B+
$1B+
6
Established insurgents
—
$1B+
<250
Emerging insurgents
