Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2025
Leading research institution reveals UK Leads Europe in Startup Value Creation
Hurun UK Global Unicorn Index 2025 list recognizes 11 new unicorns in Europe, 8 of which are British
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Hurun UK Global Unicorn Index identifies 1,523 unicorns worldwide – privately owned companies founded after 2000, each valued at US$1 billion or more
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203 new unicorns were minted in the past year, setting a new world record
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UK ranks 4th in the world for unicorns, behind only the US, China and India, and ranks 1st in Europe.
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FinTech, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence continue to be the leading sectors in the UK.
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UK remains leading tech capital for Europe
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Nearly one-third of the world's unicorns are now AI-related
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Revolut is the most valuable company to appear in the UK, valued at US$45bn. Klarna is the most valuable in the EU, at US$14bn.
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OnlyFans, Quantinuum, and Exohood Labs among UK's newest unicorns.
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The UK is the only European country to make it to the Global Top 10 Unicorns.
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Hurun Chairman: “We are creating the only European company to break into the global Top 10"
London, UK — 26 June 2025
The Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2025, released today by the Hurun Research Institute, reveals that the United Kingdom is the undisputed leader of the European startup ecosystem, consolidating its position as Europe’s No.1 hub for high-value technology companies.
The report identifies 1,523 unicorns worldwide — privately owned companies founded after 2000, each valued at US$1 billion or more. This represents a new world record and a 5% rise year-on-year. Despite global economic uncertainty, unicorn creation continues at pace: 203 new unicorns were minted in the past year, one every two days.
United Kingdom: Europe’s Startup Powerhouse
The UK ranks 4th in the world for unicorns behind only the US, China and India.
The UK now boasts 61 unicorns, up +8 year-on-year, with a combined valuation of US$213bn.
FinTech leads, followed by blockchain and artificial intelligence.
London reinforces its position as Europe’s tech capital, hosting 48 unicorn headquarters, more than Paris and Berlin combined.
Biggest UK value gainers:
• Revolut (FinTech), US$45bn
• Blockchain.com (Blockchain), US$14bn
• Checkout.com (FinTech), US$9.4bn
New UK unicorns this year include:
• OnlyFans (Social Media), US$8bn
• Quantinuum (Quantum Computing), US$5.3bn
• Exohood Labs (AI/Blockchain), US$3.7bn
European Union: Large Economy, Modest Growth
In contrast to the UK's 8 new unicorns, the entire European Union (27 countries combined) has:
112 unicorns in total, adding only +3 this year.
Germany (36) and France (30) lead within the EU, but the pace of unicorn creation remains slow, with activity concentrated in industrial tech and SaaS.
Despite contributing ~20% of global GDP, the EU accounts for <8% of the world’s unicorns.
UK vs EU — Summary Table
The UK added more new unicorns this year than France and Germany combined.
UK and EU in Global Context — The Scale of the Competition
While the UK is the clear leader in Europe, the global unicorn landscape is dominated by two superpowers: the United States and China.
• USA: 758 unicorns — 50% of world total, adding 108 new unicorns this year.
• China: 343 unicorns — 23% of world total; 19 went public last year.
• India: 64 unicorns — third globally, one ahead of the UK.
• UK: 61 unicorns — Europe’s No.1 and the world’s No.4.
• EU (27 countries combined): 112 unicorns — still behind the UK when measured per economy.
In the global Top 10 most valuable unicorns, the UK is the only European country represented:
The remaining Top 10 are dominated by AI and deep tech companies from the US and China, including:
• SpaceX (US$350bn) — US
• OpenAI (US$300bn) — US
• ByteDance (US$300bn) — China
• xAI (US$115bn) — US
• Anthropic (US$62bn) — US
The UK is the only country outside the US and China with a unicorn in the global Top 10.
No EU company appears in the Top 10.
This underlines that the UK is not only Europe’s leader, it is competing at the highest global tier.
AI Drives Global Value
Nearly one-third of the world’s unicorns are now AI-related, reflecting a structural shift.
The UK’s deep tech ecosystem — quantum (Quantinuum), AI (Exohood Labs), cybersecurity (CMR Surgical) — positions the country alongside the US and China in frontier technologies.
“The data is clear: the UK is the startup capital of Europe. We are producing unicorns faster, scaling them faster, and creating the only European company to break into the global Top 10.”
— Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman & Chief Researcher, Hurun Report
About Hurun Report
Promoting Entrepreneurship Through Lists and Research
Oxford, Shanghai, Mumbai
Established in the United Kingdom in 1999, Hurun is a research and media group, promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. Widely regarded as an opinion-leader in the world of business, Hurun generated 8 billion views on the Hurun brand in 2023, mainly in China and India, and recently expanding to the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
Best-known for the Hurun Rich List series, telling the stories of the world’s successful entrepreneurs in China, India and the world, Hurun’s other key series focus on young businesses and entrepreneurs, through the Hurun Unicorns Index, two Hurun Future Unicorns indices, the Hurun Uth series and the Hurun Pioneers series.
Hurun has grown to become the world’s largest list compiler for start-ups, ranking over 3000 start-ups across the world through its annual Hurun Global Unicorns Index (startups with a valuation of US$1bn+), and two Hurun Future Unicorn Indexes: Gazelles, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within three years, and Cheetahs, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within five years.
The Hurun Pioneering Young Startups and Entrepreneurs series focuses on startups set up within the last ten years and founders aged 45 or under.
The Hurun Uth series includes the Under25s, Under30s, Under35s and Under40s awards, representing the cream of each generation of young entrepreneurs who have founded businesses with a social impact and worth US$1m, US$10m, US$50m and US$100m respectively.
Other lists include the Hurun 500 series, ranking the most valuable companies in the world, China and India, the Hurun Global High Schools List, ranking the world’s best independent high schools, the Hurun Philanthropy List, ranking the biggest philanthropists and the Hurun Art List, ranking the world’s most successful artists alive today.
Hurun provides research reports co-branded with some of the world’s leading financial institutions and regional governments.
Hurun hosts high-profile events across China and India, as well as London, Paris, New York, LA, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Dubai and Singapore.
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