The Most Valuable Industries Dominated by Unicorn Startups in 2018

When a privately held company reaches a $1 billion valuation it becomes a Unicorn. For many startups, reaching this milestone is a blessing; to others it is perhaps a curse. SmallBusinessPrices, a UK-based website, has conducted a study that shows which sectors and industries have fared well in the past and Unicorn landscape like in 2018 and beyond. The study also reveals industries with the most unicorn startups. The study also highlights the most profitable sectors, as well as, the industries with the biggest success and failures.

The top 3 more valuable sectors include:
1. Entertainment/E-commerce/Media – This sector, in the last year, has risen a combined Unicorn valuation of $16.40 billion with businesses such as Soundhound, Lime or Meicai.
2. FinTech – This industry is becoming one of the most productive, rising up to $16.30 billion. Bitman Technologies and Nubank startups can be found within this sector.
3. Tech – This sector is valued at $3.40 billion. YITU Technology and 17zuoye are the two Chinese startups which conform this industry.

Newnicorns (New Unicorns) in 2018

Once a mythical creature, a unicorn company is a startup with a valuation of $1 billion and is becoming increasingly more achievable. This shows a map of ‘Newnicorns’, which are startups that joined the list in 2018 and the value of each industry.

Startup Winners & Losers By Sector & Industry

Which industry has the highest success rate? Below shows the number of successful investments compared to the number of failures for each industry.