{"slug": "chinas-unicorns-rise-to-381-as-bytedance-ranks-in-top-3-globally-hurun-index", "title": "China’s unicorns rise to 381 as ByteDance ranks in top 3 globally: Hurun index", "summary": "China's unicorn count rose to 381 in the 2026 Hurun Global Unicorn Index, up 38 from last year, with ByteDance ranking third globally behind OpenAI and Anthropic. The US leads with 806 unicorns, while China now produces a new unicorn every five days, double last year's pace.", "body_md": "# China’s unicorns rise to 381 as ByteDance ranks in top 3 globally: Hurun index\n\nThe tech firm is valued behind only OpenAI and Anthropic – while DeepSeek enters the global top 15\n\nChina is breeding a new generation of unicorns – start-ups currently valued at US$1 billion or more – at an accelerating pace, cementing its place alongside the United States in a major global index.\n\nThe world’s second-largest economy saw 381 Chinese unicorns on the 2026 Hurun Global Unicorn Index, an increase of 38 from last year. The annual list, released on Tuesday, ranks the world’s most valuable start-ups.\n\nChina now mints a new unicorn every five days on average, double last year’s pace of one every 10 days, the ranking agency said.\n\n[ByteDance](https://www.scmp.com/topics/bytedance?module=inline&pgtype=article), the Chinese technology company behind\n\n[TikTok](https://www.scmp.com/topics/tiktok?module=inline&pgtype=article)and its domestic sister app,\n\n[Douyin](https://www.scmp.com/topics/douyin?module=inline&pgtype=article), was ranked third with a valuation of 3.3 trillion yuan (US$465 billion). Ahead of it were ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and American AI company Anthropic, which ranked first and was valued at US$965 billion.\n\nThe US maintained its lead with 806 unicorns, up 48 from last year, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the global total. The United Kingdom overtook India to capture third place, with 70 unicorns against 61.\n\nThe rankings highlight a deepening valuation divide between the world’s two biggest economies. As the US pours capital into generative AI, China is doubling down on chips, robotics and green technology.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-unicorns-rise-to-381-as-bytedance-ranks-in-top-3-globally-hurun-index", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3358497/chinas-unicorns-rise-381-bytedance-ranks-top-3-globally-hurun-index?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-06-26 09:00:22+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-26 09:16:01.581289+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-startups", "artificial-intelligence", "generative-ai", "ai-research"], "entities": ["ByteDance", "OpenAI", "Anthropic", "DeepSeek", "Hurun Global Unicorn Index", "TikTok", "Douyin"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-unicorns-rise-to-381-as-bytedance-ranks-in-top-3-globally-hurun-index", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-unicorns-rise-to-381-as-bytedance-ranks-in-top-3-globally-hurun-index.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-unicorns-rise-to-381-as-bytedance-ranks-in-top-3-globally-hurun-index.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-unicorns-rise-to-381-as-bytedance-ranks-in-top-3-globally-hurun-index.jsonld"}}