China's unicorn startups hit 376 by end-2025, ranking second globally
(ECNS) -- China's unicorn enterprises totaled 376 by the end of 2025, up 35 from a year earlier, with combined valuation exceeding $1.4 trillion, according to an industry report released on Thursday.
The report, named the GEI China Potential Unicorn Enterprise Research Report 2026, estimated that the average valuation of Chinese unicorns rose to $3.85 billion, up $510 million from the previous year, while the number of super unicorns-startups valued at over $10 billion-increased to 12.
About 88.6% of the country's unicorns are privately owned and high-tech enterprises made up 66.5%, while 34.8% were classified as "little giant" enterprises that specialize in niche sectors and are highly innovative, the report showed.
Deep-tech has become the defining feature of China's unicorn landscape, the report said, adding that frontier-technology unicorns reached 320 in 2025, representing 85.1% of the total, up 14.9 percentage points year on year.
China's unicorn enterprises currently rank second globally in terms of number, accounting for nearly 30% of the world's total, said Ren Jiarong, deputy director of the High-Tech Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
These enterprises have become an important force driving China's high-quality economic development, Ren added.
