This will be a short post, because my definition of Unicorn is over $1 billion in realized value (in either IPO or Trade Sale) and that is a very short list. I wrote my rationale for keeping out the ones with headline valuations over $1 billion here. I then look at them by location, using 6 buckets – Silicon Valley, New York, London, Rest of Europe, Rest of America, Rest of World.
Spoiler Alert: Silicon Valley is still in the lead but other centers are sharing in the spoils.
Realized over $1 billion (“the podium”)
- Xero
Score: Silicon Valley = 1, Rest of World = 1.
Will know soon (Fintech IPO watch list)
- Prosper
- OnDeck
- Sofi
Score: Silicon Valley = 2, New York = 1.
Big rounds but who knows what will happen:
- Wonga
- Square
- Stripe
- Klarna
Score: Silicon Valley = 2, London = 1, Rest of Europe = 2.
Not Unicorns but nearly (over $750m) and realized:
- Braintree $800m
- Climate Corp $930m
- Trusteer $900m
- Monetize $780m
Score: Silicon Valley = 1, London = 1, Rest of America = 2