It's not that Silicon Valley can't afford to go, but Shanghai offers better value for money

On June 25th, Hurun Research Institute released

The 2026 Global Unicorn List，

Listed the global post-00s generation

A non listed company worth over 1 billion US dollars.

Ranking display

1603 unicorns worldwide,

The total value is 54 trillion yuan.

806 companies in the United States lead the way,

China ranks second globally with 381 companies.

Shanghai, 74 companies!

Ranked second nationwide,

Fourth globally.

A net increase of 10 companies per year. More than London, second only to San Francisco, New York, and Beijing.

Today, let's not talk about empty topics, just talk about what Shanghai really stands for behind this list.

01. Both China and the United States, Shanghai firmly holds the fourth place in the world

First, consider the overall situation.

There are 1603 unicorns worldwide, distributed in 52 countries and 299 cities. 806 in the United States, accounting for 50.3% of the global total; China has 381, ranking second. China and the United States together account for approximately 74% of the global total.

Hurun Group Chairman Hurun said something very heart wrenching: "In the future, the global innovation discourse will increasingly be concentrated in the hands of a very small number of top science and technology innovation cities

Which cities?

222 in San Francisco,

141 in New York,

86 in Beijing,

#74 households in Shanghai.

Among the top four in the world, Shanghai holds one seat. This is not luck, it's strength.

It is worth mentioning that the top five cities in China, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, have a total of 253 unicorns, accounting for two-thirds of the country's total. Innovation resources are highly concentrated, and the siphon effect of top cities is becoming increasingly strong.

Among these five cities, Shanghai has the largest increase. The net increase of 10 companies in a year is slightly less than Beijing (+11 companies), but stronger than Shenzhen (+7 companies), Hangzhou (+3 companies), and Guangzhou (+1 company).

Growth rate speaks for itself. Shanghai is accelerating.

Why is Shanghai ranked second in the country?

74 unicorns, ranked second in the country, did not come out of thin air.

Let's talk about the sign first. Among the top ten unicorns in China, Shanghai holds two seats.

Xiaohongshu, 340 billion yuan. From a grass planting community to a lifestyle platform, Xiaohongshu's valuation has increased by 163 billion yuan in a year. This is not simply 'the community has grown', but the imagination of Chinese consumer brands and content e-commerce is being re priced.

MiHoYo, 200 billion yuan. As the only game company among the top ten unicorns in China, Mihayou has swept the world with products such as Genshin Impact, Collapse, and has been among the top unicorns in Chinese games. A valuation of 200 billion is the most direct vote for the story of "Chinese games going global".

But Shanghai has more than just big brands.

74 unicorns are covered. Multiple tracks including fintech, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, media entertainment, gaming, and more. In Hurun's words, Shanghai is' balanced in multiple tracks'.

What's the meaning of this? The meaning is that Shanghai is not supported by one or two air vents, but by a sufficiently thick and wide industrial ecosystem.

Take another look around. The five cities in the Yangtze River Delta - Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, and Hefei - make up a total of 133 cities on the list, accounting for 35% of the total number of unicorns in the country. This is the "highest density and strongest level urban agglomeration matrix" in China's innovation map.

Hangzhou has DeepSeek (340 billion yuan) and Ant Group (592 billion yuan); Suzhou has a paper stacking game (25 billion yuan); Hefei has Changxin Technology (ranked 28th in the global top 100).

Shanghai is the leader of this innovation highland.

03. There are 80 companies in the Greater Bay Area and 10 in Chengdu, but Shanghai remains at the table

After the list was released, celebrations were held everywhere.

There are a total of 80 unicorns on the list in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, an increase of 8 compared to last year, accounting for 21% of the national total. Among them, there are 44 in Shenzhen, 24 in Guangzhou, 4 in Dongguan, 2 in Zhuhai, and 5 in Hong Kong.

Shenzhen's robotics industry has gathered 8 unicorns, including DJI (250 billion yuan). Hurun specifically mentioned that Shenzhen is the city in China with the fastest narrowing gap compared to Beijing.

Chengdu has 10 companies on the list, an increase of 1 from last year, and 2 new companies on the list. Medical Alliance (27 billion yuan), Wofei Changkong (12 billion yuan), Shuyi Shaoxiancao (6.8 billion yuan) - from digital healthcare to low altitude drones to new tea drinks, Chengdu's unicorn map is equally diverse.

However strong the Greater Bay Area is and how Chengdu is catching up, the position of Shanghai's 74 companies is difficult to shake in the short term.

Beijing ranks first with 86 companies, Shanghai ranks second with 74 companies, and Shenzhen ranks third with 44 companies. The gap is 30 companies. This is not a small number.

Moreover, Shanghai's growth momentum continues, with a net increase of 10 companies per year, and an average of one new unicorn being born in Shanghai every month.

There are 1603 unicorns worldwide with a total value of 54 trillion yuan.

This is a competition about the future. Whoever has more unicorns has more possibilities.

In this competition, there are 74 companies in Shanghai, ranking fourth globally.

It's not that Silicon Valley can't afford to go, but Shanghai is more cost-effective, with the most complete industrial chain, the most active capital, and the most open talent policies.

Numbers speak

Strength reveals the true chapter

Has your company been listed?

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*Data source for this article: Hurun Research Institute's "2026 Global Unicorn List"*