Each year thousands of entrepreneurs begin their journey in the business world and create various products and services to launch into the market. The more innovative the business, the higher the risks also become. However, when the goal of winning over consumers is achieved, a well-executed good idea can ultimately become one of the most valuable startups in the world.
The most up-to-date list is provided by Wikipedia, which takes into account transactions closed in near real time. We have combined its list withCBInsights ‘ databases to create the top 10 unicorn startups in the world, i.e., those that have exceeded a valuation of $1 billion.
Here is the list of the ten highest-valued startups:
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has become the world’s most valuable company thanks to a share buyback program, through which employees and former employees sold shares worth $6.6 billion. As a result, the company chaired by Sam Altman achieved a valuation of $500 billion (around €425 billion), surpassing SpaceX, which had led the ranking until now.
At the beginning of the year, OpenAI was valued at $300 billion following a deal led by SoftBank. In less than a year, that figure has risen by 67%. Among the buyers of shares were funds such as Thrive Capital, Dragoneer, MGX (Abu Dhabi), and T. Rowe Price. Although the program allowed sales of up to $10.3 billion, it closed below the limit, suggesting that many employees preferred to hold on to their shares, confident in the company’s long-term potential.
Until now, Microsoft was the company’s majority investor. In 2023, the tech giant announced a €10 billion investment in OpenAI to integrate its technologies into tools such as Bing, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Teams, Canva, and even LinkedIn.
Since then, Altman’s company has signed million-dollar contracts with many other companies such as Coca-Cola; the consulting firm Bain&Company; Nvidia, which will invest up to $100 billion to boost its AI infrastructure; and Oracle, in a $300 billion cloud computing deal.
Thanks to the great success and million-dollar contracts that the technology company has reaped, its ascent on the list of the world’s most famous companies has been stellar. Just two years ago, OpenAI was not even part of the top 10 most valuable companies in the world.
With the rise of OpenAI, the aerospace transportation company founded by Elon Musk in 2002, was once again relegated to second place, as it had been in 2024. SpaceX is currently valued at an estimated $425 billion, up 21.43% from March this year, when it was valued at $350 billion, and up 183.33% from 2024, when it was valued at $150 billion.
This company has revolutionized the aerospace industry with its reusable rocket technology. Its ambition to colonize Mars and its success with the Starlink program, which offers satellite internet globally, has made it a leader in the sector.
Founded in 2012 by Zhang Yimin in China, it is the parent company of TikTok, the social network of the moment. However, its success began with the launch in 2016 of its short video application Douying, the Chinese version of TikTok and its predecessor. In 2017, ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, a key move in the creation of TikTok.
Currently, the company has dropped one place in the ranking, falling from second to third. However, the company’s value has increased by 5% compared to the first half of 2024, rising from $300 billion to $315 billion. In 2024, its estimated value was $225 billion.
This momentum was also thanks to a new share buyback program, although only for US employees.
Another major rise in recent months has been that of xAI, Elon Musk’s company, which seeks to develop artificial intelligence with a different approach to that of OpenAI and DeepMind. Its chatbot Grok, integrated into X (Twitter), is just the beginning of its vision to build an AI that is “more transparent and aligned with human values,” according to the official version. Like Anthropic, the company was nowhere near the top 10 most valuable companies in the world in 2024.
At the beginning of 2025, the company ranked 8th, with an approximate valuation of $50 billion. But thanks to various financial backers and the latest round of financing of more than $10 billion, which includes investments from Valor Capital, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Prince Al Waleed bin Talal through his Kingdom Holding Co., the company has reached a valuation of $200 billion, 300% more than just a few months ago.
These are also estimated values, as it is a private company and its operations are not public. The latter was reported by Bloomberg.
We continue with the rise of companies specializing in AI. Now it’s the turn of another heavyweight in the tech landscape, Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic specializes in developing ethical and safe AI. Its model Claude competes directly with ChatGPT and has attracted million-dollar investments, including from Amazon and Google. Last year, the company was not even in the top 20, and at the beginning of this year, it burst onto the scene in 7th place, with a market valuation of $60 billion.
A few months later, the company climbed two positions, doubling its valuation, which now stands at $183 billion. The momentum was thanks to the closing of a $13 billion financing round last September.
Despite increasing its valuation by almost $40 billion, Databriks, the enterprise software company founded in 2023, remains in sixth place, the same position it held at the beginning of 2025.
Created in 2013, it is a company in the enterprise software sector, pioneering the development of a Lakehouse platform, which integrates and unifies a Data Warehouse and a Data Lake, offering enhanced capabilities. It specializes in data engineering, data science, machine learning, and business analytics, and over 700,000 companies already trust its solution.
It is currently valued at $100 billion. In March, its value was $62 billion, and in 2024, it was be $43 billion. The valuation was confirmed by the company itself after closing a $1 billion Series K funding round early last month.
This fintech based in San Francisco, California (USA) and Dublin (Ireland), has Khosla Ventures, LowercaseCapital, and capitalG as main investors. Stripe offers payment services to both individual customers and businesses.
Despite reaching a value of $91.5 billion, up 30.7% from the beginning of the year and 83% from 2024, Stripe dropped three places in the rankings.
Binance appears in eighth place, having not been in the top 10 at the beginning of the year. And, although it is a private company and estimating its valuation is a complex task, analysts calculate that it could reach $80-90 billion.
According to a report by Metatech Insight, as of December 2024, Binance Coins’ market capitalization was approximately $99.5 billion, based on a circulating supply of 144 million BNB and a price range of $690 to $775 per BNB. Last March, the Abu Dhabi-backed investment group MGX made a $2 billion cryptocurrency investment in Binance, boosting its valuation.
Binance is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms, founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in Canada, although it quickly moved its operations outside the country due to local regulations. Its flagship product is Binance Coin (BNB), its native token that was born on the Ethereum network and later migrated to Binance Chain.
This is the Chinese “fast-fashion” company known worldwide for its low-cost clothing manufactured directly in China. Quickly, since its inception in 2002 selling wedding dresses online, it has managed to position itself as one of the largest online fashion companies and now sells its products in over 150 countries.
Its market valuation has improved, rising from $50 billion at the beginning of the year to its current valuation of $66 billion. However, this growth has not prevented it from falling four places in the rankings, completely overtaken by the sharp rises of AI and crypto companies.
Today, the company is at the center of controversy with the imminent opening of its first physical stores in Europe, specifically in Paris.
Maintaining the position he held at the beginning of 2025, the top 10 of the world’s most valuable startups is completed by Canva, with a market value of $42 billion, $10 billion more than at the beginning at the year. While it has appreciated nearly 26% compared to 2024, the company has yet to reach the numbers of 2023, when it was valued at $40 billion.
Founded in 2012, this company is responsible for the famous simplified and free graphic design software and website Canva. Its headquarters is in Surry Hills, Australia. The facilities it offers to its users, democratizing access to design tools, have been key to its success. Additionally, in recent times it has formed valuable alliances, integrating with other platforms such as Filkers, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. And more recently, it has joined the AI fever, integrating new functions and tools driven by this technology.
The top 10 for the second half of the year clearly shows the momentum that technology companies specializing in artificial intelligence have had around the world. OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI climbed the ranks in record time.
Anthropic has positioned itself with Claude as an alternative to ChatGPT, evolving with significant improvements in language comprehension and the generation of more accurate and contextualized responses. The company has reinforced its growth strategy with strategic alliances with large technology companies, committing to more controlled and secure AI development.
On the other hand, xAI has adopted a different philosophy, promoting AI with less moderation. Its most visible product to date, Grok, allows access to real-time data to generate more up-to-date and relevant responses. In addition, xAI has been exploring broader applications in sectors such as robotics and automation, with potential synergies with Tesla and other companies in Musk’s ecosystem.
The company that lost its place in the top 10 compared to the beginning of the year was Revolut, a neobank founded in the United Kingdom.
As has been the case for some time, American companies continue to take over many of the places in the top of the world’s most valuable startups, relegating those of Chinese origin.
60% of the top 10 belongs to the United States, while the remaining 40% is distributed among China, Australia, and Canada.
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