On January 20, the Hurun Research Institute released the Hurun Future Unicorns: Global Gazelles Index 2025, a list of the world's start-ups founded in the 2000s, not yet listed on a public exchange and most likely to "go unicorn," (meaning hitting a valuation of 1 billion USD) within three years (by 2028). The valuations were as of October 31, 2025. This is the fifth year the institute has launched the Hurun Gazelles Index on a global level.
The institute identified 819 Gazelles worldwide, marking a 19% increase from the figure of 688 recorded two years ago. 18%, or 146, were 'promoted' from last year's index, whilst 5% or 42, were 'demoted,' no longer making the cut. 613 from last year's index still make the cut. There were 206 new faces, including 29 in FinTech, 28 in AI, 15 each in SaaS and robotics. Among the newcomers, 64 are distributed in the United States, 55 in China, and 18 in India.
Of the 146 promoted enterprises, 71 achieved unicorn status, 33 went public, and 42 were acquired. Geographically, 82 were based in the USA and 26 in China. In terms of sector distribution, BioTech led with 23 enterprises, followed by FinTech and AI with 16 each. Healthcare was the sector most impacted by Hurun Gazelles, followed by financial services and business management solutions. Specifically, BioTech, FinTech and SaaS led, followed by AI, HealthTech and Semiconductor. 63% sell software and services, with only 37% selling physical products. 66% primarily target business clients, with the remaining 34% operating in consumer markets.
Hurun Gazelles are now spread across 43 countries and regions, five more than last year, and are located in 220 cities, an increase from 204 cities in the previous year. Over 150 countries still have no known Hurun Gazelles. The USA and China led with 302 and 278 Hurun Gazelles respectively, together making up 71% of the global total. The UK ranked third with 36, a decrease of 9, followed by India with 34, up 3.
In terms of continent, Asia overtook North America as the leading continent for creating the most Gazelles globally, followed by Europe. By city, San Francisco became the world's Hurun Gazelle capital, followed by Shanghai, Beijing, New York, Shenzhen and London.
Three companies from Changsha made the list. They are SpeedBot (Industry: Robotics), Saturnbird (Industry: Food & Beverage), and Miracle Miles (Industry: Consumer Goods).
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Kuang Zhenzhen
Chinese source: Changsha Evening News
