Unicorns on cutting edge of new economy

China's potential unicorn companies－which are considered to have promising future prospects－are drawing increasing attention in the market, a recently-published report said.

"The soaring number of potential unicorn companies is a crucial sign of China's high-quality development of the new economy," said a report on 2021 Chinese potential unicorn companies by the Greatwall Strategy Consultants, a Beijing-headquartered private think tank focusing on new economy.

As the national scientific and technology innovation center, Beijing is home to 117 potential unicorn companies as of the end of 2020, ranking top in China. Shanghai, Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Shenzhen in Guangdong province took the second to fifth spots, nurturing 84, 39, 37 and 32 such companies, respectively.

The think tank said a "potential unicorn" means a China-registered company set up within the last five years with a valuation reaching $100 million, or a company set up for five to nine years valued at over $500 million.

Those 117 potential unicorn companies in Beijing came from 28 industries, including digital medicine, artificial intelligence, robots, aviation and new energy vehicles.

The report also said the number of China's potential unicorns hit a record high in 2020, totaling 425.

Many application scenarios, such as Beijing's COVID-19 control and prevention and the coming 2022 Winter Olympic Games, have boosted the development of AI and robot companies and accelerated their steps to become potential unicorns.

Orion Star Co, a robot developer in Beijing, is one of those potential unicorns.

Fu Sheng, chairman of the company, said their vision is to make robots that can replace low-end and repetitive work, increasing economic efficiency. "In this way, people can make better use of their time and energy on more innovative work," he said.

Orion Star will provide robot services for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Benewake Co, a high-tech company focusing on developing the "eyes of the robots"－LiDAR－in Beijing's Zhongguancun area, is on its way to become a potential unicorn.

"We are not far from becoming a unicorn company now," said Li Yuan, founder and chief executive of Benewake. "I'm looking forward to the day it happens since it will mark the boost of a new economic growth point driven by smart vehicles and intelligent railway system."

Li said becoming a unicorn is the middle-stage for a startup that is on its way to become a leading enterprise in an industry. The increasing number of potential unicorn companies means more possibilities in a vibrant economy.

"The high-end talents, supportive policies, as well as the great entrepreneurial climate are key reasons for Beijing becoming the best land for both unicorns and potential unicorns," Li said. As a LiDAR developer, its partners and clients such as autonomous vehicle producers and high-speed railway technology institutions are mostly based in the capital.

"I believe the potential unicorns will contribute greatly to the country's economy and the research of those companies has reflected the latest direction of the new industries," Li said.

Wang Bin, vice-chairman of the China Association of Technology Entrepreneurs and head of the Beijing high-end technology development institution, said Beijing has put in huge investments to support high-tech startups in recent years, which has attracted a large number of talent to settle down in the capital.

Compared with other cities, Beijing has much more talent resources and bigger investments in high-tech research and development. The city is also the home to most State-owned enterprises and venture capital institutions, which are all advantages in incubating potential and current unicorn companies.