Future unicorns in GBA unveiled at an event in Guangzhou

A list of future unicorns in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay was unveiled during an innovation and entrepreneurship achievements fair and an overseas talent exchange conference in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Monday.

The list, jointly launched by Guangzhou Industrial Investment Group and global research firm Hurun Report, aimed at identifying and nurturing more future unicorn companies in the GBA, the organizers said.

"Through the list, we can truly feel the innovation and entrepreneurial vitality of the GBA," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, in a video message to congratulate the launch of the list.

Over 70 unicorn companies have been identified in the GBA on the global unicorn list, according to Hoogewerf.

In 2025, a total of 210 companies from Guangzhou were selected in the list. Among them, there are 26 unicorn innovation enterprises, 105 future unicorn innovation enterprises, and 79 seed unicorn enterprises.

The number of future unicorn innovation enterprises from Guangzhou rose by 4 percent compared to last year, and the seed unicorn enterprises saw a 13 percent increase.

Additionally, another list focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship among overseas returnees was also released on Monday during the overseas talent exchange conference.

The 2025 list of most influential emerging overseas returnee startups and the big data monitoring report on listed overseas returnee startups were released by the service center for overseas students and experts of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in collaboration with related organizations.

According to the list, the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region remain the core hubs for the development of overseas returnee startups, with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area showing particularly immense potential.

The core competitiveness of overseas-founded enterprises continues to focus on the hard technology sector, with the biopharmaceutical industry topping the industry's distribution list for six consecutive years.