World’s Largest Fintech Unicorns

By far and large, the growth in fintech has witnessed a sharp upward trend since 2010. Due to its huge market and the prevalence of the scope of technological benefits, the fintech industry has ballooned aggressively. The emergence of fintech startups has amplified globally, resulting in massive investments supplementing fintech growth. And such colossal investments have resulted in an upsurge of fintech unicorns.

What is a Unicorn?

A unicorn is a private entity that values at more than $1 billion. Currently, there are more than 1000 unicorns in the world operating in distinct areas and catering to different markets, like Bytedance in China- a technology provider with a valuation of over $150 billion, Shein in China, with a valuation of over $100 billion, and Stripe, a fintech in the USA, that values around $100 billion.

Scenescape of Fintech

There are about 473 fintech unicorns all over the world, and their total market value is estimated to be a little more than $1.8 trillion. The number of startups that gained a unicorn status in 2021 was around 150; in 2022, the number currently stands at 51.

The largest fintech investors that have played a dominating role in changing the landscape of fintech are:

Sequoia Capital – The world’s biggest venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital has invested internationally in more than 1500 organizations across different fields. The company has invested in more than 31 fintechs across the globe, including Razorpay, Klarna, Chime, etc.

Tiger Global Management – A New York-based venture capital firm, that has the biggest portfolio in terms of investments, including Facebook. The company has a keen interest in the UK and Indian markets, where it has invested in over 20 fintech startups like Revolut, Checkout.com, Mambu, Veriff, etc. 

Ribbit Capital – A venture company, especially known for its fintech investments, that has actively invested in North and Latin American startups. The company has invested in more than 20 fintechs like Nubank, Affirm, Robinhood, Coinbase, etc.

Top 25 Fintech Unicorns in the World

1. Visa & Mastercard – The largest payment processing companies in the world, Visa and Mastercard are currently valued at $450 billion and $350 billion, respectively.
2. Ant Group – A Chinese conglomerate valued at $150 billion, provides innovative fintech solutions. It owns Alipay, the largest Super app in the world.
3. Stripe – Valued at approximately $95 billion, this Irish-American company is a fintech that provides e-payment processing software and API (Application Programming Interface) for websites and applications.
4. Klarna – Klarna Bank is a Swedish entity that provides financial services, majorly focusing on digital payments. The company is valued at $46 billion.
5. Nubank – A Brazillian fintech offering digitalized banking solutions, Nubank is the largest fintech bank in Latin America. Valued at a staggering $45 billion, this company is one of the largest fintechs in the world.
6. Checkout.com – Headquartered in the UK, the company provides an online payment platform providing various payment options for several currencies. With a valuation of more than $40 billion, this is one of the largest fintech organizations in the world.
7. Revolut – The epitome of modern-day banking, Revolut provides financial services where customers can manage their money, get prepaid debit cards, operate Forex, trade stocks, and even engage in crypto. Valued at $33, it is one of the most successful fintechs today.
8. FTX – A crypto exchange platform, offering crypto products including leveraged tokens, options, derivatives, etc. Valued at $32 billion, the company is headquartered in the Bahamas.
   
9. Paypal – One of the most popular online payment and money transfer platforms, that has successfully expanded internationally to offer payments and remittances services. This American company has been valued at almost $26 billion this year.
10. Chime Financial, Inc. – An alternative to traditional banking, Chime is an online-only bank that offers banking services without charging any fee to establish a wider market. The company focuses on empowering young individuals and people who have trouble with traditional banks by offering them small credit and guidance tools, and opportunities to improve their credit scores. The company aims to bring peace of mind to its customers. Chime is an American company that has been valued at $25 billion.
11. Ripple – A payment solutions provider for the world’s largest banks, Ripple is a fintech that is breaking barriers to bring the best out of fintech. With its cryptocurrency XRP, Ripple is going against the current to create new possibilities that have earned it a highly reputable position in the fintech fraternity. Valued at $15 billion, this American company is all set to awe us with its inspiring mission and strategies.
12. Blockchain.com – A company focused on offering crypto solutions, like the most popular crypto wallet, Bitcoin transactions, a platform to study Blockchain, APIs to integrate Bitcoin, etc. This $14 billion London-based company has been a pioneer in advancing the engagement and integration of Blockchain and Bitcoin which are said to be the future of fintech.
13. Plaid – A company based in San Francisco, USA, Plaid offers third-party fintech infrastructure for data transfer between fintech providers and banks that enables parties to share user data. The company is currently valued at $13.5 billion, making it one of the biggest fintechs in the world.
14. Brex – Brex is an American company offering everything under the fintech umbrella of credit and loans. This $12.3 billion organization provides business loans, company credit cards, spend management software, and more to establish an efficient fintech credit system.
15. Robinhood – A stock trading and investing platform that charges no commission, Robinhood is valued at $11.2 billion. This American company offers free tools to help people trade and shape their financials in the trading spectrum.
16. Gusto – A payroll services company that provides easy and intelligent payroll systems to help companies efficiently manage employee payrolls, benefits, and more. Valued at $10 billion, this American company has gained a large market in this niche.
17. N26 – A German company valued at $9.23 billion, N26 provides digitalized banking solutions, including money transfers, investments, and many more banking services.
18. Rapyd – A digitalized payment solutions provider that helps businesses operate globally. The solutions focus on providing fintech-as-a-service that enables businesses to scale internationally without creating fintech infrastructures. Valued at $8.75 billion, this UK company offers payment solutions, including remittance, transfers, wallets, etc.
19. Coinbase – The company provides a secure crypto platform that enables sales, purchases, and transfers of cryptocurrencies. Headquartered in the USA, the company is currently valued at $7.8 billion.
20. RazorPay – The company is a payment gateway provider that offers a variety of payment solutions for businesses. Incorporated in 2014, this $7.5-billion-dollar Indian company is steadily increasing its global market.
21. TransferWise – Incorporated in 2010 in London, the company has established an online money transfer system to enable easy cross-border transfers using artificial intelligence to automate currency rates. The company is rapidly expanding and is currently valued at $5 billion.
22. Munzo – Munzo offers an online banking platform based on open banking. Based in the UK, the company values at $4.5 billion presently.
23. Affirm – Headquartered in San Francisco, USA, that focuses on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services for consumers by providing them installment loans at the point of sale. Valued at $4.5 billion, this company has recently gained tremendous global attention for its tactics.
24. Lemonade – A top-rated Insurance company, Lemonade covers several types of insurances using artificial intelligence to stand out in the InsurTech crowd. The company’s value stands at a little more than $4.5 billion, making it one of the largest InsurTechs in the world.
25. Hippo – Another American InsurTech valued at $3 billion, Hippo provides quick and efficient insurance solutions at competitive prices.

Closing Thoughts

The valuation and rate of investments in the fintech industry are growing aggressively, increasing competition and service standards across the globe. As more and more companies enter the market, the adoption, use, and need for innovative solutions increases. With national boundaries gradually fading, users can have a wider and more empowered reach, enabling a more powerful and efficient financial system across the globe.

2021 saw many companies becoming unicorns as investments poured in from all corners of the planet. Although the number of fintech unicorns in 2022 is comparatively much lesser, the volume of investments is remarkably higher, implying an enormous potential for fintech growth in the coming years.