British Unicorns – the billion dollar club is growing

Unicorn, a term that denotes a young company which successfully reaches a $1bn valuation, was originally coined in 2013 by Aileen Lee, founder of VC house Cowboy Ventures. The term was made in reference to the fact so few companies achieve this mythical standing.

Having said that, Revolut is the latest startup to join the British unicorn club, following its $1.7bn (£1.2bn) valuation in May.

Unicorns are most common in the US, China and the UK.

As well as the initial valuation of over $1bn, the other criteria startups need to meet - albeit some of this is debatable - is:

- to be privately held (if a company has floated on a public market it is likely to have been valued over $1bn for quite some time.)
- to be independent (due to the fact a subsidiary of large companies have a much easier route to a $1bn valuation)
- to have not been acquired (see above point).

Of the British companies that have incorporated since 2010 seven have qualified for unicorn status: OakNorth, Revolut, BenevolentAI, Deliveroo, Funding Circle, Improbable and TransferWise.

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