(23 August 2022, Shanghai) The Hurun Research Institute today released the Hurun China Cheetahs 2022 Half-Year Report, a list of startups set up after the year 2000 that are most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within five years. Cheetahs normally have a valuation of between US$300mn and US$500mn. This is the third edition of the list. The cut-off date used was 30 June 2022.

241 companies made the cut this year, 19 more than last year. 51 were new faces. 24 (10%) companies were promoted from last year’s Cheetahs list. 8 (4%) were demoted, no longer making the cut.

The companies on the Cheetahs list come from 30 cities, mainly in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Mainly engaged in Biotech, Healthtech, Enterprise Services and E-commerce. 53% offer software or services and 47% have physical products. 71% are business-to-business and 29% are consumer-oriented.

Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said: “Despite Covid outbreaks across the country in the first half of this year, the total number of ‘Cheetah Companies' in China increased by 10% to 241. Local governments are making it very attractive for well-regarded founder teams to set up with them, in the knowledge that the next ‘Big One’ is almost certainly going to come from a startup today. 21 of the China Cheetahs from last year have been promoted: 3 directly to Unicorn status and 18 to Gazelle status, showing how fast these companies are growing.”

“Hurun Report is all about promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. Hurun’s ‘startup series’ has four main components. It begins with the Hurun U30s Entrepreneurs to Watch, a list of the top entrepreneurs under the age of 30. Next up are two ‘future unicorn’ lists: Hurun Cheetahs, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within 5 years and currently with a valuation of between US$300 million and US$500 million, and Hurun Gazelles, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within 3 years and currently with a valuation of between US$500 million and US$1 billion. The Hurun Global Unicorn Index is the pinnacle of the world’s start-ups.”

This is a brief English language summary of the full Chinese press release which can be found at www.hurun.net. For media inquiries please contact our public relations team whose contact details can be found at the end of this report.

Geographical Distribution

This gives an idea of which cities have the best early-stage start-up ecosystems.

By Industry

This gives a good indication of which industries are most attractive to founders and early-stage investors.

China Cheetahs Best Investors

Hurun China Cheetahs 2022 Half-Year Report

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