Many high-quality unicorns in our country are living overseas，In order to promote the development of new economy、Let domestic investors share in the new economic growth，In 2018, the country will gradually introduce policies to welcome the return of unicorns。Then，What are the characteristics of unicorns？Why are you living overseas？How to welcome the return of unicorns？What are the new changes in the new relevant policies？What are the opportunities and risks？This article aims to systematically study the industry characteristics of unicorns in a textbook style、Business Model、Differences in domestic and foreign policies、Interpretation of new domestic policies、Impact on A shares、Opportunities and risks, etc.。

188bet app download From a global perspective，The United States and China account for more than 70% of the companies，Shows the vitality of China’s new economy。According to CB Insight data statistics，From 2013 to March 2018，There are 237 unicorn companies in the world。A total of 118 companies from the United States，49.78%；China follows closely behind，A total of 62 companies accounting for 26.16%；Ranking third and fourth are the United Kingdom and India，13 and 9 respectively。If valued by industry，The top three are financial technology、E-commerce and software services，About 45% of the overall valuation。Global circulation crowdfunding and venture capital are important reasons for the rapid growth of these companies。The industry is mainly distributed in high-end manufacturing、Three major fields of Internet and high-tech。

What are the types and characteristics of unicorns？Viewed by innovation form，Can be mainly divided into platform ecological type and technology-driven type。The platform ecological type mainly builds platforms based on the Internet，No direct contact with entity operations，Similar third parties build links between entities and consumers。“Platform” is a time-sensitive model based on the Internet，Can be summarized into three points，"Familiar"、"Recognition" and "Realization"，Marketing empowered by IT、Dynamic linkage between operations and finance。Technology-driven type is based on high technology as the main driving force，such as big data、Cloud computing、Artificial Intelligence、Blockchain technology, etc.，Most of the representative companies are high-tech manufacturing。

Why are Chinese unicorns so awesome？Difference international definition，Chinese unicorns need to be registered in China。As of March 2018，There are 126 unicorn companies in China，Distributed in 10 cities and 15 industries，Total valuation 625.3 billion US dollars，About 4 trillion RMB。Compare the international situation，Chinese unicorns have short growth cycles、Strong innovation ability、Outbreak concentration characteristics。The outbreak of unicorn companies shows the improvement of China’s overall innovation strength，These companies lead the development of new forms of industry，Promote the development of upstream and downstream industries and even cross-border industries。The typical characteristics of “hard technology” driving China’s unicorns。It can be found from an investment and financing perspective，The change in investor preference from asset-heavy traditional enterprises to asset-light high-tech enterprises，Typically concentrated in popular industries。

Where are China’s unicorns located？Mostly based on the Internet，Concentrate on "North、Previous、Hang、deep”。Based on the list of industries，Companies are highly concentrated in culture and entertainment、E-commerce、The fields of automobile transportation and technology finance，The basis of these enterprises is the Internet as the carrier。Ranking first is entertainment and e-commerce，18 companies each account for 14.17%。Geographical distribution，Over 80% of unicorns gathered in "North、Previous、deep、The four major cities in Hangzhou，Beijing ranks first with 58 companies，In addition，Beijing leads other cities with an overall valuation of US$336.1 billion。Interesting thing，Although the number of unicorn companies in Shanghai is twice that of Hangzhou，But the overall valuation is lower than Hangzhou，Shenzhen ranks fourth with US$19 billion。

What are the business characteristics of Chinese unicorns？“Technological innovation + platform ecology + high-tech zone + policy support”。Over 65% of Beijing’s unicorn companies focus on “cultural content”、Big data、Artificial Intelligence，These are also hot areas；50% of Shanghai unicorn companies are new Internet+ companies，For example, Yiguo Fresh、小红书、Ele.me and other companies;45% of Shenzhen unicorn companies are technology-driven;14 unicorn companies in Hangzhou，Mainly e-commerce and Internet finance，Most of them revolve around the Alibaba ecosystem。It can be seen from the list，About 50% of companies are more or less related to BAT。Among them，There are 27 companies related to Alibaba、37 companies related to Tencent、There are 16 companies related to Baidu；There are three companies related to all three，Respectively, are you hungry、Didi Chuxing and Autobang。 

1. What is a unicorn? 

1、Basic concept: established less than 10 years ago，Valuation over $1 billion

Unicorn，A fictional creature in myths and legends，Shaped like a white horse with a spiral horn on its head。Whether in the legends of the East or the West，The appearance of the unicorn indicates the arrival of good fortune。Because of these characteristics，Aileen Lee, a famous American Cowboy Venture investor in 2013，The market will be established for a shorter period of time (established no more than 10 years)、Startup companies valued at more than US$1 billion (approximately 6.3 billion yuan) by investors or valuation agencies，collectively referred to as "Unicorns"。The word "unicorn" became popular in the United States，And quickly spread to the world。

So the concept of unicorn，The judgment criteria are two points: one is time；The second is valuation。

Divided by time，Those who reach the standard within 2 years are called newborn unicorns or newborn unicorns，Those older than 10 years will be removed from the list。

Divided by valuation，Value less than US$1 billion but with development potential，called a potential unicorn；General unicorns are those with a valuation between 1 billion and 10 billion；Valuation exceeds 10 billion US dollars (approximately 630 billion yuan) is a super unicorn.

2、International overview: China and the United States lead the world in numbers，High investment and financing growth increases the number of new unicorns

From a global perspective，The United States and China share more than 70% of the enterprises。The United States is the birthplace of the unicorn concept，Leading the number list for several consecutive years。According to CB Insight data statistics，188bet sports betting app download From 2013 to March 2018，There are 237 unicorn companies in the world。A total of 118 companies from the United States，49.78%；China follows closely behind，A total of 62 companies accounting for 26.16%；Ranking third and fourth are the United Kingdom and India，13 and 9 respectively。

From a valuation perspective，The overall scale reached US$837 billion in 2018，peaked in 2014 and 2015。Divided by country，The United States still occupies the first place，China’s second，But the gap between the two countries is not big and the average valuation of each company in China is much higher than that in the United States。If valued by industry，The top three are financial technology、E-commerce and software services，About 45% of the overall valuation。 

Based on the investment and financing situation，It is not difficult to find that the birth of a unicorn is closely related to external investment and financing。Judging from the number of new students every year，2015 and 2017 are the peak years of unicorn production，produced 66 and 65 startups respectively。Among them, the United States accounts for 32 and 28，China accounts for 18 and 22 companies。When there was a large growth rate in investment and financing in the previous year，The growth rate of unicorns will increase next year。For example，In the case of high growth rate of investment and financing amount in 2014，2015 became the year when the number of new students exploded。With the strengthening of global liquidity，The development of technology is accompanied by the injection of capital。Global circulation crowdfunding and venture capital are also one of the important reasons for the rapid growth of these companies。

From the perspective of industry distribution，Enterprises are mainly distributed in high-end manufacturing、The three major fields of Internet and high-tech。There are 32 types of detailed industries，The top four e-commerces、Software Services、Financial Technology and Big Health，Own 37 respectively、34 families、27 and 17，About 60% of the total。

Technology-oriented high-tech and high-end manufacturing，Mainly focused on transportation、Hardware and big data and artificial intelligence: such as SpeceX、NIO is the representative of transportation；Xiaomi、Meizu、Royole Corporation is the hardware representative，Qultrics、Palantir Technologies is a representative of big data。

The Internet is based on platform ecology (this feature will be explained in detail below)，Mainly focused on e-commerce、Fintech、Software Services，The representative company is Ant Financial、Meituan Volkswagen、Airbnb etc.。

3. What are the characteristics of unicorns?

Viewed by innovation form，Can be mainly divided into platform ecological type and technology-driven type。

The platform ecological type mainly builds platforms based on the Internet，No direct contact with entity operations，Similar third parties build links between entities and consumers。Main companies include Uber、Lyft、Meituan Dianping Group, etc.。The core idea of ​​platform ecological enterprises is to rely on platforms to "share"。

What is a platform？Platform is a business model created by humans，Aims to use the powerful Internet effect to blur boundaries for multi-group interaction。A good platform not only affects its own user groups，Can also be expanded and derived、Redefine the industrial structure and formulate industry rules。“Platform” is a time-sensitive model based on the Internet，Can be summarized into three points，"Familiar"、"Recognition" and "Realization"，Marketing empowered by IT、Dynamic linkage between operations and finance。Enterprises develop and create mobile user spaces based on user needs，Promote the surrounding area after users are familiar with it，Afterwards, a network of interpersonal relationships is formed between users。In-depth brand effect，User stickiness increases and user dependence increases，The cost of user replacement will increase，Continuous long-term user activity will form a good cycle。When the enterprise platform users expand to a certain scale，It will have a powerful traffic guidance effect，Monetization is easier and more valuable。Relying on the strong capital accumulation of platform enterprises、Resource integration and system management capabilities，The incubated unicorn companies show significant explosive growth characteristics。

For example, Meituan Dianping，The strength of smart catering on the mobile side is beyond doubt。The 188bet sports betting app download annual transaction volume in 2017 exceeded 360 billion yuan，Accounting for over 85% of the market，Mobile transaction volume accounts for about 95%。With a high proportion of market share，Meituan is based on existing traffic users，It is also faster and more convenient to deploy in other industries。March 21 this year，Meituan Taxi Login in Shanghai，Officially enter the taxi market。In addition to further exploring user value，Improving the corporate layout ecology，It is also to improve the corporate capital market valuation and realize flow realization。

"Sharing" is the breakdown of private and public、Tradition and Technology、The gap between worlds。Enterprises with different resources can be interconnected，Increase availability、Circulation and economy。The focus is on “technology + tradition” and “cross-border”。“Tradition + Technology” breaks through the solidification barriers，Reduce regionalism while bringing vitality to enterprises。Cross-border cooperation blurs scope boundaries、Integrate resources、Optimize resource allocation，Each of them gives full play to their advantages to bring about the optimal economic solution。Example Uber、Didi and Lyft，It is the integration of travel，Let ride sharing；Airbnb is the integration of hotel accommodation and accommodation。 

Technology-driven type is based on high technology as the main driving force，such as big data、Cloud computing、Artificial Intelligence、Blockchain technology, etc.，Most of the representative companies are high-tech manufacturing。Most of these companies are capable of continuous innovation and have natural monopoly characteristics，The focus is on bringing differentiation。For example, electric car leader Tesla，Analysis of its three core technologies including battery technology、Motor and control technology and overall integration capabilities，Make Tesla electric cars different in both performance and appearance。After that, Tesla conducted space technology exploration，Further raising the technical barriers of enterprises，Expand development space。High-tech brings incomparable advantages compared with other traditional enterprises, which is one of the important reasons for the rapid development of technology-driven enterprises。

In addition，From an economic perspective，Most of these unicorns affect the economic operation of the industry，Even change the way it operates。For example，Alibaba will launch Alipay，Changes in payment methods，After years of consumer training，Form up-to-down communication to change the payment habits of various industries。From the perspective of using the senses，These companies all provide consumers with ways of use that are different from traditional or cognitive methods。For example, Apple’s Siri artificial intelligence system、Alexa by Amazon、Alibaba’s Taobao, etc.。How to use these innovations，Let consumers have a deep impression for the first time，Secondly, whether it is for efficacy or interest，We all support consumers to use it。Do this，A unicorn company is considered successful at the beginning。 

2. Why are Chinese unicorns so awesome?

1、Growing fast、Wide range、Outbreak concentration，Investor industry concentration

In addition to the universally defined concept of unicorn，The "2016 China Unicorn Enterprise Development Report" released by the Torch Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Great Wall Enterprise Strategy Research Institute in March 2017 gave the concept of Chinese unicorns，The definition criteria need to meet the following four points: 1) Registered in China，Enterprise with legal personality；2) The establishment time does not exceed ten years；3) Received private equity investment，And not yet listed；4) Enterprise valuation exceeds US$1 billion。

According to this definition，Combined 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino with Hurun、IT Orange、CB Insight、The Torch Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology also has the list released by PitchBook，Comprehensive arrangement，As of March 2018，There are 126 unicorn companies in China，Distributed in 10 cities and 15 industries，Total valuation 625.3 billion US dollars，About 4 trillion RMB，There are 11 super unicorns with valuations exceeding US$10 billion，Proportion 8.66% (details of the list are in the appendix at the end of the article)。Compared to the list released by the Torch Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2014，2014 to 2018，The number of unicorns in our country has changed dramatically，An average of 19 new unicorn companies are added every year，Growth exponentially。This also reflects the short growth cycle of new ventures in my country、Strong innovation ability、Outbreak concentration characteristics。The outbreak of unicorn companies shows the improvement of China’s overall innovation strength，These companies often become the leaders in the development of new industrial forms，Develop oneself while promoting the development of upstream and downstream industries and even cross-border industries，Promote regional economy，Become a strong supporter of the new economy。The typical characteristics of “hard 188bet app download technology” driving China’s unicorns。“Hard technology” can effectively create high-end supply，Effectively optimize my country’s economic structure。

Analysis from an investor’s perspective，The rapid development of unicorn companies cannot be separated from the high level of capital support。According to Hurun Research Statistics，Sequoia Capital ranked first by funding 27 unicorns and investing over US$5 billion。In addition to other famous venture capital companies，The BAT series has the most investment in unicorn companies，Tencent ranked first with 21 companies。The areas of focus of these investment entities vary every year，But the same year，Attention will be highly concentrated on similar areas。For example，Focus on shared bicycles in 2015、Internet Finance；2016 and 2017 focused on entertainment and culture、Artificial Intelligence、Big data。

As for the reason for such high concentration，Analysis from these invested companies，The first choice of these investment and financing institutions is technology companies with technical barriers or differentiated technologies，The technologies of these companies are often facing the trend。Then the head BATHM company laid out the plan to improve the ecology，The most important thing，Now investment and financing are shifting from traditional fixed assets-heavy traditional enterprises to technology-heavy ones、Innovative asset-light enterprise。

2、Industry geographical characteristics: mostly based on the Internet，Concentrate on "North、Previous、Hang、deep”

Based on the list of industries，Companies are highly concentrated in culture and entertainment、E-commerce、The fields of automobile transportation and technology finance，The basis of these enterprises is the Internet as the carrier。

Ranking first is the entertainment industry and e-commerce，18 companies each account for 14.17%。Big entertainment includes cultural media、Live video、anime、Ticketing and other sub-industries，Companies include iQiyi、Douyu TV、Himalaya FM、Kuaishou、Today’s headlines, etc.。The key points for these enterprises are after they have user group traffic，In-depth user experience with content，Increase user stickiness，The battle over “content” is what differentiates these companies from other companies。

The e-commerce industry has developed rapidly from an emerging industry to a mature and stable period，Clear business model and obvious profit model，Making unicorn companies highly concentrated in these industries。The current e-commerce industry，Perhaps it is more appropriately called New Retail，Including fresh food retail、Group purchase、Mother and baby e-commerce、Furniture e-commerce, etc.。Experienced traditional B2C、B2B、C2C、O2O to the present new retail，Sales 188bet online sports betting model relying on the Internet，Transformation iteration can only happen faster than consumers want。Open up online and offline links、“Physical + retail” is one of the main models in this industry。The focus of the industry is customer traffic: online and offline traffic guide and feed each other，Mutual assistance is the essence。

The rapid development of these two fields is inseparable from consumption upgrades，Data can also show changes in people’s consumption patterns。Simple consumption of “necessities” is no longer sufficient，Contemporary consumers，The transformation and upgrading of consumption，From material to spiritual、From tradition to intelligence is the need of the times。

Geographical distribution，Over 80% of unicorns gathered in "North、Previous、deep、The four major cities in Hangzhou，Beijing ranks first with 58 companies，In addition，Beijing leads other cities with an overall valuation of US$336.1 billion。Interesting thing，Although the number of unicorn companies in Shanghai is twice that of Hangzhou，But the overall valuation is lower than Hangzhou，Shenzhen ranks fourth with US$19 billion。From this point of view，Unicorn companies are mainly located in the capital and the Yangtze River Delta region。

From a geographical distribution perspective，Many unicorns gather in "North、Previous、Hang、Shenzhen” is mainly because these cities are highly developed economically and technologically，Strong government support，High-tech Zone Policy Encourages Innovation；Secondly，These cities have large populations，The trend of talent flow is obvious；Part 3，These cities have leading scientific and technological innovation companies，Brings an innovative atmosphere to the entire environment，For example, Alibaba Group in Hangzhou；Baidu in Beijing、Sohu、Sina；Tencent in Shenzhen and Meituan Dianping in Shanghai。

3、Business characteristics: "Technological innovation + platform ecology + high-tech zone + policy support"

Overall，Most of these companies are in the National High-tech Park，National High-tech Park as a gathering place for national economic development，The outbreak of unicorns reflects the vitality of the new economy and the importance of technology。Take it apart，The development fields of the four places are also different: more than 65% of Beijing’s unicorn companies are concentrated in “cultural content”、Big data、Artificial Intelligence，These are also hot areas；50% of Shanghai unicorn companies are new Internet+ companies，For example, Yiguo Fresh、小红书、Ele.me and other companies;45% of Shenzhen unicorn companies are technology-driven;14 unicorn companies in Hangzhou，Mainly e-commerce and Internet finance，Most of them revolve around the Alibaba ecosystem。

In addition to the support of the High-tech Zone，The growth of China’s “unicorn” companies is inseparable from the nurturing of platform companies。Under the background of new economy，Fission and spin-off have become a new way to generate unicorn companies in China。2017，A total of 36 unicorn companies that were spun off from the business fission of platform companies，Accounting for 28 of the number of unicorn companies in China.35%。Relying on the strong capital accumulation of platform enterprises、Resource integration and system management capabilities，The incubated unicorn companies show significant explosive growth characteristics。Platforms keen on incubating unicorns include Alibaba、Tencent、JD.com、China Ping An, etc.。

Under the current trend of enterprise ecology，Unicorn companies have become an important component of the corporate ecological chain。Through self-incubation and strategic investment，Platform companies can build a complete ecosystem。It can be seen from the list，About 50% of companies are more or less related to BAT。Among them，There are 27 companies related to Alibaba、37 companies related to Tencent、There are 16 companies related to Baidu；There are three companies that are related to the three，Are you hungry?、Didi Chuxing and Autobang。

In terms of valuation，A total of 11 super unicorn 188bet online sports betting companies with a valuation of more than 10 billion US dollars，Except DJI，All others are related to BAT (Alibaba once injected capital into Xiaomi Technology)。Visible，The company with the higher market value，The higher the likelihood of being associated with BAT。

Policy，Insistence on innovation is the first driving force for development，The rapid development of unicorns is also inseparable from a friendly policy environment。With the emphasis on the “13th Five-Year Plan” issued by the State Council，Ensure that we will enter the ranks of innovative countries as scheduled，Laying a solid foundation for building a world power in science and technology，my country will further implement the innovation-driven development strategy、Supporting supply-side structural reform as the main line。The 19th National Congress also made the development of high-tech a top priority，Comprehensively deepen the reform of the science and technology system，Vigorously promote comprehensive innovation with scientific and technological innovation as the core，Shape more driven by innovation、More leading developments that leverage first-mover advantages。

*Source of this article: WeChat public platform "Zeping Macro" (ID: zepinghongguan)，Author: Ren Zeping，Original title: "China Unicorn Report》.