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THE $10 BILLION CLUB: Meet the 9 most valuable startups in the world
A list of young CEOs making it big, early.
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THERE USED TO be a time when a $1 billion valuation was considered a massive success for tech startups. Then it was $5 billion.
But in recent months, there have been so many huge rounds raised that these numbers almost seem routine.
So we’ve raised the bar yet again. Looking at recent media reports and the WSJ’s “The Billion-Dollar Startup Club” list, we’ve created a list of tech startups that are worth more than $10 billion — or will be very soon.
#9 Dropbox: $10 billion
CEO: Drew Houston
Founded: 2007
What it does: Dropbox allows users to easily store and share files on the web. It has over 200 million users worldwide.
Total funding: $1.1 billion
Notable investors: Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital, Greylock Ventures
#8 Airbnb: $10 billion
CEO: Brian Chesky
Founded: 2008
What it does: Airbnb offers a marketplace for people to rent out their homes to temporary residents. It’s currently available in 190 countries.
Total funding: $794.8 million
Notable investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners
#7 Pinterest: $11 billion (seeking)
Valuation: The company was valued at $5 billion in its last round in May 2014, but is reportedly seeking a new round at a valuation of $11 billion.
CEO: Ben Silbermann
Founded: 2008
What it does: Pinterest allows users to share/store stuff online by “pinning” images and content.
Total funding: $762.5 million
Notable investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Rakuten
#6 Flipkart: $11 billion
CEO: Sachin Bansal
Founded: 2007
What it does: Flipkart is an e-commerce site specializing in electronics and content like books and music.
Total funding: $2.5 billion
Notable investors: Digital Sky Technologies, T Rowe Price, Morgan Stanley, Vulcan Capital, Tiger Global Management
#5 SpaceX: $12 billion
Valuation: $12 billion
CEO: Elon Musk
Founded: 2002
What it does: Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, designs, builds, and launches vehicles for space exploration.
Total funding: $1.2 billion
Notable investors: Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Google
#4 Palantir: $15 billion
Valuation: $15 billion
CEO: Alexander Karp
Founded: 2004
What it does: Palantir is a software and services company that specializes in data analysis. Some of its biggest clients are government agencies like the CIA and FBI.
Total funding: $1 billion
Notable investors: Founders Fund, Tiger Global Management, Glynn Capital Management, Jeremy Stoppelman
#3 Snapchat: $16 to $19 billion (seeking)
Valuation: Snapchat was valued at $10 billion in its last round in December, but is reportedly seeking a new round at a valuation between $16 billion and $19 billion.
CEO: Evan Spiegel
Founded: 2012
What it does: Its photo messaging app allows users to send photos and videos that get deleted after a set period of time.
Total funding: $648 million
Notable investors: Yahoo, Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, SV Angel
#2 Uber: $41.2 billion
Valuation: $41.2 billion
CEO: Travis Kalanik
Founded: 2009
What it does: Uber’s taxi-hailing app connects its users with drivers of private vehicles under Uber’s contact. It offers different types of cars, from full-size luxury cars to smaller vehicles.
Total funding: $5.9 billion
Notable investors: Benchmark Capital, Menlo Ventures, Google Ventures, KPCB
#1 Xiaomi: $46 billion
Valuation: $46 billion
CEO: Jun Lei
Founded: 2010
What it does: Xiaomi is one of the biggest Chinese electronics brands that makes smartphones. They’re considered among the best Android smartphones, and the company has hardcore loyalists a lot like Apple in the US.
Total funding: $1.4 billion
Notable investors: Digital Sky Technologies, HOPU Investment Management Company, DST Global, IDG Capital Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Morningside Group
BONUS: Some other companies to keep an eye on
Meituan: This Chinese group-buying platform just raised a round in January 2015 that values it at more than $7 billion.
WeWork: This company, which rents temporary working space to other tech companies, is expanding rapidly and just raised a round in December that values it at $5 billion.
Stripe: This online payments service founded by two Irish brothers raised a round in December that values it at $3.5 billion.
Magic Leap: It’s making a new kind of super-realistic augmented reality goggles, and scored a $542 million investment led by Google last October, which valued the company at more than $2 billion.
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