We have had the opportunity to hear about the unicorn, a legendary creature usually described as a horse with a single horn on its forehead, which has become a symbol of purity, strength, and nobility in Western culture, in fairy tales, or by watching it in cartoon TV content. The name of these mythical beings from small screens and children’s books has “migrated” into the adult world and become ubiquitous in the field of business. The term unicorn refers to a private company whose estimated value has reached or exceeded one billion dollars. This term was first used by Aileen Lee, the founder of Cowboy Ventures, in 2013 to describe rare startups that reach such a value.
Where do unicorns mostly operate?
Unicorns are typically tech companies that have managed to attract significant investments and grow rapidly thanks to innovative products or services. These companies often operate in industries such as technology, software, e-commerce, or fintech.
According to data from the CB Insights platform, analyzed by the Best Brokers team, an online information platform for investments, Europe currently has 202 unicorns with a total value of 561.7 billion dollars (around 510 billion euros). This data shows a growth of 20.7 billion dollars (about 18.7 billion euros) since June 2023. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) still does not have its own unicorn, except that a branch office of Infobip, one of the most successful global IT companies, is located there. Infobip started as a small startup in Vodnjan, Istria, and today employs more than 3.000 people globally, operating in more than 70 offices across six continents. Four years ago, Infobip became the first Croatian unicorn, meaning a company not listed on the stock exchange but with a valuation of one billion dollars.
The most valuable European unicorn
The startup scene in BiH recorded growth in 2024, jumping four places compared to the previous year, surpassing Paraguay.
The most valuable European unicorn, according to CB Insights, is the United Kingdom (UK) fintech Revolut, whose value is estimated at 33 billion dollars (around 29.9 billion euros), making it the seventh most valuable unicorn in the world.
Globally, there are 1.241 tech companies with unicorn status, whose estimated values exceed one billion dollars. In total, they are worth 3.9 billion dollars (around 3.5 billion euros), Forbes writes.
E.Dz.
