A few days ago, I shared a list, a much smaller list, of unicorn companies that sit in the healthcare and biotechnology industries. To refresh your memory, a unicorn is a technology-related organization with a valuation of more than $1 billion, typically a start-up, and with no real track record of success.
In a recent report, VentureBeat and Spoke Intelligence found there are 229 unicorns at the moment, generating a total of $175 billion in funding. All together, these companies are valued at $1.3 trillion.
Interestingly enough, of all of the companies that made the cut, only 18 fall into the FinTech category. Here’s who they are and how they describe themselves, according to their websites:
Lending Platforms
- Lufax | Lufax has developed China’s most open, safe and convenient investment and financing platform. Investors come to Lufax for its broad product offering, diverse liquidity avenues and superior user experience. Asset owners look to Lufax to help them structure, price and place complex assets to investors in a credible and transparent manner.
- Lending Club | Lending Club is the world’s largest online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors.
- Prosper | Prosper Marketplace operates a leading online marketplace that connects borrowers and investors.
- Jimubox | Jimubox is a market-leading Chinese P2P lending platform based in Beijing.
- Funding Circle | Funding Circle is the world’s leading online marketplace for business loans, matching small businesses who want to borrow with investors who want to lend in both the UK, the US and Europe.
- TransferWise | TransferWise lets people send money abroad at the lowest possible true cost.
- Kabbage | Kabbage has pioneered the first financial services data and technology platform to provide fully automated funding to small businesses in minutes.
- SoFi | SoFi is a leader in online lending, with over $6 billion dollars in loans issued. SoFi is transforming financial services for financially responsible consumers with student loan refinancing, mortgages (now available to residents in 24 states and Washington, D.C.), mortgage refinancing, and personal loans.
- China Rapid Finance | China Rapid Finance is China’s largest online consumer lending marketplace serving online users and China’s emerging middle class.
Payments
- Adyen | Adyen is a technology company that provides businesses with a single solution to accept payments anywhere in the world. The only provider of a modern end-to-end infrastructure connecting merchants directly to Visa, MasterCard, and 250 other payment methods globally, Adyen delivers frictionless payments across online, mobile, and in-store.
- Mozido | Mozido’s mobile payments platform unlocks financial freedom for roughly 2 billion people around the globe who carry mobile phones but no bank accounts.
- Square | Square’s point-of-sale service offers tools for every part of running a business, from accepting credit cards and tracking inventory, to real-time analytics and invoicing. Square also offers sellers financial and marketing services, including small business financing and customer engagement tools.
- Stripe | Stripe is the best way to accept payments online. Stripe aims to expand internet commerce by making it easy to process transactions and manage an online business.
- Powa | The Powa platform was built to provide a true omni-channel commerce environment for retailers and brands. The platform consists of three products – PowaWeb (eCommerce platform on the web), PowaPOS (innovative hardware and software for physical retail environments) and PowaTag (a ‘commerce anywhere’ transaction enabler).
- Klarna | Klarna is one of Europe’s fastest growing companies, and offers safe and easy-to-use payment solutions to e-stores. At the core of Klarna’s services is the concept of after delivery payment, which lets buyers receive ordered goods before any payment is due. At the same time, Klarna assumes the credit and fraud risk so that retailers can rest assured they will receive their money.
Insurance
- Zhong An | Zhong An is the first online-only insurance company in China and conducts all of its business, ranging from underwriting to claims settlements, online without operating any physical branches
- Credit Karma | Credit Karma’s goal is to save Americans time and money. Through analysis of more than 45 million members’ finances, Credit Karma researches and recommends credit cards, loans and insurance based on each individual’s specific credit profile, drastically simplifying some of the most confusing and tedious yet important tasks in personal finance.
- Hanhua Financial | Hanhua Financial is the largest credit guarantee company and the third largest lender of micro and small loans in China in terms of geographical presence.
