At FintechLIVE we maintain a list of 21st-century fintech unicorns* updated monthly (full list here). In January, we added 9 new unicorns for a month-end total of 134. The total value is now $1.42 trillion up from $1.25 trillion last month.
Unicorn count:
Beginning (Jan 1) = 125
+ 7 born this month (Digit Insurance, Divvy, Mambu, Melio Payments, MX, PPro, Sunlight Financial)
+ 2 returned after dropping off last year (GreenSky, Sezzle)
___________________
Total (Jan 31) = 134
Total valuation = $1.42 trillion
New in January:
Newborns:
- Digit Insurance: The Indian insurance startup, now valued at $1.9B, was founded in 2016 and has raised $250M. It is the 7th fintech unicorn based in India, and the 4th most valuable.
- Divvy: Two Utah companies became unicorns this month. The first, Divvy, is a corporate credit card and expense management firm in the same category with Brex, Expensify, and others. Founded in 2016, Divvy landed on the unicorn list at a $1.6B valuation, tied for 83rd most valuable this century.
- Mambu: Valued at $2B, the 10-year-old German banking-as-a-service company powers 3-million active accounts. Mambu is the highest valued new unicorn this month, tied for the 66th most valuable overall and 2nd highest out of Germany, trailing only N26.
- Melio Payments: The NYC-based B2B payments startup took just 2.5 years to grow from zero to $1.3B in value. It’s currently tied for 96th most valuable across all fintech, and 36th most valuable payments company.
- MX: The second Utah unicorn of January, MX needs no introduction if you’ve ever attended or followed Finovate. Not only did it win the most Best of Show awards, its scores were usually well ahead of the runner-ups. It was a case of great personal finance software meets superb storytelling by founder Ryan Caldwell along with demo god Matt West. We suspect MX has been worth north of $1B for a year or two, but it wasn’t until the Jan 2021 round at a $1.9B value that its unicorn status was officially confirmed.
- PPRO: Founded in 2006, the London-based payments company is the oldest of the new unicorns. PPRO helps global merchants accept payments locally to save on FX costs.
Sunlight Financial: We debated whether NYC-based Sunlight is more fintech or financial institution. But given it’s position as powering alternative energy lending at the POS, it seemed to be more the former. The startups is expecting to go public in early 2021 via a SPAC with an estimated market cap of $1.3B.
Full Fintech Unicorn List
(values as of 2 Feb 2021)
| Rank | Company | $B Value | Value Date | Founded | Country |
| 1 | PayPal | 293 | 2-feb-2021 | 1998 | United States |
| 2 | Ant Technology | 150 | 2018 round | 2014 | China |
| 3 | Shopify | 150 | 2-feb-2021 | 2004 | Canada |
| 4 | Square | 102 | 2-feb-2021 | 2009 | United States |
| 5 | Adyen | 65.2 | 2-feb-2021 | 2006 | Netherlands |
| 6 | Afterpay | 42.0 | 2-feb-2021 | 2014 | Australia |
| 7 | Lufax | 40.1 | 2-feb-2021 | 2011 | China |
| 8 | Stripe | 35.0 | April 2020 round | 2010 | United States |
| 9 | Affirm | 27.5 | 2-feb-2021 | 2012 | United States |
| 10 | Nubank | 25.0 | Jan 2021 round | 2013 | Brazil |
| 11 | Stone | 24.1 | 2-feb-2021 | 2013 | Brazil |
| 12 | Lakala | 23.9 | 2-feb-2021 | 2004 | China |
| 13 | WeBank | 21.2 | Nov 2018 transaction | 2014 | China |
| 14 | Xero | 18.6 | 2-feb-2021 | 2006 | New Zealand |
| 15 | One97 (PayTM) | 16.0 | Nov 2019 round | 2010 | India |
| 16 | Checkout.com | 15.0 | Jan 2021 round | 2012 | United Kingdom |
| 17 | Plaid Technologies | 15.0 | Rumored 2021 round | 2012 | United States |
| 18 | Chime | 14.5 | Sep 2020 round | 2013 | United States |
| 19 | Robinhood | 11.7 | Sep 2020 round | 2013 | United States |
| 20 | Bill.com | 11.1 | 2-feb-2021 | 2006 | United States |
| 21 | Klarna | 10.6 | Sep 2020 round | 2005 | Sweden |
| 22 | Ripple | 10.0 | Dec 2019 round | 2012 | United States |
| 23 | Nuvei | 9.4 | 2-feb-2021 | 2003 | Canada |
| 24 | SoFi | 8.7 | Jan 2021 SPAC announcement | 2011 | United States |
| 25 | Lemonade | 8.2 | 2-feb-2021 | 2015 | United States |
| 26 | OneConnect (PingAn) | 8.1 | 2-feb-2021 | 2015 | China |
| 27 | Coinbase | 8.0 | Oct 2018 round | 2012 | United States |
| 28 | Jiedaibao | 7.8 | Jan 2016 round | 2014 | China |
| 29 | Q2 Holdings | 7.4 | 2-feb-2021 | 2004 | United States |
| 30 | Credit Karma | 7.1 | Exit | 2007 | United States |
| 31 | nCino | 6.7 | 2-feb-2021 | 2012 | United States |
| 32 | HealthEquity | 6.3 | 2-feb-2021 | 2002 | United States |
| 33 | Greensill | 6.0 | Nov 2019 round | 2011 | United Kingdom |
| 34 | Trustly | 5.9 | Estimate based on 2021 IPO value | 2008 | Sweden |
| 35 | Root Insurance | 5.8 | Oct 2020 IPO | 2016 | United States |
| 36 | Duck Creek Software | 6.7 | 2-feb-2021 | 2000 | United States |
| 37 | PhonePe | 5.5 | Dec 2020 spinout | 2015 | India |
| 38 | Revolut | 5.5 | Feb 2020 round | 2015 | United Kingdom |
| 39 | Virtu Financial | 5.5 | 2-feb-2021 | 2008 | United States |
| 40 | TransferWise | 5.0 | June 2020 secondary | 2011 | United Kingdom |
| 41 | Toast | 4.9 | Feb 2020 round | 2011 | United States |
| 42 | Marqeta | 4.3 | May 2020 round | 2010 | United States |
| 43 | Better.com | 4.0 | Sep 2020 round (unconfirmed) | 2016 | United States |
| 44 | Gusto | 3.8 | July 2019 round | 2011 | United States |
| 45 | Tinkoff Bank | 3.8 | 2-feb-2021 | 2006 | Russia |
| 46 | Cardlytics | 3.7 | 2-feb-2021 | 2008 | United States |
| 47 | Assurance | 3.5 | Exit | 2016 | United States |
| 48 | N26 | 3.5 | May 2020 round | 2013 | Germany |
| 49 | Blend | 3.3 | Jan 2021 round | 2012 | United States |
| 50 | Oscar Health | 3.2 | Mar 2018 round | 2012 | United States |
| 51 | China UnionPay | 3.0 | Per Crunchbase 12/19 | 2002 | China |
| 52 | Circle Internet Financial | 3.0 | May 2018 round | 2013 | United States |
| 53 | Devoted Health | 3.0 | May 2020 fundraising | 2017 | United States |
| 54 | Flywire | 3.0 | Feb 2020 round | 2011 | United States |
| 55 | GreenDot | 2.9 | 2-feb-2021 | 1999 | United States |
| 56 | OVO | 2.9 | Mar 2019 round | 2017 | Indonesia |
| 57 | OakNorth | 2.8 | May 2019 round | 2015 | United Kingdom |
| 58 | Verafin | 2.8 | Exit Nov 2020 | 2003 | Canada |
| 59 | Brex | 2.6 | June 2020 round | 2017 | United States |
| 60 | Toss | 2.6 | Aug 2020 round | 2011 | South Korea |
| 61 | eToro | 2.5 | Dec 2020 secondary | 2007 | United Kingdom |
| 62 | PineLabs | 2.5 | Dec 2020 round | 1998 | India |
| 63 | Rapyd | 2.5 | Jan 2020 round | 2016 | United Kingdom |
| 64 | Lifelock | 2.3 | Exit | 2005 | United States |
| 65 | iZettle | 2.2 | Exit | 2010 | Sweden |
| 66 | Avant | 2.0 | Sep 2015 round | 2012 | United States |
| 67 | AvidXchange | 2.0 | Jan 2020 round | 2000 | United States |
| 68 | FirstP2P | 2.0 | Per Crunchbase 12/19 | 2013 | China |
| 69 | Tipalti | 2.0 | Oct 2020 round | 2010 | United States |
| 70 | Waterdrop | 2.0 | Aug 2020 round | 2016 | China |
| 71 | Zenefits | 2.0 | May 2015 round | 2013 | United States |
| 72 | Mambu | 2.0 | Jan 2021 round | 2011 | Germany |
| 73 | MX | 1.9 | Jan 2021 round | 2010 | United States |
| 74 | Digit Insurance | 1.9 | Jan 2021 round | 2016 | India |
| 75 | Airwallex | 1.8 | Apr 2020 round | 2015 | Australia |
| 76 | BillDesk | 1.8 | Nov 2018 round | 2000 | India |
| 77 | Creditas | 1.8 | Dec 2020 round | 2012 | Brazil |
| 78 | Carta | 1.7 | May 2019 round | 2012 | United States |
| 79 | Wefox | 1.7 | Dec 2019 round | 2015 | Germany |
| 80 | Zuora | 1.7 | 2-feb-2021 | 2007 | United States |
| 81 | Sezzle | 1.7 | 2-feb-2021 | 2016 | United States |
| 82 | Mercury | 1.7 | Exit | 2001 | United States |
| 83 | Monzo | 1.6 | May 2020 round | 2015 | United Kingdom |
| 84 | Judo Bank | 1.6 | Dec 2020 round | 2016 | Australia |
| 85 | Divvy | 1.6 | Jan 2021 round | 2016 | United States |
| 86 | Fawry | 1.5 | 31-Dec-2020 | 2008 | Egypt |
| 87 | GoHealth | 1.5 | Exit | 2001 | United States |
| 88 | Hippo | 1.5 | July 2020 round | 2015 | United States |
| 89 | PingPong | 1.5 | Mar 2019 round | 2015 | China |
| 90 | PolicyBazaar | 1.5 | May 2019 round | 2008 | India |
| 91 | Remitly | 1.5 | July 2020 round | 2011 | United States |
| 92 | WorldRemit | 1.5 | Bloomberg article about acquistion of SendWave | 2010 | United Kingdom |
| 93 | CGTZ | 1.4 | June 2018 round | 2013 | China |
| 94 | BillTrust | 1.3 | SPAC estimated early 2021 | 2001 | United States |
| 95 | Metromile | 1.3 | Nov 2020 SPAC (proposed) | 2011 | United States |
| 96 | Melio Payments | 1.3 | Jan 2021 round | 2018 | United States |
| 97 | Sunlight Financial | 1.3 | SPAC estimated early 2021 | 2014 | United States |
| 98 | Atom Bank | 1.3 | July 2019 round | 2014 | United Kingdom |
| 99 | Clover Health | 1.2 | Jan 2019 round | 2013 | United States |
| 100 | dLocal | 1.2 | Sep 2020 round | 2016 | Uruguay |
| 101 | Figure | 1.2 | Dec 2019 round | 2018 | United States |
| 102 | Galileo | 1.2 | Exit | 2000 | United States |
| 103 | Greenlight | 1.2 | Sep 2020 round | 2014 | United States |
| 104 | Deposit Solutions | 1.1 | Sep 2019 round | 2011 | Germany |
| 105 | Cayan | 1.1 | Exit | 1998 | United States |
| 106 | Tradeshift | 1.1 | May 2018 round | 2009 | United States |
| 107 | C2FO | 1.0 | Apr 2019 round | 2008 | United States |
| 108 | ChromeRiver | 1.0 | Exit | 2007 | United States |
| 109 | Dave | 1.0 | June 2019 round | 2016 | United States |
| 110 | EBANX | 1.0 | Oct 2019 round | 2012 | Brazil |
| 111 | Expensify | 1.0 | Estimate based on $100M ARR | 2008 | United States |
| 112 | Fast | 1.0 | Oct 2020 rumors | 2019 | United States |
| 113 | HighRadius | 1.0 | Jan 2020 round | 2006 | United States |
| 114 | Interswitch | 1.0 | Nov 2019 round | 2002 | Nigeria |
| 115 | LendingHome | 1.0 | Mar 2018 round | 2014 | United States |
| 116 | Liquid | 1.0 | Apr 2019 round | 2013 | Japan |
| 117 | Mollie | 1.0 | Sep 2020 round | 2004 | Netherlands |
| 118 | MoneyLion | 1.0 | July 2019 round | 2013 | United States |
| 119 | Neon Pagamentos | 1.0 | Estimate | 2016 | Brazil |
| 120 | Next Insurance | 1.0 | Oct 2019 round | 2016 | United States |
| 121 | Numbrs | 1.0 | Aug 2019 round | 1999 | Switzerland |
| 122 | Payoneer | 1.0 | Dec 2017 round | 2005 | United States |
| 123 | Personal Capital | 1.0 | Exit | 2009 | United States |
| 124 | RazorPay | 1.0 | Oct 2020 round | 2014 | India |
| 125 | Riskified | 1.0 | Nov 2019 round | 2012 | United States |
| 126 | Upgrade | 1.0 | June 2020 round | 2016 | United States |
| 127 | Varo Money | 1.0 | Estimate | 2015 | United States |
| 128 | WealthSimple | 1.0 | Oct 2020 round | 2014 | Canada |
| 129 | WeLab | 1.0 | Dec 2019 round | 2013 | HongKong |
| 130 | GoCardless | 1.0 | Dec 2020 round | 2011 | United Kingdom |
| 131 | PPRO | 1.0 | Jan 2021 round | 2006 | United Kingdom |
| 132 | GreenSky | 1.0 | 2-feb-2021 | 2006 | United States |
| 133 | Finicity | 1.0 | Exit | 1999 | United States |
| 134 | Bright Health | 1.0 | Nov 2019 round | 2015 | United States |
Source: FintechLabs.com 2 Feb 2021
*To qualify, a company must have been founded in 2000 or later*** and have its primary business related to financial services including banking, savings, lending, investing, insurance, wealth management, SMB accounting and payroll. We do not include health insurance companies. Services can be sold directly to consumers or through financial institutions or other companies. Full list here.
** If you know any missing unicorns, please email jim@fintechlabs.com
***There are two exceptions started in the 1998/1999 timeframe, PayPal and Finicity.
