Translated with AI
According to a global ranking of fast-growing startups for 2025 released Tuesday, companies headquartered in China make up more than a third of the list, highlighting the country's strong potential in promising tech sectors such as biotech and semiconductors.
According to the "Global Gazelle Index: Future Unicorns 2025" published by Hurun Report, of the 819 global gazelles (unlisted companies most likely to reach a valuation of $1 billion within three years), 278 are Chinese. This represents an 8 percent year-on-year increase and places China second only to the United States, which, by contrast, recorded an 8 percent decline.
According to Rupert Hoogewerf (also known by his Chinese name, Hu Jun), chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, the number of gazelle companies in China has nearly quadrupled since 2019, from 70 to the current level. In the past year alone, 55 new Chinese companies have joined the list, with biotechnology and semiconductors standing out as the industries with the largest concentration of future unicorns.
"Innovations in medical devices, biotechnology, and digital health are transforming disease treatment, diagnostics, and patient care. China and the United States are leading this healthcare revolution," added Rupert Hoogewerf.
TransThera Sciences, a biotechnology company headquartered in Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu Province, eastern China), is recognized as one of China's most successful examples of transforming a gazelle company into a publicly traded firm. The company has pioneered the creation of a platform for "overcoming resistance" using intelligent small-molecule drug engineering solutions.
Meanwhile, another report released Monday ranking Chinese AI companies found that AI chip companies were the strongest performers in 2025, taking seven of the top 10 spots.
According to the Global Gazelles Index, 146 gazelle companies graduated last year, becoming unicorns through IPOs or acquisitions. Of these, 82 were from the US and 26 from China.
Notably, five Chinese companies, including biotech firm Shanghai Cell Therapy and robot makers Mech Mind and AgiBot, have already surpassed $1 billion in valuations and are poised to join Hurun's 2026 unicorn list, despite still being classified as gazelles.
San Francisco tops the list of cities with the highest number of gazelle companies, followed by Shanghai, Beijing, New York, and Shenzhen in the top five. According to the ranking, the US and China together account for 71 percent of the world's gazelle companies.
The average valuation of the companies on the list is $700 million, with most growing at a compound annual growth rate of around 20%.
