- Hangzhou leads as provincial tech hubs broaden reach
- Pipeline from seed to unicorn highlights deepening innovation base
Zhejiang’s roster of unicorn companies has expanded to 58 as of April 2026, underscoring the province’s growing role as a hub for emerging technologies and industrial upgrading.
The latest rankings, released at the 10th All Blossom Conference, show companies spread across seven cities including Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Jinhua, Shaoxing, Taizhou and Wenzhou.
This reflects a more geographically balanced innovation landscape even as leading cities continue to dominate.
Zhejiang’s unicorn count rose by three from a year earlier to 58 in 2026, with Hangzhou, Ningbo and Jiaxing remaining the top three hubs while other cities showed a more even spread.
Hangzhou continued to dominate the landscape, home to 48 of the province’s unicorns, up from 44 last year—when it already hosted roughly four out of every five such startups.
Authorities also released tiered lists covering unicorns, “future unicorns” valued between $100 million and $1 billion, and early-stage “seed unicorns” — meaning startups valued at $10 million to $100 million.
These charts, released annually, map a full pipeline of high-growth companies across sectors including AI, embodied intelligence, life sciences, new energy, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and aerospace.
To date, they have become a barometer of the startup ecosystem in Zhejiang, and Hangzhou in particular.
Among the top 100 future unicorns, integrated circuits led with 22 companies, followed by artificial intelligence and life sciences with 19 each.
Advanced manufacturing accounted for 16 firms, new energy and materials 15, and next-generation information technology nine.
In the seed unicorn category, new energy and life sciences each counted 22 companies, ahead of advanced manufacturing with 19. AI, next-generation IT and semiconductors each had 11 firms, while aerospace-related companies totaled four.
The rankings highlight Zhejiang’s effort to build a layered innovation ecosystem, spanning early-stage startups to established unicorns, as the province seeks to sustain long-term growth in high-tech industries.
