Billion dollar baby: Tiny Singapore boasts world’s biggest startups, reveals report

It's home to three billion-dollar startups.

When it comes to nurturing startups, tiny Singapore can give Silicon Valley a run for its money. The innovative city-state definitely punches above its weight when it comes to churning out billion-dollar startups, according to a study released by the University of South California Marshall School of Business.

Known as “unicorns”, these companies are defined as privately-held and relatively new firms which are valued at above US$1 billion. The study, conducted by the Center for Global Innovation, reveals that the US tops the list in generating billion dollar startups with a 65% share, followed by China (14%), India (4%), United Kingdom (3%), and Singapore (2%).

According to Fortune’s The Unicorn List, Singapore is home to three startups valued at above US$1 billion.

The largest is video game company Garena, valued at US$2.5 billion and founded in 2009 by Forrest Li. This is followed by taxi booking app GrabTaxi, which is valued at US$1.6 billion and was established by Anthony Tan in 2012. The third homegrown unicorn is e-commerce player Lazada Group, which is valued at $1.3 billion and was founded by Maximillian Bittner in 2012.

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