Top 5 Unicorns in the American FinTech landscape 2020

By Pavithra R

A unicorn startup or unicorn company is a private company valued at over $1 billion. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, choosing the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures.

According to CB Insights, as of August 2020, there are 488 unicorns worldwide with more than 60 in FinTech space. Much of these unicorns are largely concentrated in North America (38 FinTech unicorns) followed by Asia and Europe (boasting 12 unicorns each). Here is a list of top 5 American Unicorns in the FinTech landscape.

Stripe (2010)

HQ: United States

Valuation: $36 billion

San Francisco based Stripe is a FinTech company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet. It combines a payment platform with applications that put revenue data at the heart of business operations. Its software is used from new startups to public companies like Salesforce and Facebook to accept online payments and run technically sophisticated financial operations in more than 100 countries.

Its customer base includes Wayfair, Peloton, Zoom, Instacart, Shopify, Instacart, Twilio, Westfield, Just Eat, to name a few. Stripe has significantly ramped up international expansion over the past year, launching its service in 15 new countries across Latin America (LATAM), Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe. Recently, the firm announced the joining of Dhivya Suryadevara as its Chief Financial Officer.

Robinhood (2013)

HQ: United States

Valuation: $11.2 billion

Robinhood makes it possible to make unlimited commission-free trades in stocks, funds, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. The FinTech has empowered millions of people to invest and participate in the U.S. financial system. Its cash management product helps users to earn 0.30% APY* on uninvested cash and to gain flexibility with a brokerage account. Its crypto helps to tap into the cryptocurrency market to buy, HODL, and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and more, 24/7. Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Trading in stocks, ETFs and options are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member SIPC. Cryptocurrency trading is offered through Robinhood Crypto, LLC. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc.

Nubank (2013)

HQ: Brazil

Valuation: $ 10 billion

Nubank is a leading FinTech company in LATAM, providing no-fee digital credit card intended to redefine people’s relationship with money. Nubank account takes no maintenance fees, no hidden fees, or abusive charges, but the company generates revenue. It has a business model based on rapid and sustainable growth to simplify people’s financial lives even more. The bank aims to offer interest rates that are much lower than normal rates in the Brazilian banking market. It achieved Unicorn status in 2018. Even though there are whispers that the firm has raised a Series G round worth US$300 million, the firm has not confirmed it.

Ripple (2012)

HQ: United States

Valuation: $ 10 billion

San Francisco based Ripple provides a frictionless experience to send money globally using the power of blockchain technology and digital assets. Ripple’s global payments network includes over 300 customers across 40+ countries and six continents.

As the financial industry adjusts to a digital-first world, cloud technology solutions are playing an increasingly critical role in enabling instant connectivity between financial service providers and their customers on a global scale. RippleNet Cloud is one such solution that has been particularly beneficial in helping businesses navigate the ‘new normal’ of working from home. It is delivered to customers as a service, allowing customers to connect to more than 300 financial institutions in Ripple’s global blockchain payments network without the need to install on-premises software or onerous internal processes to procure new hardware and databases.

Coinbase (2012)

HQ: United States

Valuation: $8 billion

San Francisco based Coinbase’s mission is to create an open financial system for the world. It is a digital currency wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact new digital currencies like bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin. The FinTech is committed to serving a broad spectrum of institutional clients, including exchanges, brokerages, hedge funds, family offices, and endowments. Its institutional range of products provides a seamless, robust, secure, and compliant ecosystem for clients to trade, store, and interact with their crypto.