There are now 258 startups across the world that have reached “unicorn” status, or a US$1B valuation. Brazil saw three of its big tech startups become unicorns in 2018, starting with 99Taxis in January, followed by PagSeguro, and then mobile wallet Nubank.
While unicorns are still rare, several Brazilian startups are dancing near the US$1B mark, vying to become Brazil’s next unicorn. This report by EXAME showcases the top four contenders.
Grupo ZAP Viva Real: Real estate classifieds platform Grupo Zap merged with VivaReal in late 2017 at a predicted valuation of US$700M. The two property portals continue to operate independently, receiving a total of 40 million monthly visits across the platforms.
PSafe: The leader in mobile security, PSafe already has 20 million active users across the US and Brazil. The company was valued at R$1B in 2015 (US$243M) and has since opened an office San Francisco.
Movile: Movile is one of the best known smartphone application companies in Brazil, with a mission of impacting one billion people. It has already received over US$350M in investment over its lifetime. Says founder Fabricio Bloisi:
“We do not want to be a unicorn. We want ten unicorns in our portfolio. “
Neoway: This market intelligence company was one of the first to bring big data to Brazil in the early-2000s. Founder Jaime de Paula plans on taking Neoway public on Nasdaq in 2019.
Read more in the original article for EXAME (portuguese).
