A workshop located in Huzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Six companies recently recognized as unicorns by the Hurun Research Institute have established a business presence in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, according to local reports.

In recent years, Hurun has been making efforts to track global unicorns - startups founded in the 2000s worth more than $1 billion but not yet listed on a public exchange anywhere in the world.

Six enterprises with a combined value of 132.2 billion yuan ($18.24 billion), including Svolt Energy Technology and LandSpace, that have invested in Huzhou have been included on the list. These enterprises are engaged in the fields of new energy, enterprise and technology services, digital economy, industrial equipment, and aerospace.

"The increasing number of unicorns choosing Huzhou is closely related to the positive effects brought about by the continuous optimization of the industrial structure in the city," stated the person in charge of the Huzhou Municipal Bureau of Economic and Informationization.

Official statistics show that last year, the added value of the city's strategic emerging industries, high-tech industries, and equipment manufacturing industries rose by 17 percent, 14.5 percent, and 20.2 percent year-on-year, respectively. The added value of the core industries in the digital economy increased by 22.3 percent, driving a 12.6 percentage point increase in the city's added value of industrial companies above a designated size.

Since 2019, the number of unicorns worldwide has tripled from 494 to 1,453. These unicorns come from 53 countries and 291 cities, with the United States leading the pack with 703 companies, followed by China with 340. Eclipsing SpaceX, TikTok owner ByteDance, based in Beijing, has been the world's most valuable unicorn for three consecutive years, with a value of $220 billion, according to Hurun.