Guangdong newly added 19 unicorn enterprises in 2022, accounting for a quarter of the newly added Chinese enterprises, ranking top in China, according to the latest unicorn startup list published by Forbes China recently.

There are 368 Chinese enterprises listed, and 74 enterprises were newly added in 2022.

The listed Guangdong enterprises include AION, Zhongxin Breeding, ON TIME, SUNWODA, and Gokin Solar, in fields such as new energy, clean technology, medicine, life science, and encryption technology. These emerging technology industries are all active in innovation.

84.2 percent of Guangdong unicorn startups are from Guangzhou and Shenzhen

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as the dual-core of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), have become inherent advantages for developing unicorn startups and formed a constitution for industrial innovation with their profound industrial foundation and innovative talent support.

Among the 19 new Guangdong unicorn startups listed, 16 enterprises are from Guangzhou and Shenzhen, accounting for 84.2 percent. The rest of the three companies are from Zhuhai, Zhaoqing, and Yunfu.

There are more than 23,000 and 28,000 enterprises related to the new energy vehicles industry in Guangzhou and Shenzhen respectively, which have cultivated leading enterprises, and have become the new engine of the development of new energy vehicles in the GBA.

Moreover, Guangdong highlights its industrial incubation, cultivating startups into unicorn enterprises faster. In 2022, 17 of the industry's incubated startups became unicorns, an increase of nearly three times compared to the same period in 2021.

Compared to typical Chinese startups, which need five or six years to grow into unicorn enterprises, Guangdong enterprises only take four years on average.

Innovation is the key to Guandong's industrial development

Guangdong, a major auto manufacturing base in China, is expected to produce more than 4.1 million vehicles in 2022, up more than 20 percent year-on-year.

Among them, the output of new energy vehicles is expected to reach nearly 1.3 million units, up 140 percent year-on-year, accounting for about 18 percent of the national total.

In addition, Guangdong continues to lead in the new energy technology innovation field. Since 2022, there have been 483 new energy-related inventions in Guangdong, accounting for 17.3 percent of the national total.

There were 164 driverless inventions, accounting for 12.1 percent of the total in China, providing a constant source of power for innovation and development.