This photo taken on Nov. 4, 2023 shows a city view of Shanghai, east China. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has taken second place with 304 enterprises out of the top 928 global startups, up 4 percent from the previous year, according to Hurun Global Cheetahs Index 2024 released on Dec 18.

The Cheetahs are startups founded in the 2000s, which are most likely to "go unicorns" with a valuation of $1 billion within five years.

The list companies were set up within eight years on average, but they are already worth an average of $400 million, according to Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report.

The US and China are top of the global cheetah index, accounting for 71 percent of the world's cheetah companies.

In terms of industries, biotech and healthtech lead the way on the core business for cheetahs, followed by fintech, artificial intelligence, and enterprise services. In addition, over a quarter of enterprises have adopted AI as part of their core products, especially influencing industries like business management solutions, healthcare and cybersecurity.

China saw over 70 new cheetah companies in the past year, which are mainly in the fields of biotechnology, health technology, robotics, semiconductors and new energy, with 45 startups' valuation upgraded and of which nine upgraded to "unicorns".

Shanghai with 68 companies remains the first choice for global cheetahs. Other cities in China leading in the number of cheetah enterprises are Beijing, 56, Shenzhen, 35, Hangzhou, 34, and Guangzhou, 26.

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