Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesBillions of dollars are flowing into these startups.
There used to be a time when a $1 billion valuation was considered a massive success for tech startups.
But in recent years, there's been so many of them that billion-dollar valuations are almoststarting to feel routine in tech.
So we've raised the bar and narrowed down WSJ’s “The Billion-Dollar Startup Club” list to companies that are valued at more than $5 billion.
These startups are transforming our lives and they're definitely worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
#9 Pinterest: “A visual discovery tool”
Pinterest logo
Valuation: $5 billion
CEO: Ben Silbermann
Founded: 2008
What it does: Pinterest allows users to share/store stuff online by “pinning” images and content.
Total funding: $762.5 million
Notable investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Rakuten
#8 Square: “Start selling today”
Square's card reader allows stores to accept credit cards through mobile devices.
Valuation: $6 billion
CEO: Jack Dorsey
Founded: 2009
What it does: Square is a mobile payments company that allows stores to accept credit/debit cards on their smartphones and tablets. Its business has expanded to online invoicing and deposits as well.
Total funding: $590.5 million
Notable investors: KPCB, Khosla Ventures, Citi Ventures, Sequoia Capital
#7 Jingdong (JD.com)
JD.com is one of the largest Chinese e-commerce sites.
Valuation: $7.3 billion
CEO: Qiangdong Liu
Founded: 2004
What it does: Jingdong is one of the largest e-commerce sites in China. It used to be named 360buy.com.
Total funding: $2.2 billion
Notable investors: Tiger Global Management, Bull Capital Partners, Digital Sky Technologies
#6 Palantir: “Products built for a purpose”
Peter Thiel is one of the co-founders of Palantir.
Valuation: $9.3 billion
CEO: Alexander Karp
Founded: 2004
What it does: Palantir is a software and services company that specializes in data analysis. Some of its biggest clients are government agencies like the CIA and FBI.
Total funding: $950 million
Notable investors: Founders Fund, Tiger Global Management, Glynn Capital Management
#5 Xiaomi: “Best Android phone”
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun showing smartphone sales growth.
Valuation: $10 billion
CEO: Jun Lei
Founded: 2010
What it does: Xiaomi is one of the biggest Chinese electronics brands that makes smartphones. Its smartphones are considered one of the best Android phones in the market.
Total funding: $347 million
Notable investors: IDG Capital Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Morningside Group
#4 Snapchat: “Fast and fun mobile conversation”
Valuation: $10 billion
CEO: Evan Spiegel
Founded: 2012
What it does: Its photo messaging app allows users to send photos and videos that get deleted after a set period of time.
Total funding: $163 million
Notable investors: Benchmark Capital, Coatue Management, SV Angel
#3 Dropbox: “Your stuff, anywhere”
Dropbox has more than 200 million users worldwide.
Valuation: $10 billion
CEO: Drew Houston
Founded: 2007
What it does: Dropbox allows users to easily store and share files on the web. It has over 200 million users worldwide.
Total funding: $1.1 billion
Notable investors: Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital, Greylock Ventures
#2 Airbnb: “Welcome home”
Airbnb founder and CEO Brian Chesky
Valuation: $10 billion
CEO: Brian Chesky
Founded: 2008
What it does: Airbnb offers a marketplace for people to rent out their homes to temporary residents. It’s currently available in 190 countries.
Total funding: $794.8 million
Notable investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners
#1 Uber: “Moving people”
You can easily hail a cab with Uber.
Valuation: $18.2 billion
CEO: Travis Kalanik
Founded: 2009
What it does: Uber's taxi-hailing app connects its users with drivers of private vehicles under Uber’s contact. It offers different types of cars, from full-size luxury cars to smaller vehicles.
Total funding: $1.5 billion
Notable investors: Benchmark Capital, Menlo Ventures, Google Ventures, KPCB
BONUS: Here are some other companies to keep your eye on.
Elon Musk runs both SpaceX and Tesla Motors.
- SpaceX: The spacecraft company founded by Elon Musk, SpaceX has raised over $245 million since its founding in 2002, and is now valued at roughly $4.8 billion.
- Cloudera: The big data startup behind a technology called Hadoop, Cloudera has more than $1.2 billion in funding, and was last valued at $4.1 billion.
- Spotify: The Sweden-based music streaming service has more than 24 million users and it now valued at about $4 billion.
- Lending Club: It’s the largest online marketplace for loans in the US, and has already filed for a $500 million IPO. Its last valuation was $3.8 billion.
- Jawbone: The wearable technology and speaker manufacturer is now worth $3.3 billion.
Now that you've seen the highest valued startups...
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Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/startups-valued-more-than-5-billion-2014-10?op=1#ixzz3HEDHucxg
