Unicorns need tech to tap opportunities

CHINESE unicorn companies are poised to seize strategic growth opportunities over the next three years if they respond to “challenges in technology, talent, operation and financing,” a PwC report said yesterday.

A “unicorn” is a tech startup valued at least US$1 billion.

Executives at domestic unicorn companies see the most pressing challenges is to adapt to the technology revolution, changes in consumer behavior, and the emergence of new business models, PwC said.

Its survey found that 57 percent of executives at Chinese unicorn firms indicated the continuous emergence of new technologies as the primary external factor likely to affect their companies, while 45 percent noted the emergence of disruptive business models in the next one to three years.

“To rank among the top players in the future, unicorns will increasingly need to use innovative technology as a driver, underpinned by new business models, to secure the commercialization of their technologies,” Gao Jianbin, TMT leader of PwC China, said.

A majority of the unicorn executives saw big data and artificial intelligence to be most influential for business development and product research, followed by cloud computing, Internet of Things, 5G and blockchain, the survey said.

The executives regarded talent as key to sustain their growth strategies for the next one to three years.

The survey found that 64 percent of the executives plan to list their firms in the next two years by tapping the Chinese depositary receipts.

“Unicorn companies are flourishing in China and will embrace strategic growth opportunities in the next three years,” Wilson Chow, PwC Global TMT Leader, said. “These firms have to respond to challenges in technology, talent, operation and financing to win.”