The Lead List is a monthly series that analyzes key buy signals from companies on the Crunchbase Emerging Unicorn Board with fresh funding to help you fill your pipeline with new opportunities.
Following a “stunningly good” January jobs report that announced the U.S. exceeded economists’ expectations by adding 517,000 jobs last month, more experts are predicting that a recession may not be in the cards this year. The report also said that the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest figure since 1969. But we’re not out of the woods yet.
Regardless of this recent wave of economic optimism, salespeople continue to face headwinds. The good news is that it’s still possible to close deals if you know who to target. In this edition of The Lead List, we’ll look at several companies that raised new funding in January and inched closer to becoming unicorns — what we call “emerging unicorns.”
Why emerging unicorns should be on your radar: Emerging unicorns are fast-growing private companies valued between $500 million and $1 billion. Why should these companies matter to you? These not-yet unicorns (unicorns are private companies valued at $1 billion or above) represent a sweet spot for salespeople. They’re established, cash-rich, growing and solving a business problem that could make them the next billion-dollar unicorn.
1. KreditBee
Crunchbase Rank: 27
Post-Money Valuation: $680M
Headquartered in Bangalore, India, KreditBee is a digital lending platform developed to assist young professionals with their personal finances. With $120 million raised in its Series D led by Advent International, the company has now raised $336.2 million over five rounds.
Why KreditBee should be on your radar: Venture capital funding to personal finance companies headquartered in India has increased by a massive 185% year over year — from $1.2 billion in 2021 to $3.5 billion in 2022, per Crunchbase data.
According to Bloomberg, “As powerhouses from China to Germany contend with slowing growth, the stakes are rising to find another nation equipped to propel the global economy. Morgan Stanley predicts that India will drive a fifth of world expansion this decade, positioning the nation as one of only three that can generate more than $400 billion in annual output growth.” With the Indian economy growing at an exponential rate, it is no surprise that the personal finance sector is booming.
2. Tredence
Crunchbase Rank: 44
Post-Money Valuation: $500M
Based in San Jose, California, Tredence is a provider of data analytical services designed for the telecom, health care and retail industries. Tredence has raised a total of $205 million over two rounds. Its recent venture round in December 2022 totaled $175 million.
Why Tredence should be on your radar: Earlier this month, Tredence announced the launch of ATOM.AI, an intelligently engineered platform that leverages AI to accelerate data and analytics modernization. According to Business Insider, “Investing in generative AI and machine learning is nothing new for VCs. But the wild success of ChatGPT and the promise of even faster advancements has investors more excited than ever.”
Co-founder and CRO Shashank Dubey told the Business Standard that it’s full speed ahead for Tredence, which is targeting the $500 million revenue mark by 2026, and the subsequent $1 billion revenue milestone by 2028-29.
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3. InsuranceDekho
Crunchbase Rank: 332
Post-Money Valuation: $750M
This Gurgaon, India-based insurtech startup helps users compare insurance quotes from top-rated companies and purchase the policy that best suits their needs. InsuranceDekho has raised a total of $157 million over three rounds, with its most recent venture round led by Goldman Sachs bringing in $37 million.
Why InsuranceDekho should be on your radar: While legacy insurance companies continue on the path of digital transformation, insurtech is helping them accelerate their efforts with plug-and-play solutions that cover the entire lifecycle of insurance, from underwriting to claim settlement. InsuranceDekho is in position to capitalize on this trend.
4. Delos
Crunchbase Rank: 741
Post-Money Valuation: $800M
Headquartered in New York City, Delos transforms homes, offices, schools and other indoor environments by placing health and wellness at the center of design and construction decisions. The company’s recent $350,000 debt financing round increases its total funding to $198.5 million.
Why Delos should be on your radar: During the pandemic, many experts recommended that employers adopt technologies to clear the air in workplaces — such as upgrade their HVAC filters to high-quality particle filters. Lasting air-quality improvement may mean investing in more localized workplace tech, and with its air-filtration technology, Delos is poised to be a big player in this space.
5. Inscripta
Crunchbase Rank: 1,197
Post-Money Valuation: $565M
Inscripta is a life science technology company enabling scientists to solve some of today’s most pressing challenges with the first benchtop system for genome editing. After raising $4.4 million in venture funding, this Boulder, Colorado-based company’s total funding raised to date is now $463.9 million.
Why Inscripta should be on your radar: As the synthetic biology industry continues to assess different strategies for success and longevity, Inscripta is shifting its vision from being a technology provider to developing and commercializing bio-based products using a lean approach to biomanufacturing.
“There is a growing confidence in the market potential and the market opportunity across many different sectors,” said Sri Kosaraju, Inscripta’s president and CEO.
In mid-January, the company announced the acquisition of Sestina Bio and Infinome Biosciences in a bold move that solidifies its change in direction. Having completely restructured its business, Inscripta is ready for a new chapter.
6. Tabby
Crunchbase Rank: 1,264
Post-Money Valuation: $660M
Headquartered in Dubai, over 5,000 global brands and businesses use Tabby’s technology to accelerate growth and gain loyal customers by offering flexible payments online and in stores. Its recent $58 million Series C, led by Sequoia Capital India and STV, brings its total funding to $394 million. The investors also co-led the fintech’s Series B extension round last June.
Why Tabby should be on your radar: Tabby has doubled its valuation from 18 months ago, and is currently one of the most valued startups in the MENA region.
“The Egyptian consumer right now is quite used to buying in installments, which usually come with added costs in the form of interest or additional fees. So, coming in with an entirely cost-free product for the customer has been quite a differentiator, and we’ve seen a lot of strong demand there,” co-founder and CEO Hosam Arab told TechCrunch.
In developed countries where credit is traditionally accessed via credit cards, buy-now, pay later can be seen as a nice-to-have. However, for developing markets where credit penetration is low or having a credit history is less common, BNPL has a robust use case.
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7. Wallapop
Crunchbase Rank: 2,706
Post-Money Valuation: $831M
Wallapop is a peer-to-peer marketplace based in Barcelona, Spain, that provides users with more localized, less wasteful and more eco-friendly routes for buying and selling items. With 81 million euros ($88.1 million) in new funding, which is an extension round of its 157 million euro Series G in February 2021, the company’s total funding raised to date is now 239.6 million euros. Korelya Capital and Naver were the lead investors in this latest funding round.
Why Wallapop should be on your radar: TechCrunch reported that Wallapop’s 2022 financial year had revenues of 72 million euros, up 40% on FY 2021. Meanwhile, Wallapop Envíos, its end-to-end shipping service (versus users sending off packages themselves), grew to 32 million euros from 17 million euros in that period. Subscription services also brought in 10 million euros in revenue, up from 6.7 million euros in 2020. These are signs not just of the maturing of the platform, but also of how the company is trying to diversify how it makes money.
8. Hutouju
Crunchbase Rank: 24,543
Post-Money Valuation: $550M
Headquartered in Shanghai, Hutouju is a dessert retailer that operates both retail locations and online stores, offering customers tasty products with a Chinese style. Hutouju raised a new venture round in January led by Sequoia Capital China and GGV Capital.
Why Hutouju should be on your radar: The Chinese bakery market is large, with an annual revenue of more than 300 billion yuan ($44 million). Product innovation and packaging image upgrades have changed the traditional Chinese pastry industry in recent years, providing consumers with a better experience through fresh and ready-made raw materials. Hutouju is emerging as a leader in its space, appealing to young people in particular.
“From the opening of the first store in 2019, it has driven the entire Chinese dim sum innovation craze,” said Li Hao, managing director of Light Source Capital.
9. Huisheng Biopharmaceutical
Crunchbase Rank: 30,055
Post-Money Valuation: $810M
Based in Jilin, China, Huisheng Biopharmaceutical is a developer of biopharmaceutical therapeutics intended to better treat diabetes and its complications. With 580 million yuan ($85 million) in new funding, an extension round of its 500 million yuan Series A in June 2022, the company’s total funding raised to date is now 1.1 billion yuan. Baixing Bairong was the lead investor in this latest funding round.
Why Huisheng Biopharmaceutical should be on your radar: The market size of China’s biopharma industry is predicted to grow from $47.6 billion in 2020 to $111.76 billion in 2025. From 2010 to 2020, 141 new drug and biotech companies were launched in China, doubling from the previous decade. And with China’s rapidly aging population and a growing affluent middle class, the country’s biopharma industry presents compelling opportunities to investors. Huisheng Biopharmaceutical is positioned to be a major player in the space.
Methodology
This edition of The Lead List includes companies on Crunchbase’s Emerging Unicorn Board that raised new funding throughout January. The companies are ordered based on their Crunchbase rank score (a proprietary, dynamic ranking that uses intelligent algorithms to score and rank companies) as of Jan. 26, 2023. An entity’s Crunchbase rank is fluid and subject to rise and fall over time due to time-sensitive events such as product launches, funding events and leadership changes, so the current rank score may not reflect the listed rank scores.
The Emerging Unicorn Board is updated whenever a new company reaches a specific valuation range (between $500 million and less than $1 billion). Once a company reaches a valuation of $1 billion, it is classified as a “unicorn” and added to The Crunchbase Unicorn Board. Companies that exit through a public listing or acquisition are removed from the Emerging Unicorn Board and the Crunchbase Unicorn Board.
If you have any questions about companies on the board or this list, please contact us at support@crunchbase.com.
