The World's 13 Most Valuable Startups

Source: Wikimedia Commons

13. DJI
> Valuation: $10 billion
> Industry: Drone manufacturing
> Total funding raised: $105 million
> 5-month value change: None

Dajiang Innovation Technology Co., a Chinese personal use drone manufacturer better known as DJI, is the global leader of the burgeoning industry. The company’s Phantom drone, currently in its fourth iteration, has been among the most popular models, able to take stable, high quality photos and videos from as high as 400 feet.

As of the end of last year, the company had roughly 70% of the global commercial drone market. The company has been active for years, and its business grew by at least 300% every year between 2009 and 2014. Investments made in March were based on a $10 billion company valuation.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

12. Dropbox
> Valuation: $10.5 billion
> Industry: Cloud computing
> Total funding raised: $607 million
> 5-month value change: None

Dropbox is a cloud based file storage service touted for its simplicity and reliability. Founded in 2007, the company capitalized early the potential of cloud computing. While it is certainly not the only startup company providing cloud storage services, it is one of the most valuable and ubiquitous. The company boasts 500 million users worldwide and is valued at $10.5 billion. Dropbox investors include asset management firm BlackRock and investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Investment.

Former Apple CEO, the late Steve Jobs, offered to buy Dropbox from co-founder Drew Houston in 2009 but was turned down.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

11. Pinterest
> Valuation: $11 billion
> Industry: Social media
> Total funding raised: $1.3 billion
> 5-month value change: None

Founded in March 2010, photo-sharing social media site Pinterest now gets about 2 billion user searches each month. The company has been working to improve its advertising revenue through targeted content. It also recently announced it would be heavily investing in video. Unlike most social media networks, users generate only a small share of the content that appears on the site. About three-quarters of the network’s content is provided by partners, which include advertisers and brands.

The image-sharing social media site has been actively pulling executives from other notable startups, including from Snapchat, another company on this list. To date, the $11 billion-valued company had raised $2.6 billion.