The 50 Most Valuable Private Companies in the World

The race to build the next generation of global giants has begun, and while public markets (stock exchanges) enjoy the most attention, unlisted companies are "quietly” building massive valuations and shaping the future of industries, according to visualcapitalist.com.

The cited source ranks the 50 most valuable private (unlisted) companies in the world in 2025, highlighting the emerging "powerhouses” in different countries and sectors. The data used in this top comes from CB Insights, which ranks unlisted companies globally according to the most recently reported valuations.

• AI takes control

If in the first position in the ranking, with a valuation of 350 billion dollars, is Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), a company dedicated to the creation of vehicles for space transportation, founded by Elon Musk, and in second place, with 300 billion dollars, ByteDance, a Chinese technology company, artificial intelligence (AI) startups are increasingly occupying positions in the top 10. According to the cited source, OpenAI from the US is in third place, with 300 billion dollars, Anthropic - in seventh place, with 62 billion dollars, and xAI - in eighth place, with 50 billion dollars. All three of these companies have produced some of the most intelligent artificial intelligence models in the world, in recent years.

Further down the ranking we can identify Safe Superintelligence ($30 billion), which was created by former employees of OpenAI and Anthropic, and Scale AI, of which Meta Inc., the owner of Facebook, recently acquired a 49% stake. This deal was not included in the source's data set, but it means Scale is now valued at $29 billion, which would move it up to 14th place.

Finally, there are many companies that have AI applications, but not necessarily as their core product. These include names like Databricks (a data analytics platform), Grammarly (which uses generative AI to power its writing assistant) and Colossal (a biotechnology company).

Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein is in fifth place, with a value of $66 billion.

• Shein files for Hong Kong listing

Retailer Shein has confidentially filed a preliminary prospectus for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in a move aimed at speeding up approval for an initial public offering (IPO), according to sources cited by the Financial Times. The company, founded in China and headquartered in Singapore, has shifted its focus to Hong Kong after 18 months of struggling to secure approvals for a London listing. Shein has also sought approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), which had previously rejected a proposed prospectus format approved by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The sticking point is a section on risks related to the company's supply chain, particularly in the Xinjiang region, where Shein has been accused of indirect links to forced labor. Chinese authorities deny the allegations, but the CSRC has become stricter about how companies describe the risks of operating in China.

Shein sees the London listing as a key step to bolstering its international profile and gaining access to Western investors. At the same time, a large-scale IPO by Shein would have been seen as a welcome boost for the London capital market, which has been hit by delistings and the migration of companies to other exchanges in recent years.

But Chinese approval does not automatically guarantee British acceptance. The British authority has an obligation to protect the interests of investors, and analysts warn that the process will remain rigorous. In addition, Shein faces investigations related to deceptive trading practices in the EU and possible legislative changes in the US and Europe regarding the taxation of cheap imports, which accentuates the uncertainties surrounding the company.