Billion Dollar Unicorns: Machine Zone Translates Multi-Player Games to Multi-Billion Valuation

According to Superdata Research, the online massively-multiplayer (MMO) game industry is estimated to grow to $11 billion in 2015, accounting for 21% of the worldwide digital games market. The industry is estimated to be worth $13 billion by 2017. Free-to-play constitutes the biggest pie of this market with $9.3 billion in revenues in 2015 and growing to $11.1 billion by 2017. The pay-to-play segment is expected to grow from $2.3 billion in 2015 to $1.7 billion by 2017. Leading online MMO game developer and Billion Dollar Unicorn Machine Zone is already witnessing rapid growth in adoption and market valuation.

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Carnival in the Cloud: Workday and Oracle Continue to Battle it Out

According to a recent research report, cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions market is estimated to have grown 21% in 2014 to $6.1 billion. It is further expected to grow to $10 billion by 2019 at a CAGR of 10%. SAP is the leader in the market with 11% share and Workday (NYSE: WDAY) is the second largest player accounting for 9% of the market, followed by Ultimate Software with 7% share and Oracle with 6% share.

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What Lies Ahead for Salesforce?

According to Gartner, worldwide CRM software sales grew 13.3% to $23.2 billion in 2014. About 47% of the sales were SaaS-based, which has helped Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) grow its market share to 18.6% in the No.1 spot. Salesforce has been successful in leveraging SaaS in CRM for its growth. Its recent results are a testimony to that. But now, it is looking at analytics and verticals for more growth. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: Alteryx is a Prospect

According to a Research and Markets report, the global Business Intelligence and Analytics Software Market is expected to grow from $17.90 billion in 2014 to $26.78 billion by 2019, at a CAGR of 8.4%. Gartner adds that with the proliferation of data sources and applications, analytics is shifting from being a singular tool to become more omnipresent, embedded in various applications and infrastructures. One vendor in this evolving BI and analytics space is Alteryx, which is seen as a prospective Billion Dollar Unicorn. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: Ele.Me Shows Online-2-Offline Works

China’s total consumption in the food ordering industry is estimated to grow from 450 billion yuan (~$70.6 billion) in 2013 to 700 billion yuan (~$109.9 billion) by 2016, at an annual growth rate of 16%. Back in 2013, food delivering accounted for nearly 10% of this market, which indicates that the food ordering and delivery industry will reach 70 billion yuan (~$11 billion) by 2016. China’s Billion Dollar Unicorn Ele.me is a leading player in this segment.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Match.com Looking to Court the Stock Market Now

According to an IBISWorld report, dating sites in the US are expected to earn $1.17 billion in 2015 with dating apps expected to bring in $628.8 million. In 2014, dating sites had generated $1.08 billion in revenues with dating apps accounting for $572 million in revenues. The market has seen significant consolidation in the online dating industry with over 10 dating companies getting acquired last year. Analysts attribute the consolidation to there being “too many players and not a lot generating sufficient revenue for these sites”. Among the leading players in the segment is Billion Dollar Unicorn player Match.com, which recently filed to go public.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Atlassian Now Prepping for a US Listing

According to a Gartner report, the Application Development market is projected to be worth $8.7 billion this year. An IDC report estimates the Collaborative Applications market to be worth $13.5 billion and the Project and Portfolio Management market to be worth $3.8 billion in 2015. Australian entry to the Billion Dollar Unicorn club Atlassian has established a strong presence in these markets and is now looking to list on the US Stock exchange.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Kabbage Latest Unicorn in Slowing Online Lending Sector

Loan approvals from traditional banks to small businesses had taken a huge hit after the recession and this has led to the rise of alternative lending services and online lending platforms. According to a research study by TradeUp, more than $8.6 billion or 2.8% of small business loans in 2014 were from online lending platforms. Kabbage is one such online lending platform that has recently made its way to the Billion Dollar Unicorn Club . >>>

Facebook Keen on SMBs But Not on Monetizing WhatsApp

According to BIA/KELSEY, spending on local media by small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will reach $50.4 billion in 2015, representing 35.8% of total local media spending in the US. Out of this, SMBs are expected to spend $12.4 billion on digital media. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is looking to tap this market with its focus on SMBs. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: FanDuel Creates a Billion Dollar Company out of Fantasy Sports

According to an ESPN research, non-betting, yearly-based fantasy sports users are a fast growing demographic, reporting a 25% annual growth rate since 2011. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that there are nearly 51.8 million fantasy sports players in the US and Canada in 2015. Another research firm Eilers Research estimates the daily games to generate nearly $2.6 billion in entry fees in 2015 and grow 41% annually to $14.4 billion by the year 2020. The fast growing industry is also helping create Billion Dollar Unicorns. One such company is New York-based FanDuel.

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