The telecommunications industry includes 17 unicorn startups from around the world. India's Reliance Jio leads the group with a valuation of $58 billion.
The list also features newer companies like Nscale, which was founded in 2024 and has already reached a $3 billion valuation.
Below is the full list of 17 Telecommunications unicorn startups at this time.
Top 10 Most Valuable Telecommunications Unicorns
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Get the Sheet for $50Reliance Jio runs a massive telecommunications network in India, offering affordable mobile and internet access through its 4G and 5G infrastructure. Beyond connectivity, they have built a wide-ranging digital ecosystem that includes fiber broadband and numerous popular applications.
| Valuation | $58B |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Mukesh Ambani |
| Funding Amount | $28.4B |
| Company Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Vista Equity Partners, Citi, HSBC, TPG, General Atlantic |
Nscale builds a full-stack AI cloud platform designed for enterprise-scale workloads. Their system provides the complete infrastructure stack for large companies to develop and deploy their own AI applications.
| Valuation | $3B |
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2024 |
| Founders | Donald Morrison, Josh Payne |
| Funding Amount | $1.7B |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Blue Owl, NVIDIA, Point72, Nokia, Dell Technologies |
Bird builds a cloud communications platform that helps businesses talk to their customers on any channel, anywhere in the world. Their suite of APIs and customer engagement tools unifies everything from SMS and email to WhatsApp.
| Valuation | $3B |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands |
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Adriaan Mol, Bob Violier, Robert Vis |
| Funding Amount | $1.1B |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Y Combinator, Lightrock, BlackRock, Spark Capital, Accel |
Airtel Mobile Commerce BV runs the mobile money operations for Airtel Africa, one of the continent's largest telecommunications providers. Their platform gives millions of people access to digital payments and financial services directly through their mobile devices.
| Valuation | $3B |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | $550M |
| Company Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Mastercard, Chimera Investment, The Rise Fund, Qatar Investment Authority |
Mavenir builds cloud-native network software that powers the infrastructure for mobile operators. Their solutions focus on transforming and modernizing networks for the 5G era.
| Valuation | $3B |
| Headquarters | Richardson, Texas, United States |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Founders | Pulin Patel, Rashad Ali |
| Funding Amount | $1.3B |
| Company Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | August Capital, Greenspring Associates, Cisco, Siris Capital Group, Cross Creek |
Syniverse operates as a central hub for the global telecommunications industry, connecting mobile carriers and large businesses. Their platform powers essential services like international roaming and enterprise messaging for billions of users.
| Valuation | $3B |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Year Founded | 1987 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | $777.5M |
| Company Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Twilio |
Dialpad builds an AI-powered customer intelligence platform that brings together voice calls, meetings, and contact center communications. Their system provides real-time AI insights from conversations to help businesses improve sales and customer support.
| Valuation | $2.2B (Joined October 2020) |
| Headquarters | San Ramon, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Alex Cornell, Brian Peterson, Craig Walker, John Rector |
| Funding Amount | $450M |
| Company Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series F |
| Top Investors | Felicis, G Squared, S32, ICONIQ Growth, Andreessen Horowitz |
Cresta builds a generative AI platform that provides real-time intelligence for contact center agents. Their software analyzes live customer conversations to offer coaching and insights, helping turn every agent into an expert.
| Valuation | $2B (Joined March 2022) |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Andre Esteva, Sebastian Thrun, Shan Huang, Tim Shi |
| Funding Amount | $276M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series D |
| Top Investors | Genesys, Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, JP Morgan Chase, Sequoia Capital |
Airalo created the world's first eSIM store to provide travelers with affordable, instant data connectivity. Their mobile app lets users buy and manage digital SIMs for over 200 countries, helping them stay connected without the hassle of physical SIM cards or high roaming charges.
| Valuation | $1B (Joined July 2025) |
| Headquarters | Singapore, Central Region, Singapore |
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Abraham Burak, Ahmet Bahadır Özdemir |
| Funding Amount | $287.3M |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Peak XV Partners, CVC Capital Partners, Plug and Play, Orange, Antler |
Parloa builds a conversational AI platform that automates customer interactions for businesses. Their technology uses generative AI to handle customer service conversations across various communication channels.
| Valuation | $1B (Joined May 2025) |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Berlin, Germany |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Malte Kosub, Stefan Ostwald |
| Funding Amount | $212M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Newion, EQT Ventures, General Catalyst, Mosaic Ventures, Altimeter Capital |
The Remaining 7 Telecommunications Unicorns
The ten most valuable companies only tell part of the story. The telecommunications field is growing worldwide, with strong startups emerging from the US, UK, Sweden, and China.
Each of these companies has also reached the $1 billion valuation mark. Here’s a look at the other unicorns shaping the future of how we connect.