Method and rules of the game
Uback ranks non-listed tech startups in descending order of estimated valuation. The estimate is produced by artificial intelligence models, using the information available: funding rounds, published valuations, business metrics, investors, comparables. Uback publishes the rank, an estimated valuation and its uncertainty range, along with the order of magnitude.
The market decides, Uback estimates
A startup’s value only truly exists when an agreement sets it: a funding round, a sale, an IPO. Between two transactions, it keeps moving, like a share price, without anyone observing it.
Uback does not claim to set that value. It estimates it, with the information available, for one purpose only: to rank companies against each other. The exercise is imprecise by nature. That is why Uback publishes a rounded estimate within a range, never a precise valuation.
The amount raised is not the ranking criterion. It is one signal among others. A company that has raised little but grows fast and profitably may be worth more than one that has raised a lot.
Three families of rankings
By country: all sectors, then by sector. A country ranking covers startups whose main operations (team, market) are in that country. It is published every quarter, always on the same day: Morocco, for example, on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15.
By region. A regional ranking (Europe, Gulf, North Africa…) compares the leading startups of a zone. It is published twice a year.
Global, by segment. A global ranking compares a startup with its direct competitors, wherever they are: carpooling, crypto exchanges, payroll… Segments sit in a public three-level taxonomy (family > sector > segment). Each segment is published twice a year, six months apart: consumer neobanks, for example, on January 1 and July 1.
One calendar, set a year in advance. Each ranking has its own publication day, repeated every year. Because dates are staggered, a new ranking comes out almost every day from the 1st to the 28th. Days 29 to 31 are kept for out-of-cycle updates, which never replace the scheduled edition. Each ranking shows its date and the next one; the full list is on the Calendar page. While Uback is in beta, each ranking is published as soon as it is ready; the calendar shows the rhythm that will apply after the beta.
The same company can therefore appear in several rankings: its country’s, its region’s and its segment’s.
Why quarterly and twice-yearly? Between two transactions, the information available on a non-listed company changes little. A slower pace gives the AI models room for deeper analysis at each edition. Between editions, the Radar is updated as funding rounds are announced.
AI models, one verdict
Until 30 November 2026, rankings are produced by Claude (Anthropic) alone. From 1 December 2026, each ranking will be the consensus of several AI models from different publishers. Each model estimates independently, without knowing the others’ answers. Their consensus sets the rank; their disagreement lowers the confidence index.
How valuation is estimated
What the AI looks at. Public information only: funding rounds (amount, date, type, investors), published valuations, known business metrics (revenue, growth, headcount, customers, profitability, licences), and comparable acquisitions and IPOs in the same segment. Each segment has its own key metrics, shown on the ranking page. The amount raised is one signal among others, never the criterion.
Rounds in talks. Rounds reported in talks by major financial media are taken into account, at a discount, until they close.
The confidence index. Shown for each company: High, Medium or Low. It reflects how recent and solid the public information is and, once several AI models are used, how far they agree. When information is old, sparse or single-sourced, the index is lower and the range wider.
Richer data over time. Each edition adds new sources. Estimates should become more precise from one edition to the next.
Estimate, range and order of magnitude
For each ranked company, Uback shows three things:
- A central estimate (for example “≈ USD 1.5bn”), rounded to two significant figures. It sets the rank.
- An uncertainty range around that estimate, wider when the data is old, single-sourced or fragile.
- The order of magnitude, that is the bracket containing the estimate:
| Range | Estimated valuation |
|---|---|
| Hundreds of k$ | $100k to $1M |
| Millions | $1M to $10M |
| Tens of millions | $10M to $100M |
| Hundreds of millions | $100M to $1B |
| Unicorn | $1B to $10B |
| Decacorn | $10B to $100B |
| Hectocorn | over $100B |
Within a range, companies remain ranked by their estimate. When the data does not allow a serious estimate, the company is not ranked. It appears in the Radar.
These estimates are editorial, purely indicative and imperfect by nature: only the market sets a company’s value, through a funding round or a sale. They are neither a financial valuation, nor an offer, nor investment advice. A company that considers a figure inaccurate can request a correction.
Who is eligible
A startup, for Uback, is a non-listed company, born independent, funded with equity by outside investors, that has not been entirely bought. It must also be alive: at least one equity transaction in the last ten years. The full rules, and what happens to a company that does not meet them, are on the “Eligibility criteria” page.
Ranking, Challengers, Radar
- The ranking: the eligible companies the AI can value with enough confidence, in order of estimated valuation, up to the number of places shown in the ranking’s title. The other known eligible companies go to the Radar. Nothing in it can be bought.
- Challengers: a paid visibility space, reserved for registered companies raising funds that want to be seen by investors. It is displayed separately, labelled as sponsored, and has no effect on the ranking. A Challenger that becomes eligible and can be estimated enters the ranking on the same terms as any other company.
- The Radar: the other known eligible companies, sorted by date of last funding round. Updated continuously, without estimates.
How human input is taken into account
Uback will open its rankings to analysts’ views. An analyst will be able to publish, under their own name, a critical reading of a ranking: why one company seems underestimated, why another seems overestimated. These pieces will let them showcase their expertise. Readers will be able to rate them as useful or not.
The AI models may take these views into account, but are not bound to. Only the AI models decide the ranking, and they do not have to justify whether or not they took a view into account. No view, vote or payment is binding on them.
The rules by which the AI models consider these views are part of the instructions given to them.
Factual corrections are handled differently (see “Corrections”): a wrong amount, date or status is corrected in the data as soon as it is verified.
Rules of the game
- The ranking is never for sale. No payment, from a company, a partner or an investor, influences a rank or a range.
- No human changes the order. A human may exclude a company on eligibility grounds, with a record kept, or re-run the calculation. Never reorder it.
- The principles are public. This page sets out the principles common to all rankings. The detailed method, the instructions given to the AI models and the working data are not published.
- Uback is not a financial intermediary. Uback holds no mandate, does not negotiate, gives no advice and collects no funds intended for investment. Any transaction is offered by the country’s local partner, under its own responsibility.
- Data stays in. Investment intentions are confidential. No data is sold. It is passed only to the country’s local partner, with the investor’s consent.
Invest. Uback lets investors declare an investment intention on a sector (worldwide, in a region or in a country, for example robotics in Germany or robotics in Europe) or on a specific company, whether or not it has agreed. Intentions are never declared on a country or a region alone. If the pool on a company reaches critical mass and the company does not follow up, Uback invites its Backers to move their intentions to a competitor or a similar company. How it works is described on the “Invest with Uback” page.
Corrections
Any company mentioned may report inaccurate information (amount, date, sector, status) or dispute its rank, using the correction form. Every request receives a reasoned reply, and every factual correction is recorded.
A company cannot ask not to appear in a ranking. Uback deals with public information about economic actors. Only an eligibility reason can lead to removal.
Sources and limits
Uback relies on each country’s business and tech press, international press, industry reports, public registers and data services. Each ranking lists, at the bottom of its page, the media it draws on.
Uback does not rule out errors of interpretation, or the inadvertent use of inaccurate information published elsewhere. We do our best to keep them out, and we correct them as soon as an error is reported.