ValueAdd VC Research
A record year for billion-dollar startups. AI/ML dominated with 37% of all new unicorns. September exploded with 23 entries — the single busiest month in unicorn history. Over $8.8B in disclosed capital across 12 sectors.
$0.0B
Capital Raised
0
Sectors
$2.75B
Top Valuation
Unicorns per Month
September was 2x the average — a clear inflection point
Capital Raised per Month
$M disclosed — March and September led in deal volume
Total Unicorns
131
Disclosed Rounds
91 of 131
Peak Month
SEP (23)
Highest Valuation
Abridge $2.75B
Total Capital
$8.8B
Median Valuation
$1.0B
Patterns extracted from the 2025 unicorn cohort
48
AI/ML Unicorns
48 of 131 unicorns (37%) are AI/ML companies. No other sector comes close — Fintech is second with just 17. This is the most concentrated unicorn wave around a single technology since cloud computing.
23
Sep Unicorns
23 unicorns in a single month — 2x the monthly average. September saw a rush of AI infrastructure (NScale, Modular, Baseten), healthcare consolidation (Thyme Care, Strive Health), and deep tech breakthroughs (IQM quantum). Late Q3 deal pressure drove the spike.
80
H2 Unicorns
The back half of 2025 produced 80 unicorns vs 51 in H1 — a 57% jump. Capital markets confidence grew through the year, with investors increasingly comfortable writing $1B+ checks after the AI thesis was validated.
40
Undisclosed Rounds
40 unicorns (31%) didn't disclose round sizes. Consumer leads stealth mode at 50% non-disclosure. Companies keeping fundraise details private often signals strategic positioning or competitive sensitivity.
15
$150M+ Rounds
15 companies raised $150M+ in a single round. Fleetio ($450M), Truveta ($320M), AMBOSS ($240M), and Airalo ($220M) led the pack. The average disclosed raise was $96M — well above historical unicorn medians.
17
Above $1B Floor
17 companies earned valuations above the $1B floor: Abridge ($2.75B), Celestial AI ($2.5B), Supabase ($2.0B), NScale ($1.8B), and more. AI infrastructure and developer tools commanded the strongest premiums. Healthcare averaged the largest raises at $160M.
Every unicorn mapped across time — see the AI wave build, the September explosion, and the defense tech emergence
Each bubble is a unicorn. Size = valuation, color = sector. Hover for details.
Cumulative unicorn count by sector through the year — watch AI/ML pull away
Where and when did billion-dollar companies cluster?
How $8.8B+ in disclosed capital was deployed across the 2025 unicorn class
Cumulative Unicorns Through 2025
Cumulative Capital by Sector ($M)
How each sector accumulated disclosed capital through the year
Average Raise by Sector ($M)
Top 10 Largest Raises
How much did it cost to build a unicorn in 2025? The raise-vs-valuation map reveals capital efficiency outliers.
Each dot is a disclosed unicorn. Click a sector to isolate. Hover for details.
Highest valuation-to-raise ratio. These companies commanded the biggest valuations relative to capital raised.
All 131 unicorns — sortable, filterable, searchable.
| # | Company | Raise | Val. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clay▸ JANAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 2 | Loft▸ JANSaaS | — | $1B |
| 3 | Netradyne▸ JANAI/ML | $90M | $1.35B |
| 4 | Hippocratic AI▸ JANAI/ML | $53M | $1B |
| 5 | Sygnum▸ JANFintech | $40M | $1B |
| 6 | Kikoff▸ JANFintech | $210M | $1B |
| 7 | Neko Health▸ JANHealthcare | $65M | $1.7B |
| 8 | Mercor▸ JANAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 9 | Truveta▸ JANHealthcare | $320M | $1B |
| 10 | Hightouch▸ FEBAI/ML | $38M | $1.2B |
| 11 | Tines▸ FEBSecurity | $50M | $1B |
| 12 | OpenEvidence▸ FEBAI/ML | $75M | $1B |
| 13 | Insilico Medicine▸ MARBiotech | $110M | $1B |
| 14 | AMBOSS▸ MARHealthcare | $240M | $1B |
| 15 | Assured▸ MARFintech | — | $1B |
| 16 | Celestial AI▸ MARAI/ML | $175M | $2.5B |
| 17 | Fleetio▸ MARSaaS | $450M | $1.5B |
| 18 | Isomorphic Labs▸ MARBiotech | — | $1B |
| 19 | Peregrine▸ MARAI/ML | $60M | $1B |
| 20 | OLIPOP▸ MARConsumer | — | $1B |
| 21 | Botco▸ MARAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 22 | BuildOps▸ MARSaaS | $50M | $1B |
| 23 | Underdog▸ MARConsumer | $70M | $1.2B |
| 24 | Chapter▸ APRFintech | $50M | $1B |
| 25 | Cyberhaven▸ APRSecurity | $88M | $1B |
| 26 | Supabase▸ APRDevTools | $100M | $2B |
| 27 | Nourish▸ APRHealthcare | $35M | $1B |
| 28 | ThreatLocker▸ APRSecurity | — | $1B |
| 29 | TEKEVER▸ MAYSpace/Defense | $70M | $1B |
| 30 | SpreeAI▸ MAYAI/ML | $40M | $1B |
| 31 | Awardco▸ MAYSaaS | $65M | $1B |
| 32 | Parloa▸ MAYAI/ML | $66M | $1B |
| 33 | Function▸ MAYAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 34 | Pathos▸ MAYBiotech | $62M | $1B |
| 35 | MUBI▸ MAYConsumer | — | $1B |
| 36 | Quantum Systems▸ MAYSpace/Defense | $100M | $1B |
| 37 | Statsig▸ MAYDevTools | $43M | $1.1B |
| 38 | Owner▸ MAYSaaS | $33M | $1B |
| 39 | Thunes▸ MAYFintech | $72M | $1B |
| 40 | Abridge▸ JUNAI/ML | $150M | $2.75B |
| 41 | Decagon▸ JUNAI/ML | $100M | $1.5B |
| 42 | Gecko▸ JUNAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 43 | Jumbotail▸ JUNSaaS | $150M | $1B |
| 44 | Kalshi▸ JUNFintech | $50M | $1B |
| 45 | Linear▸ JUNDevTools | $100M | $1.25B |
| 46 | Meter▸ JUNSaaS | $170M | $1.4B |
| 47 | Teamworks▸ JUNSaaS | $65M | $1B |
| 48 | Verdiva Bio▸ JUNBiotech | — | $1B |
| 49 | Thinking Machines▸ JUNAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 50 | Zama▸ JUNDeep Tech | $73M | $1B |
| 51 | Isar Aerospace▸ JUNSpace/Defense | $165M | $1B |
| 52 | Airalo▸ JULConsumer | $220M | $1B |
| 53 | Also.▸ JULAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 54 | Ambience Healthcare▸ JULAI/ML | $70M | $1B |
| 55 | Anaconda▸ JULDevTools | $150M | $1.5B |
| 56 | Castelion▸ JULSpace/Defense | — | $1B |
| 57 | Fuse▸ JULFintech | $50M | $1B |
| 58 | Lovable▸ JULAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 59 | MaintainX▸ JULSaaS | $50M | $1B |
| 60 | ON X▸ JULConsumer | — | $1B |
| 61 | Tala Health▸ JULHealthcare | — | $1B |
| 62 | Reka▸ JULAI/ML | $110M | $1B |
| 63 | Substack▸ JULConsumer | $100M | $1B |
| 64 | fal▸ AUGAI/ML | $72M | $1B |
| 65 | Framer▸ AUGDevTools | $27M | $1B |
| 66 | Decart▸ AUGAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 67 | Polymarket▸ AUGFintech | $70M | $1B |
| 68 | FieldAI▸ AUGAI/ML | $30M | $1B |
| 69 | Shrapnel▸ AUGGaming/Web3 | $20M | $1B |
| 70 | CompanyCam▸ AUGSaaS | $30M | $1B |
| 71 | Periodic Labs▸ AUGDeep Tech | — | $1B |
| 72 | Filevine▸ SEPSaaS | $108M | $1B |
| 73 | Firmus▸ SEPSecurity | — | $1B |
| 74 | Flying Tulip▸ SEPAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 75 | Invisible▸ SEPAI/ML | $80M | $1B |
| 76 | ZeroHash▸ SEPFintech | $105M | $1B |
| 77 | RedotPay▸ SEPFintech | $40M | $1B |
| 78 | Baseten▸ SEPAI/ML | $75M | $1B |
| 79 | PostHog▸ SEPDevTools | $55M | $1B |
| 80 | Modular▸ SEPAI/ML | $100M | $1B |
| 81 | Kapital▸ SEPFintech | $20M | $1B |
| 82 | Nothing▸ SEPConsumer | — | $1B |
| 83 | NScale▸ SEPAI/ML | $155M | $1.8B |
| 84 | Enveda▸ SEPBiotech | $130M | $1B |
| 85 | UltraGreen.ai▸ SEPClimate | — | $1B |
| 86 | Thyme Care▸ SEPHealthcare | $95M | $1B |
| 87 | Strive Health▸ SEPHealthcare | $166M | $1B |
| 88 | Eve▸ SEPAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 89 | Lead▸ SEPAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 90 | Rebellions▸ SEPAI/ML | $124M | $1B |
| 91 | IQM▸ SEPDeep Tech | $140M | $1.3B |
| 92 | BASE▸ SEPFintech | — | $1B |
| 93 | Distyl▸ SEPAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 94 | YOU▸ SEPAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 95 | Modal▸ OCTAI/ML | $100M | $1.2B |
| 96 | APEX▸ OCTSpace/Defense | $95M | $1B |
| 97 | n8n▸ OCTDevTools | $50M | $1B |
| 98 | Fireworks AI▸ OCTAI/ML | $77M | $1B |
| 99 | NewLimit▸ OCTBiotech | $40M | $1B |
| 100 | Legora▸ OCTAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 101 | Stoke Space▸ OCTSpace/Defense | $100M | $1B |
| 102 | LILA▸ OCTAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 103 | Substrate▸ OCTAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 104 | Tempo▸ OCTSaaS | $60M | $1B |
| 105 | LangChain▸ OCTAI/ML | $100M | $1.5B |
| 106 | Tide▸ OCTFintech | $120M | $1B |
| 107 | Suno▸ NOVAI/ML | $125M | $1B |
| 108 | Gamma▸ NOVAI/ML | $50M | $1B |
| 109 | Curative▸ NOVHealthcare | $200M | $1B |
| 110 | Luma AI▸ NOVAI/ML | $90M | $1B |
| 111 | MainFunc▸ NOVAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 112 | Eight Sleep▸ NOVConsumer | $86M | $1B |
| 113 | Flatpay▸ NOVFintech | $50M | $1B |
| 114 | PDW▸ NOVDeep Tech | — | $1B |
| 115 | Harmonic▸ NOVAI/ML | $75M | $1B |
| 116 | Proof▸ NOVSaaS | $50M | $1B |
| 117 | EXUGLOBAL▸ NOVFintech | — | $1B |
| 118 | Reflection▸ NOVAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 119 | ICEYE▸ DECSpace/Defense | $136M | $1B |
| 120 | Brevo▸ DECSaaS | $100M | $1B |
| 121 | IMPRINT▸ DECFintech | $75M | $1B |
| 122 | Chai Discovery▸ DECAI/ML | $30M | $1B |
| 123 | Oishii▸ DECClimate | $134M | $1B |
| 124 | Erebor▸ DECFintech | — | $1B |
| 125 | Radiant▸ DECDeep Tech | $100M | $1B |
| 126 | HawkEye 360▸ DECSpace/Defense | $100M | $1B |
| 127 | Saviynt▸ DECSecurity | $205M | $1B |
| 128 | HEVEN▸ DECDeep Tech | — | $1B |
| 129 | Serval▸ DECAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 130 | [un]conventional ai▸ DECAI/ML | — | $1B |
| 131 | MoEngage▸ DECSaaS | $77M | $1B |
25 companies hit unicorn status and then raised follow-on rounds — some within months. Speed of re-raise signals investor conviction and market heat.
$100M Series E at $5B (Oct 2025)
Open-source Firebase alternative. $2B to $5B in 4 months. Key beneficiary of vibe coding.
$550M Series D at $5.55B (Mar 2026)
YC's fastest unicorn. Swedish legal AI. $100M revenue in 18 months.
$300M Series E at $5.3B (Jun 2025)
Doubled valuation in 4 months. 1.5M+ medical encounters. 100+ health systems.
$250M Series D at $4.5B (Jan 2026)
AI customer support. Zero to 8-figure ARR in one year.
$350M Series D at $3B (~8 months later)
First German AI unicorn of 2025. Tripled valuation in 8 months.
$126M Series C at $3.5B (Nov 2025)
115M+ clinical patient interactions with zero safety incidents.
$200M Series C at $3.2B (early 2025)
AI medical scribe. One of the fastest-growing AI healthcare startups.
$100M Series C at $3.1B (Aug 2025)
Grew to $500M+ ARR. Sequoia led $1.5B tender offer for employees.
Seeking $20B+ round (Mar 2026)
Founded by ex-DeepMind AlphaGo creators. Raised $2B at $8B. Open-source frontier AI lab.
In talks for $2.5B round (Feb 2026)
Swedish AI-native serverless GPU platform.
$1B Series E at $11B (Dec 2025)
CFTC-regulated prediction market. $1B+/week trading volume. Fastest valuation growth of any 2025 unicorn.
$250M Series D at $12B (Jan 2026)
Fastest-growing physician app in history. $1B to $12B valuation in under 12 months.
$350M Series C at $10B (Oct 2025)
Founded by three 21-year-old Thiel Fellows. $500M+ ARR, profitable. 5x valuation in 8 months.
$50M at $1.5B from Tether (Mar 2026)
AI smart mattress. FCF positive. Celebrity athlete investors incl. Charles Leclerc.
IPO on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Dec 2025), raised $293M
First AI biotech on HKEX Main Board. IPO oversubscribed 1,427x.
EUR 180M Series C Extension at EUR 3B+ (Nov 2025)
First European dual-use unicorn. Tripled valuation to EUR 3B in 6 months.
Additional funding in 2025 for Mojo/MAX platform
Founded by Chris Lattner (creator of LLVM and Swift). Building Mojo language.
Merged with Samsung's Sapeon AI chip unit
Korean AI chip startup. Building ATOM chip to compete with NVIDIA.
Series D $200M (Sep 2025)
Fastest space company to unicorn (3 years). Plans 18 satellite buses/month.
$45M additional (Oct 2025) from Eli Lilly
Co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Epigenetic reprogramming to reverse aging.
Series D $510M (Oct 2025)
100% reusable rocket. ~$990M total raised. Two rounds in same year.
Series D $300M+ (Dec 2025)
Portable nuclear microreactors on a semi-truck. $518M total raised at $1.8B.
$23M added to Series E (Mar 2026)
Largest commercial RF satellite constellation (30+ sats). $75M European defense contract.
$180M additional in Dec 2025
Indian customer engagement platform. 11 years to unicorn. $15M employee tender.
$110M+ Series B (2026)
Performance Drone Works. AI military drones with strike capability.
Who backed the 2025 unicorn class, and which companies have already raised again
Firms that backed the most 2025 unicorns
25 companies already secured follow-on funding
Clay
$100M Series C at $3.1B (Aug 2025)
Hippocratic AI
$126M Series C at $3.5B (Nov 2025)
Mercor
$350M Series C at $10B (Oct 2025)
OpenEvidence
$250M Series D at $12B (Jan 2026)
Insilico Medicine
IPO on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Dec 2025), raised $293M
Supabase
$100M Series E at $5B (Oct 2025)
Parloa
$350M Series D at $3B (~8 months later)
Quantum Systems
EUR 180M Series C Extension at EUR 3B+ (Nov 2025)
Abridge
$300M Series E at $5.3B (Jun 2025)
Decagon
$250M Series D at $4.5B (Jan 2026)
Kalshi
$1B Series E at $11B (Dec 2025)
Ambience Healthcare
$200M Series C at $3.2B (early 2025)
Modular
Additional funding in 2025 for Mojo/MAX platform
Rebellions
Merged with Samsung's Sapeon AI chip unit
Modal
In talks for $2.5B round (Feb 2026)
APEX
Series D $200M (Sep 2025)
NewLimit
$45M additional (Oct 2025) from Eli Lilly
Stoke Space
Series D $510M (Oct 2025)
Eight Sleep
$50M at $1.5B from Tether (Mar 2026)
Radiant
Series D $300M+ (Dec 2025)
HawkEye 360
$23M added to Series E (Mar 2026)
MoEngage
$180M additional in Dec 2025
Reflection
Seeking $20B+ round (Mar 2026)
Legora
$550M Series D at $5.55B (Mar 2026)
PDW
$110M+ Series B (2026)
Interesting tidbits from the 2025 cohort
Grew to $500M+ ARR. Sequoia led $1.5B tender offer for employees.
India's first unicorn of 2025. AI fleet safety dashcams.
115M+ clinical patient interactions with zero safety incidents.
Swiss crypto bank expanding into EU and Hong Kong.
Reached $1B via secondary trading on only $42.5M raised. Steph Curry investor.
Co-founded by Spotify's Daniel Ek. $260M Series B at $1.8B.
Founded by three 21-year-old Thiel Fellows. $500M+ ARR, profitable. 5x valuation in 8 months.
Health data platform owned by health systems. Launched genome sequencing project.
Composable CDP and AI Decisioning platform.
Irish startup. 1B+ tasks automated per week. Customers include Coinbase, Databricks.
Fastest-growing physician app in history. $1B to $12B valuation in under 12 months.
First AI biotech on HKEX Main Board. IPO oversubscribed 1,427x.