As the number of unicorns tracked by Preqin nears an important milestone, the private capital story of the era is taking shape
From 2005 to H1 2025 Preqin tracked nearly 2,000 global unicorns – private companies backed by venture capital (VC) that hit a valuation of over $1bn.
The number of unicorns minted by VC rose from just two in 2005 to over 500 in the VC market-high year of 2021. In fact, from the start of 2019 to the end of 2022 over five companies per week hit a value of $1bn or more.
How many funding rounds does it take to mint a unicorn?
Which countries can lay claim the most unicorns minted?
What's the most common way to exit a unicorn?
Are downrounds more common since 2021?
Sign in or create a Preqin free account to find out the answer to these and other unicorn questions and access the full report plus free private markets datasets, benchmarks, and industry reports.
Unicorns at a glance
Key data on the rise of Unicorns since 2005:
- ➔1,908
Total number of VC-backed companies tracked by Preqin to achieve a $1bn valuation
- ➔$1,398.5bn
Total money raised by unicorns (2005 – 2025)
- ➔$182mn
Average money raised to hit a $1bn valuation
- ➔3,399
Total unicorn 'raises' (Total funding raised by unicorns, including the $1bn valuation round and subsequent rounds)
- ➔5.1
Average number of rounds to unicorn
- ➔283
Number of unicorns to IPO
- ➔57
Number of unicorn write-offs
- ➔$3.3bn
Aggregate value of unicorns minted to 2005
- ➔$1,013.3bn
Value of unicorns minted in 2021
- ➔$270.5bn
Value of unicorns minted in 2024
1. For more information see 'A word on our methodology'