From 2005 to the First Half of 2025, Preqin Has Tracked Nearly 2,000 Global Unicorns, privately held companies backed by venture capital (VC) firms that reached a valuation above $1 billion. The number of unicorns created by venture capital rose from just two in 2005 to more than 500 in 2021, the peak year for this market. In fact, from early 2019 to the end of 2022, more than five companies per week reached a valuation of $1 billion or more. Currently, the number of unicorns recorded since 2005 stands at 1,908.
Much of the global coverage of the unicorn boom has focused on the entrepreneurial stories of the founders of these companies or on the vision and risk appetite of the most renowned venture capital investors. The latest Preqin report, “Unicorns: The Private Capital Take,” analyzes private equity data and the ecosystem in which unicorn companies are born, grow, develop, and go to market.
For example, the number of venture capital funds closed in 2024, the last full year with available data, was the lowest since 2015. In addition, the total capital raised, amounting to $122.5 billion, was also the lowest since that year. Both venture capital deal volume and total deal value have been declining since 2021. Moreover, the exit market is practically closed for VC-backed companies, though there are signs of improvement. Likewise, dry powder began to decline in 2024, in line with a slight uptick in the number of new unicorns created.
Sola Akinola, Managing Director at Preqin, states in the report that the era of “easy unicorn creation” is over. In a context of delayed exits by VC funds, down rounds, and more difficult liquidity, investors “can no longer rely on headlines alone.” According to the expert, what now matters is “clarity: distinguishing lasting companies from those inflated by the era of 0% interest rates.” To do this, she says, “reliable, documented information is needed to track these companies beyond the $1 billion threshold, through secondary deals, continuation funds, and real-world outcomes.” Ultimately, she concludes that in a market defined by uncertainty, “the edge lies in connecting the dots faster and more transparently than anyone else.”
X-Ray of the Unicorn Market
The global landscape of unicorn creation since 2005 has been dominated by the United States. More than half of all companies that reach a valuation of over $1 billion fly the American flag: the United States has accounted for 1,020 unicorns over the past 20 years. However, two fast-growing economies are following close behind: China already counts 252 companies with valuations above $1 billion, and India, 152. Europe, for its part, has a total of 539 unicorns.
One theory circulating in the markets about the reasons for this trend is that the brilliance of U.S. unicorn companies is not the key factor in their success. The Preqin report includes remarks by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, at a New York Times event, where he stated that the United States has a better “venture capital system.” In his view, the availability of $15 million in seed capital for opportunities with just a 10% chance of success in the U.S. sets it apart from Europe, where many financial features, such as the banking system, are otherwise comparable.
Deal data collected by Preqin from 2005 to the first half of 2025 shows 29,890 early-stage deals in the U.S., worth $81 billion, compared to 14,943 deals worth $31 billion in all of Europe during the same period. Additionally, it takes less capital in the U.S. to reach unicorn status: $158 million compared to $198 million in Europe. It also takes less time, an average of 60.9 months in the U.S. versus 65.2 months in Europe. However, reaching a $1 billion valuation involves nearly the same number of funding rounds in both regions: an average of 5.3 in the U.S. and 5.4 in Europe.
In Asia, according to the report, reaching unicorn status requires raising an average of $243 million across 4.8 funding rounds over an average period of 45.7 months. Globally, the average to become a unicorn is $182 million and 59.4 months from the first funding round.
The report reveals that Information Technology (IT) accounts for more than half of all unicorns created since 2005. Healthcare and Financial & Insurance Services follow, though at a much lower volume. It also shows that secondary share sales, IPOs, and trade sales have been the most common exit routes for unicorns, representing nearly 80% of all exits since 2005. Since 2006, 57 unicorns have been written off, falling from valuations above $1 billion to $0.
The Future Challenges of Unicorns
The venture capital landscape has changed over the past 20 years, and its shape for the next 20 years is beginning to take form. The Preqin report notes that secondary markets can provide liquidity when needed. It also raises the possibility that evergreen funds could replace IPOs as a way to ensure long-term value. Moreover, hybrid managers could emerge, with diverse networks to manage risk across asset classes and “even bridge the gap between public and private investments.”
The study emphasizes that private equity has often found ways to adapt. “The shift toward larger growth-stage investments with direct operational involvement, adapting to fewer IPO opportunities and operating with even longer time horizons, will help strengthen venture capital and improve its ability to smooth returns amid changing interest rates and economic downturns,” the report states.
As venture capital adapts, so too will the instruments most influential to its success. Unicorn companies, once mythical and now plentiful, may increasingly approach the realm of private equity. Continuation funds, often focused solely on growth, are just one way that, according to the report, the cultures and practices of venture capital and private equity are converging.
The first unicorn company in Preqin’s Company Intelligence database was Vonage Holdings, a U.S.-based cloud computing platform, which reached a $1.1 billion valuation in May 2005 after a Series E funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures, 3i, and Institutional Venture Partners.
The most recent unicorn, as of June 2025, is Jumbotail Technologies, a retail platform and B2B food and grocery marketplace based in India, founded in 2015. VC investors in its Series D funding round included Artal Asia Pte. Ltd. and SC Ventures.
By Beatriz Zúñiga