A total of 195 companies joined Crunchbase’s list of private startups valued at $1 billion or more during the first half of 2026, surpassing the number recorded throughout 2025, when 193 companies received this classification according to the article’s main text. This represents the highest level since the second half of 2022, at a time when startup funding is experiencing significant disparities between valuations and sectors.
According to Crunchbase data, the companies in this cohort added approximately $440 billion to the total value of the billion-dollar company list, equivalent to 5% of its current value. These companies also raised $80 billion through their funding rounds, representing 5% of the funding received by private companies that still maintain valuations of $1 billion or more.
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Lead the Way
Robotics companies and artificial intelligence lab startups were among the leading sectors producing new unicorns. Other sectors that stood out during the period included financial services, healthcare and biotechnology, artificial intelligence infrastructure, the deployment of its applications and development tools, as well as defense technology, semiconductors, and space.
China’s DeepSeek, which specializes in developing open-source models, topped the list of the most valuable new companies after receiving a valuation of $50 billion in its first external funding round. Cryptocurrency trading platform OKX, headquartered in the Seychelles, ranked second with a value of $25 billion. San Francisco-based OpenAI Deployment Co. came third after raising $4 billion from private equity investors at a valuation of $14 billion.
The group included four companies classified as “decacorns,” valued at $10 billion or more during the first half, along with five other companies whose valuations exceeded $5 billion each by early August 2026. Based on the trends of 2025 companies, Crunchbase indicates that the valuations of the new cohort may rise significantly during the following year. Of the 193 companies that joined in 2025, 12 became decacorns, while the valuations of 18 companies exceeded $5 billion; nine of those decacorns became companies worth more than $10 billion in 2026.
The United States Leads as China Advances
The United States accounted for 110 new companies, equivalent to 56% of the first-half total. China came second with 38 companies, a significant increase from the 10 new companies in 2025, while the United Kingdom ranked third with 13 companies.
- North America: 115 companies.
- Asia: 50 companies.
- Europe: 27 companies.
- Latin America, Oceania, and Africa: one company for each region.
Successive Funding Rounds Increase Valuations
Nineteen companies from the first-half cohort conducted rapid follow-on funding rounds, often within six months or less, doubling their previous valuations and bringing them to $2 billion or more. Examples include semiconductor company Etched, which doubled its valuation to $10 billion from $5 billion within six months, and defense technology company Hadrian, whose valuation rose to $7.9 billion from $1.6 billion within seven months. The valuation of Valar Atomics, which develops nuclear reactors for artificial intelligence, also rose to $6 billion from $2 billion within four months.
Crunchbase believes that the acceleration of follow-on rounds and rising valuations, along with the addition of trillions of dollars to the value of the company list during the first six months of 2026, reflect growing momentum around the fastest-growing companies in the current artificial intelligence cycle. The article also indicates that the first half saw the largest exit of a venture-backed company up to that point, through SpaceX’s initial public offering.
List Methodology
The Crunchbase Unicorn Board includes private companies that reached a post-money valuation of $1 billion or more, with companies added once they reach that threshold in a funding round. The list does not reflect companies’ internal valuations, such as valuations determined for employee stock options, nor are the values adjusted based on periodic investor write-downs. Funding figures include private investments in companies classified as unicorns, as well as companies that later moved to the exited companies list.