Unicorns are so 2020.

Today we are talking about decacorns, $10B+ and even hectocorns, at $100B+, the largest of which is Beijing-based Bytedance valued at $140B. Innovation is a global thing and growing, and the numbers are off the charts. Beyond the US and China, which make up 90% of unicorn valuations worldwide, unicorns or bigger can be found in Sweden, Australia, the UK, the Bahamas, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Netherlands, France, and Israel to name a few.

While births of new unicorns fell by 15% QoQ to 113, in Q1 of 2022, three were 1070 unicorns, a 62% increase YoY. M&A exits increased for the 7th straight quarter, though IPOs and SPACs we down.

Interestingly, 734 of those unicorns have reached that status in 2021 alone. In the first nine months of 2021, there were 23 early-stage transactions conducted at unicorn valuations, beating 2020's total of 13 deals and 2019's total of 12 financings, according to PitchBook data. 

2021 was a record year with startups raising more capital than any time in history. This year, valuations are expected to come back to earth and based on that, risk allocations will not change. For the venture community, life is good. We’ll see how 2022 fares.