In the startup world, what is a "unicorn"?

A "unicorn" is a privately held startup company valued at more than one billion dollars, typically based on the price investors pay for shares in its most recent funding round rather than actual profits or public trading. The term was coined around 2013 specifically because, at the time, companies reaching that valuation while still private were extremely rare, much like the mythical creature.

A company having a single founder describes its ownership structure, not its financial value, and many billion-dollar startups have multiple co-founders. A business that has gone bankrupt is essentially the opposite situation of a thriving, highly valued unicorn, describing financial failure rather than success.

Since 2013 the number of unicorns has exploded into the thousands worldwide, driven by huge pools of venture capital chasing high-growth startups, prompting some investors to jokingly call the rarest, most successful of these "decacorns" once they pass ten billion dollars in valuation.