With artificial intelligence continuing to dominate venture capital agendas, 2025 proved to be another landmark year for startup valuations. Every month, a steady stream of privately held companies crossed the coveted $1 billion valuation mark, earning “unicorn” status and underscoring investor appetite for high-growth innovation.

Using data compiled from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked the venture-backed startups that reached unicorn valuations throughout 2025. While AI-led companies made up the majority of new entrants, the list also highlights strong investor interest in sectors such as aerospace, defence, healthcare, energy, fintech, crypto, and biotechnology. Notable non-AI examples include satellite manufacturer Loft Orbital and prediction markets platform Kalshi.

This tracker was updated continuously throughout the year, and monitoring will continue in 2026 as the next wave of high-growth startups passes the $1 billion threshold.

December: Late-Year Momentum Across AI, Energy and Crypto

December capped off the year with a diverse mix of unicorns spanning hydrogen-powered aviation, nuclear energy, fintech and cybersecurity.

• Heven Aerotech reached a $1 billion valuation after raising a $100 million Series B, bringing its total funding to $115.2 million. Founded in 2019, the company develops hydrogen-powered drones, with IonQ listed among its investors (PitchBook).

• Unconventional AI, founded in 2025 by former Databricks AI head Naveen Rao, surged to a $4.5 billion valuation following a $475 million seed round backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed, Rao told Bloomberg.

• Saviynt, an identity and access management cybersecurity firm founded in 2010, reached $3 billion after securing a $700 million Series B, lifting total funding to $740 million with backing from KKR (PitchBook).

• Serval, an AI-agent platform for IT professionals launched in 2024, achieved a $1 billion valuation after a $74.8 million Series B, with Sequoia and Redpoint among its investors (PitchBook).

• Chai Discovery, which builds AI models to predict biochemical molecular structures, reached $1.3 billion after raising $130 million in Series B funding. The company has now raised nearly $230 million from investors including General Catalyst and Thrive Capital (PitchBook).

• MoEngage, a customer analytics platform founded in 2014, crossed $1.1 billion following a $280 million Series F, bringing total funding to approximately $450 million (PitchBook).

• Radiant, a nuclear energy startup aiming to replace diesel power, achieved a $1.8 billion valuation after a $300 million Series D, with cumulative funding exceeding $500 million (PitchBook).

• Imprint, a payments processing company founded in 2020, reached $1.2 billion after raising $149 million in Series D, taking total funding beyond $420 million (PitchBook).

• HawkEye 360, a defence-tech company specialising in radio-frequency data, hit a $2 billion valuation following a $150 million Series E, with nearly $500 million raised to date.

• Oishii, a vertical farming startup launched in 2016, reached $1.2 billion after a $450 million Series C, bringing total funding to around $650 million (PitchBook).

• Erebor, a crypto-focused bank founded in 2025, achieved a $4.3 billion valuation after raising a $350 million seed round, with Lux Capital among its backers (PitchBook).

November: AI Agents, Healthcare and Creative Tech Shine

November saw a surge in AI-native platforms, healthcare services and generative media companies.

Highlights include Main Func at $1.25 billion (Forbes), Gamma at $2.1 billion (TechCrunch), Curative at $1 billion, and Harmonic, which raised its valuation after a $120 million Series C.

AI video and music generation platforms also gained traction, with Luma valued at $4 billion and Suno reaching $2.5 billion. Meanwhile, Reflection, an open foundation model company founded in 2024, stood out with an $8 billion valuation after raising $2 billion in Series B funding (PitchBook).

October to August: Infrastructure, Space and Blockchain Scale Rapidly

From October through August, investors backed startups across AI infrastructure, semiconductors, healthcare, blockchain payments and aerospace.

Notable names include:

• Fireworks AI at $4 billion

• Tempo at $5 billion

• Stoke, a sustainable rocket company, at $2 billion

• Base, a home battery company, at $4 billion

• Fal, a generative media platform, at $4 billion

• Polymarket, which surged to a $9 billion valuation after raising more than $2 billion in total funding (PitchBook)

First Half of 2025: Consistent Unicorn Creation

The first six months of the year also delivered a steady flow of unicorns, particularly in health tech, AI research, enterprise software and fintech.

Standout valuations included:

• Thinking Machines at $10 billion, founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati

• Abridge at $5.3 billion

• Kalshi at $2 billion

• Fleetio at $1.5 billion

• Celestial AI at $2.5 billion

• Olipop at nearly $2 billion

January alone saw new unicorns such as Kikoff, Netradyne, Hippocratic AI, Mercor, and Loft Orbital, the latter reaching $1 billion after a $170 million Series C, according to Crunchbase.

A Defining Year for Venture Capital

The sheer volume of unicorns created in 2025 highlights how investor confidence—particularly around AI—continues to reshape global startup ecosystems. Yet the breadth of sectors represented suggests that capital is also flowing to companies tackling challenges in energy, healthcare, defence, space, and financial infrastructure.

As tracking continues into 2026, the pace set in 2025 signals that the unicorn era is far from slowing down.

Author: Din Kumar