unicorn
YOO-nih-korn
/ˈjuːnɪkɔːrn/
A privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion.
In business, this has nothing to do with mythology; it refers to the rarity of such a high valuation for a private company.
The story behind the word. The business term was coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013. She chose the mythical creature to emphasize the statistical rarity of such successful ventures—at the time, only 0.07% of venture-backed startups reached that value.
Commonly confused with
- decacorn: A unicorn is worth $1 billion; a decacorn is a startup worth over $10 billion.
Collocations
- unicorn status
- tech unicorn
- reach unicorn valuation
- rare unicorn
Example sentences
- "In 2013, the term 'unicorn' was coined to describe how rare these billion-dollar startups were." Discussing the rarity of high-value startups.
- "The fintech startup reached unicorn status after its Series C funding round." Describing a successful company.
Memory hook
A billion dollars is so much money for a new company that it seems as mythical as a unicorn. Unicorn = 1 Billion Dollar Beast.
When not to use
Do not use 'unicorn' for a public company (like Apple or Google) or a company valued at less than $1 billion.
Fun facts
- There are now over 1,000 unicorns worldwide, making them much less 'rare' than when the term was first coined.
Related words
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