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SpaceX recently became the world’s most successful unicorn startup in history with a reported valuation of $350 billion. A new comprehensive report by BestBrokers is revealing the companies that reached unicorn status in 2024.
Its findings show that between January 1 and December 5 of this year, 69 private companies achieved and retained their unicorn status. These are private startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more that have not slipped below the $1 billion mark, nor have gone public.
RELATED: Half of new Unicorn Startups in 2024 are developing AI
Out of the 69 newly “born” unicorns, the most valuable one is xAI, which was founded by Elon Musk in March 2023. The company, which aims at creating artificial intelligence, capable of mathematical reasoning, raised $5 billion in a funding round that ended in November and brought its valuation to $50 billion.
This made xAI the most valuable unicorn to join the ranks of these mythical creatures in 2024. It also helped Elon Musk’s AI business enter the list of the most valuable unicorns in the world right now.
xAI’s $50-billion valuation also placed Musk’s startup as one of OpenAI’s largest competitors, although the company behind ChatGPT is still the most successful AI unicorn in terms of value; its worth is estimated at around $157 billion. Another promising AI unicorn with a ChatGPT alternative is Anthropic, which reportedly seeks a $40 billion valuation. In fact, many of the companies that recently joined the unicorn ranks are working in the artificial intelligence field. Moreover, 2024’s most valuable new unicorns are predominantly AI startups.
10 most valuable startups that reached unicorn status in 2024
Below are the 10 most valuable startups that reached unicorn status in 2024.
- xAI (United States) – Valuation of $50 billion; Focus: AI
- Safe Superintelligence (United States) – Valuation of $5 billion; Focus: AI
- Sierra (United States) – Valuation of $4.50 billion; Focus: AI
- Abba Platforms (United States) – Valuation of $3.70 billion; Focus: Fintech
- Moonshot AI (China) – Valuation of $3.30 billion; Focus: AI
- Poolside (France) – Valuation of $3 billion; Focus: AI
- Monad Labs (United States) – Valuation of $3 billion; Focus: Blockchain
- Physical Intelligence (United States) – Valuation of $2.80 billion; Focus: Robotics, AI
- Figure (United States) – Valuation of $2.68 billion; Focus: Robotics, AI
- Bending Spoons (Italy) – Valuation of $2.55 billion; Focus: Technology, AI
More details about the startups that reached unicorn status in 2024 can be found in this full report. It includes the full dataset of 2024’s new additions to the list.
