A unicorn is a startup valued at $1 billion or more. Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures coined the word in TechCrunch in 2013, when she counted 39 US software companies past that mark, about 0.07% of venture-backed software startups. By August 2026, 133 Indian startups had entered the club by Inc42's count, 55 of them in Bengaluru; 29 have since listed, five were acquired and 16 have slipped below $1 billion. The count swings with funding: 45 Indian startups became unicorns in 2021 and two in 2023. The value is set by the price of the latest round, so it is a paper figure, not revenue or profit.
The 2013 essay that coined the word unicorn for a startup valued at over $1 billion, by Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures, with the data on how rare they were.
Inc42's running tracker of every Indian startup to reach a $1 billion valuation, updated through 2026 with funding, valuation, city and sector, and which have listed, been acquired or fallen below the mark.
A working seed investor answers plainly whether you can build a huge company away from Silicon Valley, and where the real tradeoffs sit. It is honest about what distance costs you (some networks) and what it saves you (runway, focus, less noise). Read it to plan around the gaps instead of pretending they are not there.
