How many unicorn companies are there?

By Unicorn Private Research. Published and last updated 25 September 2026.

Key takeaways

Published unicorn counts in September 2026 range from 1,404 to 3,977, a difference of nearly three times.
Crunchbase counted 1,881 unicorns worth 9.2 trillion dollars on 22 September 2026; Dealroom counted 3,977 unicorn-tier companies in September 2026.
The counts differ mainly over whether companies that have exited are removed and whether valuations are marked down after a down round.
Any single unicorn number should be quoted with its publisher and its date, because no two publishers measure the same thing.

There is no single correct count of unicorn companies. In September 2026 the published figures ranged from 1,404 to 3,977, and the gap is not an error: the publishers are measuring different populations under the same word. A unicorn is conventionally a private company valued at one billion dollars or more, but each database applies that definition differently.

The published counts side by side

These are the five counts most often cited, each with the date its publisher attaches to it.

Publisher	Count	Aggregate value	As of
Dealroom	3,977 unicorn-tier companies	not published	September 2026
Crunchbase Unicorn Board	1,881	9.2 trillion dollars	22 September 2026
PitchBook	1,590 active unicorns	not published	2 February 2026
CB Insights	1,404	about 7.4 trillion dollars	accessed 25 September 2026
Failory	about 1,624	1.41 trillion dollars of cumulative funding, not valuation	2025

The four reasons the numbers differ

Almost the whole spread between 1,404 and 3,977 is explained by four methodological choices.

Whether exited companies stay in. Dealroom's unicorn-tier population keeps companies that have since listed or been acquired, which is the single largest reason its count is roughly two and a half times CB Insights'.
Whether valuations are marked down. Some publishers hold a company at its last headline round even after a down round; others remove it once the valuation falls below one billion dollars.
What counts as private. Companies listed on some markets but not others are treated inconsistently.
Update cadence. Crunchbase updates its board continuously and dated its figure 22 September 2026, while PitchBook's public article is dated 2 February 2026.

A trap when comparing aggregates

The aggregate value column is not comparable across all five sources. Crunchbase's 9.2 trillion dollars and CB Insights' 7.4 trillion dollars are both aggregate valuations, but Failory's 1.41 trillion dollars is cumulative venture funding raised, which is a different measure entirely and will always be far smaller.

How to use a unicorn count

Quote the publisher and the date with the number, every time. A count without a source is not usable, because the reader cannot tell whether exited companies are included. For questions about the largest individual companies rather than the population, a tracker with per-company valuations and dates is the more useful instrument.