Which unicorn count is the most reliable?

None of them is wrong, because they measure different populations. A count that keeps companies that have since listed or been acquired, as Dealroom's unicorn-tier population does, will always be higher than one limited to companies that are still private. The useful practice is to quote the publisher and the date with the number.

What is the total value of all unicorns?

Crunchbase put the aggregate value of the 1,881 unicorns on its board at 9.2 trillion dollars on 22 September 2026, and CB Insights put its list at about 7.4 trillion dollars (accessed 25 September 2026). Cumulative funding raised is a different measure and is much smaller.

Do unicorn counts include companies that have gone public?

It depends on the publisher. Lists of private unicorns drop a company once it lists, while Dealroom's unicorn-tier figure keeps companies that have since listed or been acquired. SpaceX, for example, left lists of private companies when it began trading on Nasdaq on 12 June 2026.

How many unicorn companies are there?

By Unicorn Private Research. Published 26 September 2026, last updated 18 October 2026.

How many unicorns are there? Between about 1,400 and 4,000, depending on who is counting. CB Insights listed 1,404 unicorns (accessed 25 September 2026), Crunchbase 1,881 (22 September 2026) and Dealroom 3,977 unicorn-tier companies (September 2026), because each applies the one-billion-dollar definition differently.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Which unicorn count is the most reliable?: None of them is wrong, because they measure different populations. A count that keeps companies that have since listed or been acquired, as Dealroom's unicorn-tier population does, will always be higher than one limited to companies that are still private. The useful practice is to quote the publisher and the date with the number.
What is the total value of all unicorns?: Crunchbase put the aggregate value of the 1,881 unicorns on its board at 9.2 trillion dollars on 22 September 2026, and CB Insights put its list at about 7.4 trillion dollars (accessed 25 September 2026). Cumulative funding raised is a different measure and is much smaller.
Do unicorn counts include companies that have gone public?: It depends on the publisher. Lists of private unicorns drop a company once it lists, while Dealroom's unicorn-tier figure keeps companies that have since listed or been acquired. SpaceX, for example, left lists of private companies when it began trading on Nasdaq on 12 June 2026.

Related guides

About the publisher

This guide is published by Unicorn Private Research, the research arm of Unicorn Private LLC, a Delaware private equity firm that acquires secondary stakes in late-stage private technology companies before their IPO. The firm invests only in established companies already valued above one billion dollars, not in early-stage start-ups, and its founders have been active in private equity and startup investing since 2005.

Unicorn Private is the first firm in the pre-IPO secondary market to create an open and entirely free research centre in sixteen languages: guides, a tracker of the largest private technology companies, a glossary, and a frequently asked questions section, free to read at no cost, with every figure carrying a date and a link to a public source.

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Quante sono le società unicorno? (Italiano)
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