When the term ‘unicorn’ was first coined in 2013 to describe privately owned startups with a valuation of more than $1 billion, there were an estimated 39 such companies worldwide.
By 2025, the landscape had shifted dramatically, with 23 companies attaining unicorn status in just the first quarter. Finbold research found that 11 of them – 48% – were in some way involved with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Most of these AI unicorns were founded in the United States, while Israel and Sweden each produced one, and the United Kingdom contributed two. Interestingly, five of these companies focus on healthcare technology.
AI dominates the top 10 unicorns of 2025
Finbold research also found that seven of these AI firms ranked among the top 10 new unicorns in 2025.
The biggest by far is an American firm called Abridge, which describes itself as ‘the most advanced AI platform for clinical conversations.’ At press time on March 19, it was valued at $2.8 billion and raised just under $464 million in venture capital funds.
However, it is noteworthy that Abridge is second on the AI unicorn list in terms of the money it raised. The top spot is actually occupied by a British firm called Cera, which received an impressive $582 million.
The achievement is made all the more impressive because the unicorn from the UK is valued at exactly $1 billion, meaning it raised more than 58% of its worth in funding.
The third AI startup in terms of capital raised is also the third in terms of valuation. Specifically, Synthesia- a company involved with AI, machine learning, and software as a service (SaaS) – received $334.3 million from venture capitalists and is valued at $2.1 billion.
Synthesia is the other British artificial intelligence unicorn.
Lastly, OpenEvidence, an AI-driven healthcare company, is at the bottom of the list in terms of valuation – $1 billion – and funds raised – $127 million.
Why 2025 is likely to see many more AI unicorns
Given AI’s explosive growth, it’s surprising that even more AI unicorns haven’t emerged in 2025. Artificial intelligence has been a major driver of growth since the public release of ChatGPT in late 2022.
Publicly traded companies that are either directly involved with the technology or strongly linked to the sector in investor perception have been some of the strongest stock market performers in recent years.
Indeed, the rallies of firms such as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), which added approximately $2.5 trillion to its market capitalization since 2022, and Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) have risen so much that even their stark correction in 2025 have done little to lessen their 12-month rise.
Additionally, more AI unicorns are likely to emerge in 2025 – provided the suspected recession does not spoil venture capital funding – as developments within the industry have been continuously receiving significant attention, as was evident with DeepSeek R1’s release in January and the emergence of the Manus AI agent earlier this month.
