What is the term for a startup valued at over $1 billion?

A startup valued at over $1 billion is called a unicorn. In standard financial usage, the term usually refers to a privately held startup whose valuation reaches at least $1 billion before a public listing or acquisition.

Venture capitalist Aileen Lee popularized the word in a 2013 TechCrunch essay titled “Welcome To The Unicorn Club.” She chose the mythical animal because billion-dollar startups were exceptionally rare at the time. The label quickly became common in venture-capital reporting.

A unicorn’s valuation generally comes from a funding round in which investors buy shares at a price implying a company-wide value. That figure is not the same as cash in the bank, revenue or profit, and it can rise or fall sharply as market conditions change.

The neighboring terms are easy to confuse. A decacorn is typically valued above $10 billion, while a hectocorn is used for companies above $100 billion. The word applies to private startups, not every large public technology company.