Uber became the first company valued at more than $10 billion, earning the term “decacorn,” in 2014.
The ride-hailing company was founded in 2009 as UberCab in San Francisco. Its valuation rose rapidly as investors funded expansion into new cities and countries, along with services such as food delivery and freight.
A “decacorn” is a privately held startup valued at $10 billion or more. The term extends the earlier “unicorn” label, which describes a private company valued at at least $1 billion. Uber later became publicly traded in 2019.
Uber is sometimes confused with Airbnb when discussing major technology startups of the 2010s. Airbnb also reached decacorn status, but Uber was the earlier example associated with the label.