The Bubble in Financing Startup Unicorns Valued at Over $10 Billion

CB Insights:

We used CB Insights data to visualize the funding history for the top 9 unicorns — or “decacorns,” since they’re all valued at more than $10B — including round sizes and total raised. Our analysis found there have been 14 $1B+ financings to these unicorns since June 2014.

What’s driving the funding stampede and ballooning rounds? One important dynamic is investor FOMO, or fear of missing out on rounds going to the largest unicorns with the most traction. This trend has been accentuated by the entry of public-market focused “crossover” investors like hedge funds and mutual funds into private markets, pushing round sizes up.