Zombie unicorns are haunting Silicon Valley

FANTASTIC beasts roam Silicon Valley. Locals are familiar with the unicorn, a startup valued at more than US$1 billion; the centaur, worth US$100 million; and the decacorn, with a valuation of US$10 billion.

Lately, another creature has been stalking the land: the zombie unicorn, a company once worth more than US$1 billion, now a mere shadow of its former self. It is a prospect that keeps venture capitalists awake at night.

By May 2026, 332 of the 1,900 unicorns in a database maintained by Ilya Strebulaev of Stanford University had raised money at a valuation at or below their peak.