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In 2024, the artificial intelligence (AI) sector produced more startup unicorns – i.e. companies with at least $1 billion in valuation – than any other industry.

Statistics show AI startups accounted for 43% of all new unicorns in the year, contributing 36 out of 83 companies that made the list, an impressive 64% increase from 2023, when just 22 AI startups reached unicorn status.

The number of unicorns climbed to 1,258 by the end of 2024. During the year, fintech and cryptocurrency sectors produced 16 new unicorns, representing 20% of the total. Enterprise software, cybersecurity, and transportation tech markets produced 10, 6, and 2 unicorns last year, respectively.

More than 60% of all AI unicorns were headquartered in the United States.

According to CB Insights, in terms of valuation, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, more than doubled its value in 2024, reaching $157 billion. Databricks, the second-largest AI unicorn was worth around $62 billion. Anthropic, Elon Musk’s xAI, and CoreWeave follow, with values of $60 billion, $50 billion, and $23 billion, respectively.

However, China’s DeepSeek has had a meteoric rise in 2025 and is set to reshape the AI industry's economic and competitive dynamics.