KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 14): There are over 1,500 current unicorn companies globally, collectively valued at more than US$5 trillion (RM23.83 trillion) based on their most recent valuations from funding deals.

In a report on Tuesday, Crunchbase, which tracks trends, investments and news of global companies from start-ups to the Fortune 1000, said that all told, fewer than 100 companies joined the Unicorn Board in 2023, the lowest count in more than five years.

It said of the 95 companies that joined the board in 2023, artificial intelligence was the leading sector, adding 20 new unicorns alone.

Other leading unicorn sectors in 2023 included fintech (with 14 companies), cleantech and energy (12 each), and semiconductors (nine), it said.

Based on an analysis of Crunchbase data, 41 companies joined the Unicorn Board from the US, and 24 were from China in 2023.

Other countries were in the single digits for new unicorns: Germany had four new companies, while India and the UK each had three.

Despite the slower pace of new unicorns, the Crunchbase board of current private unicorns has reached new milestones, as fewer companies exited the board in 2023.

The total number of global unicorns on the Crunchbase board reached 1,500 at the start of 2024, taking into account the exclusion of those that have exited via mergers or acquisitions, or initial public offering transactions.

Altogether, these private unicorn companies have raised north of US$900 billion from investors.