The startup landscape in 2024 has shown resilience, with new unicorns emerging despite a challenging venture capital market. Based on data from Crunchbase, CB Insights, and PitchBook, TechCrunch highlights some of the startups that have joined the coveted unicorn club this year. These include both tech-driven and industry-specific players making waves, with a particular focus on AI, cybersecurity, health tech, and fintech sectors.
1. xAI – $24 Billion
Founded by Elon Musk in 2023, xAI skyrocketed to a valuation of $24 billion. This AI giant raised $6 billion in its Series B funding, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Fidelity. The company’s cutting-edge multimodal language model, Grok, is set to redefine AI capabilities.
2. Physical Intelligence – $2.4 Billion
Founded in 2024, this AI robotics research lab gained instant attention by raising $400 million in Series A funding. Backed by Jeff Bezos, Lux Capital, and Thrive Capital, Physical Intelligence is revolutionizing robotics and artificial intelligence.
3. Writer – $1.9 Billion
Launched in 2020, Writer is a generative AI platform designed for enterprises. Its Series C round brought in $200 million, led by Premji Invest and Radical Ventures, pushing its valuation to $1.9 billion.
4. Safe Superintelligence – $5 Billion
This AI research company, founded in 2024 by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, raised $1 billion in funding. With support from NVIDIA, Sequoia, and a16z, Safe Superintelligence has set a $5 billion valuation milestone in less than a year.
5. Monad Labs – $3 Billion
Founded in 2023, Monad Labs is building a faster Ethereum blockchain alternative. With $225 million raised in Series A funding, this startup has captured the attention of investors, reaching a valuation of $3 billion.
6. Nimble Robotics – $1 Billion
Established in 2017, Nimble Robotics focuses on AI-powered logistics and robotics. With a $106 million Series C funding, the company has achieved a $1 billion valuation, backed by FedEx and Ceder Pine.
7. Groq – $2.8 Billion
Groq, an AI chip startup founded in 2016, raised $640 million in a Blackrock-led funding round. With a total valuation of $2.8 billion, the company continues to lead innovation in AI chip technology.
8. Cognition AI – $2 Billion
Launched in 2023, Cognition AI is building “Devin,” an AI-powered software engineer. Its Series B round raised $175 million, bringing the company’s valuation to $2 billion.
9. 24M Technologies – $1.3 Billion
Founded in 2010, this battery tech innovator raised $87 million in Series H funding in 2024, achieving a valuation of $1.3 billion. Key investors include Volkswagen and FujiFilm.
10. xaira Therapeutics – $2.7 Billion
This AI-powered drug discovery company raised a staggering $1 billion in its Series A round. Founded in 2023, xaira Therapeutics now boasts a $2.7 billion valuation, revolutionizing the pharmaceutical landscape.
These companies are part of the rapid growth of the startup ecosystem in 2024, each bringing innovative technologies to transform their respective industries.
