Is a billion dollars still cool? - Rest of World Skip to content Rest of World Reporting Global Tech Stories GlobalInnovationIs a billion dollars still cool? Sign In About Latest Newsletter Explore by Beats Tech Giants China Outside China EV Revolution Innovation Regions Africa Asia China Eastern Europe Latin America South Asia Middle East & North Africa Sections Access & Connectivity Creators & Communities E-commerce Labor Money Politics The Platform Economy Learn more About us Team news Work with us Contributors Support us Platforms Listen Follow us Dark Mode Innovation Is a billion dollars still cool? Startups valued at $1 billion or more were once so rare they were termed “unicorns.” Not anymore. Nicolas Ortega for Rest of World Nicolas Ortega for Rest of World By Rest of World 15 January 2026 In the 2010 film “The Social Network,” early Facebook employees discuss the money-making potential of their new site. “A million dollars isn’t cool,” someone says to Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg). “You know what’s cool? A billion-dollar valuation.” Fifteen years later, the publicly traded company now known as Meta is worth around $1.6 trillion. And although startups valued at $1 billion or more were once so rare they were termed “unicorns,” that has changed with the fast-money era of megadeals. These creatures are no longer so mystical: today there are 1,569 active unicorns, according to the private market data platform Pitchbook. The shift began in the 2010s. Low interest rates fueled an era of easy money that venture capital shoveled into startups, chasing growth at all costs. The situation was supercharged by the Covid-19 pandemic. As lockdowns limited investors’ ability to travel, big deals were quickly hashed over Zoom, while tech stocks benefited from the sentiment that people would be living through their computers for the foreseeable future. More than 630 new unicorns were minted in 2021 alone.  Explore charts >> One way to understand how this happened: the story of Tiger Global. The hedge fund and venture firm has earned an outsized reputation for its fast-paced, big-money, “spray-and-pray” style of investing, writing giant checks in hopes that a small number of them will yield even bigger returns. In 2021, Tiger was the most prolific venture investor in the world. But the strategy Tiger embodied also comes with risks — for investors, and the companies they fund. As the pandemic waned, interest rates spiked, geopolitical tensions rose, and company exits ground to a halt. Startups that had ridden wave after wave of investment to stay afloat found themselves beached, leading to mass layoffs. Some even shut down. Some of Tiger’s bets failed in a major way. The crypto platform FTX crumbled, and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud. The $22 billion Indian edtech firm Byju’s went bankrupt amid a flurry of lawsuits. A co-founder of the Indian car-servicing startup GoMechanic openly admitted to financial misreporting, saying he’d done it in the name of pursuing “growth at all costs.” Tiger Global’s hedge fund fell a whopping 56% in 2022. In 2023, Tiger only struck about 40 venture deals — down from 300 the year before. That year, global venture funding fell to an eight-year low. There were only 133 unicorns minted in 2023. With the AI boom, though, big investments are returning. During the early pandemic years, Tiger invested in several AI firms that have now achieved unicorn status. It backed Scale AI in 2020, for example, and OpenAI in 2021. Meta invested more than $14 billion in Scale AI in June, while OpenAI is reportedly eyeing a $1 trillion IPO. As another bubble grows, what will be the fate of the unicorns it helps create? And has anyone learned their lesson from last time? For more, read the feature “Big bets and broken unicorns: Tiger Global’s rise and reckoning,” by Issie Lapowsky. Read more stories Global Dispatch Older adults know AI is slop. They just like it AI-generated singers, children, and even virtual lovers are providing seniors with comfort and companionship. By Viola Zhou Global Dispatch Can AI beat a goldfish at calling the World Cup? As chatbots compete to forecast the tournament, an unlikely rival from a Toronto fish tank continues to outperform them. By Indranil Ghosh Tech Giants India’s crackdown on a new WhatsApp feature risks setting a global precedent If Meta complies or modifies its app for India, it risks creating a “slippery slope” that emboldens governments worldwide to demand changes to encrypted messaging apps. By Ananya Bhattacharya About us Privacy Policy Platforms Newsletter Donate Contact © 2026 Rest of World