Despite the tightening venture capital market, some sectors continue to witness impressive growth, with unicorn companies being created monthly. The tech industry remains a significant player, with artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, health tech, and fintech companies leading the charge in both innovation and funding. Here are some of the most funded and highly valued unicorns from last year:

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AI Unicorns

1. xAI - $24 billion
       Founded by Elon Musk in 2023, xAI is already valued at an astonishing $24 billion after securing a $6 billion Series B round. The AI startup, which offers the multimodal large language model Grok, has investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Craft Ventures backing it.
2. Physical Intelligence - $2.4 billion
       This AI robotics lab raised a $400 million Series A, pushing its valuation to $2.4 billion. Backed by Jeff Bezos, Lux Capital, and Thrive Capital, Physical Intelligence was founded in 2024.
3. Cognition AI - $2 billion
       Founded in 2023, Cognition is focused on AI-driven software engineering, raising a $175 million Series B that pushed its valuation to $2 billion. Investors include Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures.
4. Groq - $2.8 billion
       Specializing in AI chips, Groq raised $640 million in a funding round led by Blackrock, bringing its valuation to $2.8 billion. The company, founded  in 2016, has attracted investors such as Type One Ventures and Samsung Catalyst Fund.
5. Codeium - $1.3 billion
       An AI code completion and chat tool founded in 2021, Codeium raised $150 million in a Series C round, bringing its valuation to $1.25 billion. Notable investors include Founders Fund and Base Case Capital.                 

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Cybersecurity Unicorns

1. Halcyon - $1 billion
       This anti-ransomware company raised $100 million in a Series C round, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. Halcyon, founded in 2021, has attracted investors like Evolution Equity Partners.
2. Chainguard - $1.1 billion
       Cybersecurity startup Chainguard, founded in 2021, raised $140 million in a Series C round, bringing its valuation to $1.12 billion. It has raised more than $256 million in total, with investors including Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
3. Huntress - $1.55 billion
       Offering extended detection and response (EDR) tech, Huntress raised $150 million in a Series D round, bringing its valuation to $1.55 billion. Investors include Kleiner Perkins and Sapphire Ventures.
4. Bugcrowd - $1 billion
       A crowdsourced bug-fixing platform, Bugcrowd raised $102 million in a Series E round, reaching a $1 billion valuation. The company, founded in 2011, has raised more than $180 million, with backing from General Catalyst.

Health Tech Unicorns

1. BillionToOne - $1 billion
       A company focused on genetic disease screening, BillionToOne raised $130 million in a Series D round, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. It has raised over $300 million to date.
2. Grow Therapy - $1.4 billion
       Founded in 2020, Grow Therapy connects individuals with therapists and raised $88 million in a Series C round, pushing its valuation to $1.4 billion. Investors include Sequoia and Goldman Sachs.
3. Xaira Therapeutics - $2.7 billion
       A leading AI drug discovery startup founded in 2023, Xaira raised a massive $1 billion Series A in April, giving it a valuation of $2.7 billion. Its investors include ARCH Venture Partners and Lux Capital.

Fintech Unicorns

1. Altruist - $1.5 billion
       Altruist offers investment management services for independent financial advisers and raised a $169 million Series E round in May, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion. Investors include ICONIQ Growth and Insight Partners.
2. Flex - $1.9 billion
       A rent payment platform founded in 2019, Flex raised $200 million in a Series D round, bringing its valuation to $1.75 billion. Investors include Tiger Global Management and Spark Growth Ventures.
3. Aven - $1 billion
       Specializing in consumer credit cards, Aven raised $142 million in a Series D round, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. Investors include Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst.
4. Sigma Computing - $1.5 billion
       Sigma, an AI-driven big data analytics startup, raised a funding round in May that valued it at $1.5 billion. The company has raised almost $560 million, with investors like ICONIQ Growth supporting its growth.

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The funding landscape for tech unicorns remains robust, particularly in AI, cybersecurity, health tech, and fintech. These industries continue to attract significant investment, and companies like xAI, Groq, and Altruist are leading the charge, setting new benchmarks for growth and innovation.

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