A unicorn company
The term unicorn refers to a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion. It is commonly used in the venture capital industry.
The term was first popularized by venture capitalist Aileen Lee. Unicorns are very rare and require innovation. Because of their sheer size, unicorn investors tend to be private investors or venture capitalists, which means they are out of the reach of retail investors. Although it isn't necessary, many unicorns work their way to going public [Investopedia].
Over the years, unicorn companies have become decidedly less rare. Although it’s more common for a startup to reach unicorn status today than ever before, these $1 billion+ post-money valuations are still incredibly impressive. Unicorn companies are under a microscope—watched and reported on by those with an interest in the private markets' most prominent players. One explanation for the explosion in unicorn companies is the ever-increasing convergence between the private and public markets. In the past, companies often relied on IPOs to generate the capital they needed to scale operations. Today, however, companies are able to raise larger amounts of private funding early on, allowing them to reach billion-dollar valuations without having to go public [PitchBook].
A unicorn company. PitchBook. Retrieved from: https://pitchbook.com/blog/what-is-a-unicorn
A unicorn company. Investopedia. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unicorn.asp