The first half of 2025 has quietly ushered in a “hidden unicorn boom,” with at least 36 venture-backed startups achieving billion-dollar valuations across a wide array of industries. While artificial intelligence continues to dominate investor interest, a significant number of newly minted unicorns are emerging in less-hyped sectors such as space technology, fintech, and healthcare services. June alone saw the rise of companies like Linear, Gecko Robotics, and Meter, all hitting valuations above $1.2 billion, alongside Thinking Machines, the Mira Murati-led AI research firm that shocked the industry with a $10 billion valuation after just one year. Other standout entries include Kalshi (blockchain-based predictions trading), Decagon (customer service automation), and Teamworks (sports management software). This reflects a broader pattern of diversified investment activity beyond traditional AI labs.
Among the most notable healthtech unicorns is Hippocratic AI, which achieved a $1.6 billion valuation in January following a $141 million Series B led by Kleiner Perkins. As a startup building large language models specifically for healthcare, Hippocratic AI is part of a new wave of domain-specific AI platforms gaining traction with investors looking for commercial-grade, real-world applications. The company joins a strong class of healthcare unicorns including Abridge, Function, Nourish, and OpenEvidence, each tackling challenges from clinical transcription to drug development to telehealth. Hippocratic AI’s rapid ascent signals both the urgency and investor confidence in safe, empathetic AI tools designed for non-diagnostic support and administrative efficiency in healthcare—an area ripe for digital transformation as the year progresses.