Startups from the 'pre-ChatGPT' era are facing harsh evaluations; half of unicorn companies haven't raised funds in three years, and more than 220 have 'fallen.'
While the generative AI boom has led to the establishment of numerous AI startups, startups founded before the boom have declined. According to research, half of the once-rapidly growing startups have seen their valuations drop since the emergence of ChatGPT.
Tech unicorn companies list & tracker - PitchBook
AI crushes startup valuations for pre-ChatGPT companies
https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-startup-valuations-pre-chatgpt-fallen-unicorns
AI is crushing startup valuations for pre-ChatGPT firms
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/01/ai-startup-valuations-pre-chatgpt.html
Financial research firm PitchBook publishes data on all unicorn companies that have been established since 2016. Unicorn companies are defined as companies with a valuation of over $1 billion (approximately 160 billion yen) and that are less than 10 years old. PitchBook defines them more strictly as companies that are supported by venture capital and have completed funding rounds that result in a valuation of over $1 billion. Companies that cease to be venture capital-supported due to going public or being acquired, or whose valuation falls below $1 billion due to business closure or down rounds, are not considered unicorns.
Achieving a valuation of $1 billion within 10 years of establishment is difficult and was once extremely rare, but as of February 2, 2026, there are as many as 1,590 active unicorn companies worldwide.
However, of the startups that received their last funding before the introduction of 'ChatGPT' in 2022, 220 companies will have a valuation of less than $1 billion by 2026 and will no longer be considered unicorn companies.
According to PitchBook, the average value of companies that completed fundraising in 2022 fell by 52%, while companies that completed fundraising in 2021 fell by as much as 68%. The most affected sector was SaaS companies, which provide software as a service, with approximately 75 companies dropping out of the unicorn category.
The funds that were previously invested in these companies are now being redirected to AI companies. Venture investors who once invested in SaaS companies boasting an annual growth rate of 40% are now investing the same funds in AI-native companies boasting a growth rate of 200% at the time of writing. As a result, by early 2026, spending on AI-native companies will have surged by 94% year-on-year, while the growth rate of traditional SaaS companies, with the exception of the most promising ones, will have shrunk to single digits.
The advent of generative AI has enabled non-experts to build software, which has diminished the value of older software. Companies that develop this software are effectively cut off from venture capital funding due to their overvalued company valuations and outdated technology, and they also lack the profitability to be listed on the stock market, putting them in a critical situation.
Technology and finance expert Alina Maria Stan said, 'Some companies will survive by aggressively shifting into the AI field, but this shift will require both talented engineers and funding. The scale of this problem is historically unprecedented; while we have seen declines in the value of startups during events like the dot-com bubble burst and the 2022 interest rate shock, we have never seen such a simultaneous occurrence of technological innovation that renders core business models obsolete. The winners of the AI era are generating revenues that were previously unimaginable.'
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