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BriefingVenture capital13 August 20262 min readAuto-researched

195 new unicorns in H1 2026: the fastest pace since 2022

The Crunchbase Unicorn Board added 195 companies in the first six months of the year, far surpassing any period since the second half of 2022. But this is a late-stage valuation story, not a seed-stage signal.

Crunchbase data shows 195 companies joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board in the first half of 2026, far surpassing counts seen since the second half of 2022. It sits on top of a very heavy late-stage base: Crunchbase separately reported that funding to U.S. and Canadian startups reached $392 billion in H1 2026, driven mainly by megarounds for artificial intelligence (AI) leaders. In other words, the unicorn pace reflects prices marked at later rounds, not how open the seed door is.

195

new unicorns in H1 2026 (Crunchbase)

H2 2022

the most recent benchmark surpassed

392 tỷ USD

funding to U.S. and Canadian startups, H1 2026

Sources

  1. 01Crunchbase News — Unicorn Board, nửa đầu 2026 ↗
  2. 02Crunchbase News — North American Startup Funding Shattered Records In First Half Of 2026 ↗

This article summarises market information and is not investment advice. Vietnam Angel Network does not provide personalised investment advice.

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