The Dawn of the Hectocorn Era: Seven Startups Valued Over $100 Billion

Around two decades ago, achieving a $1 billion valuation was the holy grail for tech startups—an elite status that transformed a startup into a 'unicorn.'

But times have changed. Cutting-edge startups such as OpenAI and SpaceX have elevated the stakes, ushering in the age of the hectocorn—a select group of companies now worth at least $100 billion.

This club is still small, but it is growing. Recent reports suggest that Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s robotaxi venture, is seeking new investments that may soon boost its valuation beyond the $100 billion mark.

OpenAI

Emerging as a major player from Silicon Valley, OpenAI is the creator behind the groundbreaking AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Launched in 2022, this tool has quickly amassed a vast user base globally, solidifying its leadership in AI innovation.

Co-founded by Sam Altman and eleven others in 2015, OpenAI reached a remarkable $500 billion valuation after a secondary share sale. Now aiming even higher, OpenAI plans to elevate its valuation further, targeting an astounding $750 billion.

SpaceX

Elon Musk added another venture to his successful portfolio with the launch of SpaceX in 2002, setting his sights on space colonization. Based in Texas, the aerospace firm has executed over 320 successful launches to date.

SpaceX has formed critical partnerships with NASA, ensuring that it will eventually bring back the International Space Station before its decommissioning in 2030. Valued at $400 billion, SpaceX aspires to surpass its previous cap by executing another share sale, potentially reaching $800 billion, while also contemplating a public offering in 2026.

Anthropic

Former OpenAI employees, including CEO Dario Amodei and President Daniela Amodei, founded Anthropic in 2021. This AI company specializes in large language models, spearheaded by their product Claude.

Endorsed by tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft—and Nvidia from the AI hardware sector—Anthropic's valuation soared to $183 billion in September. It’s poised for further growth as Google considers stepping up its investment, which could catapult Anthropic's worth beyond $350 billion.

ByteDance

Chinese tech giant ByteDance is best known for its social media powerhouse, TikTok. Initially launched in 2016 domestically, the app swiftly expanded internationally, catalyzed by its acquisition of Musical.ly.

A leader in short-form video content, TikTok broadened its scope with TikTok Shop in 2023. Founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming and currently led by CEO Liang Rubo, ByteDance's valuation stands at $330 billion as of August, with potential to reach $380 billion, according to Fidelity.

Databricks

Databricks, created in 2013, provides a seamless cloud infrastructure through its Data Intelligence Platform. Led by CEO Ali Ghodsi, this startup employs generative AI to discern and optimize enterprise data.

Poised to join the hectocorn ranks in 2024, Databricks raised over $4 billion in funding, boosting its valuation to $134 billion.

Stripe

Launched by John and Patrick Collison in 2010, Stripe has become a leader in online payment processing for businesses. From a $20 billion valuation in 2018, it leaped to $95 billion by the next year, expanding rapidly with a subsequent funding round.

Valued at an impressive $106.7 billion in September, Stripe has narrowly entered the hectocorn realm.

xAI

Founded in 2023 by Elon Musk, xAI focuses on AI development, most notably its large language model, Grok, which Musk has woven into companies such as Tesla.

Despite reports valuing xAI at $80 billion after acquiring the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), speculation about a $230 billion valuation arose from anticipated new funding, which Musk has publicly denied.