A record 42 startups reportedly reached $10 billion valuations in 2026 through October 9

Techmeme, linking to an Axios report, says 42 startups had become decacorns—companies valued at $10 billion or more—by October 9, 2026, surpassing the previous record of 34 in 2021. It also cites PitchBook figures showing the average time to reach $10 billion fell from 9.4 years in 2020 to 5.5 years in 2025.