Zombie unicorns are haunting Silicon Valley

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Zombie unicorns are haunting Silicon Valley

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Business | Unicorpse<br>Zombie unicorns are haunting Silicon Valley<br>Years of frothy valuations have created a nightmare<br>Share

Illustration: Stephan Dybus

Jun 21st 2026|PALO ALTO|3 min read

FANTASTIC BEASTS roam Silicon Valley. Locals are familiar with the unicorn, a startup valued at more than $1bn, the centaur (worth $100m) and the decacorn ($10bn). Lately another creature has been stalking the land: the “zombie” unicorn: a firm once worth $1bn-plus but now a mere shadow of its former self—a prospect to keep venture capitalists (VCs) awake at night.

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