Creating New Billionaires at Record Speed

The AI boom has created a record-breaking wave of new billionaires and high company valuations in the past year at a rate unprecedented in history.

There are now 498 AI “unicorns” (private companies worth at least $1 billion) with a combined value of $2.7 trillion — and 100 of them were founded after 2023. In total, more than 1,300 AI startups have been valued at $100 million or more.

Large rounds of capital for companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Anysphere and Safe Superintelligence have created new paper fortunes, with several founders now multi-billionaires, at least on paper.

Unlike the dotcom era, many AI companies are staying private longer, thanks to constant capital injections from venture capitalists, sovereign wealth funds and private investors. Liquidity is instead created through secondary markets, takeovers, and mergers.

Not surprisingly, the phenomenon is heavily concentrated in the San Francisco area.