13 New Unicorns in May, European Surge Creates $21.7 Billion in Value
Article:
This article provides a detailed analysis of the 13 companies that joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board in May 2025, contributing to a total increase in enterprise value of approximately $21.7 billion. Notably, five companies from Europe joined, marking the highest number of new monthly unicorns since 2023. Furthermore, we examine the exits through IPOs and M&A, and highlight new unicorns by key sectors influenced by AI, such as sales & marketing and defense technology, using specific examples and quotes.
1. Trends in New Unicorns
1-1. Overall Overview
In May 2025, 13 companies joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board, bringing an increase in total enterprise value of approximately $21.7 billion.
In particular, fields influenced by AI, such as sales & marketing and defense technology, each contributed two companies, demonstrating growth potential backed by advanced technology (news.crunchbase.com).
1-2. Surge of European-based Companies
The five companies from Europe marked the highest number of new monthly unicorns since 2023.
The breakdown includes Parloa and Quantum Systems from Germany, Tekever from Portugal, and Wireless Logic and Mubi from the UK, highlighting the momentum of European startups once again.
1-3. Breakdown by Country
By region, six companies from the U.S. and two from India joined, bringing the U.S. total to 31 and the India total to 3.
In addition to the five European companies, attention will be focused on the ripple effects in Asia and other regions in the future.
2. Unicorn Exit Trends
2-1. Exits via IPO
In May, six companies left the board, resulting in a value drop of approximately $13.4 billion.
Among the reasons for exit, four companies (eToro, Hinge Health, Ather Energy, and MNTN) exited via IPO, each finishing trading at a price higher than their most recent valuation at the time of listing.
"Robinhood competitor eToro surged 34% on its NASDAQ debut, recording a valuation of $5.64 billion"
On the other hand, Hinge Health resulted in an IPO opening price of $2.6 billion, significantly lower than its most recent valuation of $6.2 billion.
2-2. Exits via M&A
The remaining two companies left the unicorn board through M&A.
Coding startup Windsurf was acquired by OpenAI for approximately $3 billion, marking its exit.
Additionally, frozen smoothie company Daily Harvest was acquired by Chobani at its $1.1 billion valuation.
3. New Unicorns by Sector
3-1. Sales & Marketing
Liftoff: Achieved a $4.3 billion valuation for its growth-supporting marketing solutions for apps.
Parloa: Joined the board with a $1 billion valuation as a customer service automation platform.
3-2. Defense Technology
Tekever (Portugal): Achieved a $1.3 billion valuation with its unmanned surveillance systems, and its technology is increasingly being adopted in the Ukrainian theater of war.
Quantum Systems (Germany): Raised $181 million for defense drones, rising to a $1 billion valuation.
3-3. DevOps, Bio, E-commerce, and Others
Wireless Logic (UK): Achieved a $4.65 billion valuation for its IoT device management services.
Pathos (USA): An AI-powered cancer drug development company is growing with a $1.6 billion valuation.
SpreeAI (USA): Received a $1.5 billion valuation for its virtual try-on technology for fashion.
Porter (India): Joined the board as a last-mile logistics provider with a $1.2 billion valuation.
Statsig, Awardco, Owner, Mubi, JSW One, and others are emerging one after another with valuations of $1 billion to $1.1 billion each.
These trends show that technology-focused startups are growing into unicorns one after another, driven by needs in AI and critical defense and health sectors. Moving forward, we intend to keep a close watch on growth scenarios for each sector while tracking the fundraising and market exit trends of emerging companies.
