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Unicorn Companies 2024 and Their Domain Name Choices
By Monica Stankova access_time 9 min read

A unicorn company is a privately owned startup that reaches a valuation of over $1 billion without being listed on the stock market, a term coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee to reflect their rarity.

Crunchbase’s latest data reveals that over 1,500 private companies worldwide hold unicorn status. Together, these companies have raised more than $1 trillion through over 8,000 funding rounds backed by 10,000 investors.

In 2024, 109 companies achieved unicorn status, contributing nearly $250 billion in value and $53 billion in funding. The U.S. dominated with 64 new unicorns, followed by China with 16, India with six, and the U.K. with five.

The highest-valued new unicorn of 2024 was xAI, which debuted in May with a valuation of $24 billion. By the end of the year, its valuation had soared to $50 billion following a subsequent funding round.

In the upcoming section, we will analyse several companies that achieved unicorn status in 2024. Our focus will be on their naming and domain strategies, examining how they built their brand identities and strengthened their online presence in the market.

Domain Names Highlights 

Out of 109 companies analysed, 76 use .com domains. The .com extension has been the dominant force on the internet for decades, and customers naturally trust it.

59 out of 109 companies on our list use Exact Brand Match (EBM) domains. EBM domains are a natural choice for most internet users when searching for the company online, offering brand consistency and a stronger online presence.

3 companies use a dash in their domain name, which can make the domain name harder to remember and create confusion.

Dictionary Words as Brand Names 

Using dictionary words as brand names continues to be a strong trend. These names are globally recognisable, memorable, and versatile for branding.

Examples: Speak, Figure, Twelve, Grow Therapy, Huntress, Flip, Mews, Octane, Pigment, Porter, World Labs, Writer.

Short Names 

Short names are quick to remember, easy to search, and simple to type.

Examples: ABLY, Aven, Cosm, EGYM, Eon, Flo, Groq, Huma, HIF, Flip, Mews, Zūm, Weka, xAI.

Creative Wordplay and Invented Names

Unique, playful names with innovative twists make brands stand out.

Examples: Liquid Death, Bending Spoons (inspired by a scene in the movie ‘The Matrix’), Groq (comes from the word “grok”), Bugcrowd, DevRev, Codeium, Berachain, Nasuni (shorthand for “NAS UNIfied”).

Personal Names as Brand Names

Personal names foster familiarity and a human touch, making brands feel approachable.

Examples: Ather, Harvey, Elise, Huntress, Huma, Sierra, Porter, Aven

Namepicks

Check out our article “How to Name a Unicorn?” for insights on choosing a brand name that can help elevate your startup to unicorn status.

ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs is an AI audio research and deployment company dedicated to making content accessible in any language and voice. Its advanced models generate realistic and context-aware speech, voices, and sound effects in 32 languages. The technology is widely used in audiobooks, news narration, video game animation, film pre-production, media localisation, advertising, social media, and medical training. It also helps restore voices for individuals who have lost them and enhances accessibility for people with special needs.

In January 2024, ElevenLabs raised $80 million in a Series B funding round, achieving unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. The investment was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, and joined by Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Smash Capital, Credo Ventures and BroadLight Capital.


There are many text-to-speech technologies out in the market. But one thing they all have in common is how robotic they sound, so they are nearly immediately recognizable as not human. What we did differently was learning what makes a human voice sound human. We then built our foundational speech models off the back of this research (all of our research is in-house, which almost no startup currently does). We then created our own text-to-speech model and also a proprietary voice model that was able to mimic the innate ‘humanness’ of speech, offering users a much higher level of quality.

Mati Staniszewski, Co-Founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, in an interview for The Recurisve

ElevenLabs owns ElevenLabs.com, which redirects to ElevenLabs.io, suggesting that the company initially launched with the .io domain and later acquired the .com to enhance its online presence and ensure brand consistency.

Speak

Speak is an AI-powered language learning app that helps users improve their speaking skills through interactive, personalised content and real-time speech recognition, making language practice engaging and effective.

In June 2024, Speak secured $20 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its valuation to $500 million. Just six months later, in December 2024, the company raised $78 million in a Series C funding round led by Accel, doubling its valuation to $1 billion and achieving unicorn status.


Speak has emerged as a standout player in consumer AI, demonstrating exceptional growth and market potential. With its strategic expansion into global and enterprise markets, coupled with effective, personalized language learning at scale and an experienced team, Speak is well-positioned to dominate this new category.

Ben Quazzo, partner at Accel, who led the investment round and is joining Speak’s Board of Directors

Initially operating under the domain UseSpeak.com, the company later upgraded to the EBM domain Speak.com. Simple, globally recognised, and easy-to-remember dictionary-word .com domains like Speak.com are highly sought after for their simplicity, authority, and accessibility. Their clarity and memorability give businesses a competitive edge, reinforcing brand identity and establishing a strong foundation for future growth.

Xreal

Xreal is a Chinese AR startup offering lightweight AR glasses and related products. The glasses are designed to seamlessly integrate with smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles, delivering high-quality visuals and interactive features. Users can watch movies, stream content, work, and play games anywhere. In January 2024, Xreal raised $60 million at a $1 billion valuation, earning unicorn status – the first in the AR glasses industry.


This latest strategic fundraising round reinforces our position in the global AR market, it skyrockets our expansion goals, and it demonstrates strong commitment from our trusted fundraising partners. As the first unicorn in AR glasses, we see where the AR industry is heading and are honoured to continue leading and teaming with the industry’s finest today.

Chi Xu, Founder & CEO of Xreal

Founded in 2017 as Nreal, the company rebranded to Xreal in 2023 following a legal dispute with Epic Games over similarities between “Nreal” and Epic’s “Unreal” branding.


The ‘X’ in XREAL reflects our commitment to the vision of expanding reality and creating cross-reality experiences. It is also a reminder to ourselves that we need to be extra real when delivering value to customers.

Peng Jin, co-founder of Xreal for CNBC

Before the rebrand, the company used the domain Nreal.ai, the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla. As part of its rebrand, Xreal secured the EBM domain Xreal.com, marking a strategic shift to resolve previous naming conflicts and establish a stronger foundation for future growth.

Moniepoint

Moniepoint is a leading all-in-one digital financial services platform for businesses in Nigeria. The company offers a range of services, including payment processing, banking, credit, and business management solutions. 

In October 2024, the company raised $110 million in a Series C funding round led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, and Verod Capital, with participation from existing investor Lightrock. This funding valued Moniepoint at over $1 billion, earning it a spot among the African unicorns. 


This raise marks a new beginning for us, as we push the boundaries of access to formal financial systems to the informal sector, which still accounts for over 83% of employment across Africa. We believe in a world where every African, everywhere, can enjoy financial happiness, and we’re committed to making this a reality.

Moniepoint

The company was founded in 2015 under the name TeamApt but rebranded to Moniepoint in 2023, adopting the name of its flagship product. 


When we started out in 2015, we were primarily providing back office payment infrastructure for banks and needed an apt team, hence the name TeamApt. Since then we have evolved significantly and our flagship business banking solution, Moniepoint, has become our core focus and where we see the future. Now as we head into our next step in our journey, we’ve changed our name to reflect the company’s commitment to enable a world where any business has access to the digital tools and capital needed to grow, no matter its stage, size or location, and as Moniepoint we believe we can achieve this.

Tosin Eniolorunda, Co-founder and CEO of Moniepoint

The company operates under the EBM domain Moniepoint.com, an intuitive choice for users searching for the company online, boosting visibility and protecting its brand identity.

EGYM

EGYM is a global fitness technology leader that equips fitness and health facilities with intelligent workout solutions powered by a connected ecosystem of gym equipment and software. EGYM enables gym operators to offer a seamless and personalised workout experience, combining smart gym equipment with digital tools that support members on their fitness journeys. By providing data-driven insights and guidance, EGYM helps members stay motivated, achieve their goals, and improve their overall physical and mental wellness.

In September 2024, EGYM achieved unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion after raising approximately $200 million in a Series G funding round led by L Catterton and Meritech Capital.


I am convinced that EGYM will help to revolutionize the way people workout in gyms across the globe. EGYM’s technology enables gyms to become far more appealing and effective to both experienced and new gym members through unprecedented personalization and measurement.

Marc Magliacano, a Managing Partner in the L Catterton Flagship Fund

The company ensures global accessibility with its website, which can be found at the EBM domain Egym.com. Most leading fitness companies operate on .com domain names that match their brand name to protect their brand and maximise online recognition.

domain company ebm
24-m.com24M Technologiesno
a-bly.comABLYno
agilityrobotics.comAgility Roboticsyes
agrovision.comAgrovisionyes
altanatechnologies.comAltanano
altruist.comAltruistyes
anysphere.incAnysphereno
atherenergy.comAtherno
autodoc.deAutodocno
aven.comAvenyes
ayarlabs.comAyar Labsyes
bendingspoons.comBending Spoonsyes
berachain.comBerachainyes
billiontoone.comBillionToOneyes
blinkhealth.comBlink Healthyes
bugcrowd.comBugcrowdyes
celestial.aiCelestial Ano
chainguard.devChainguardno
codeium.comCodeiumyes
cognition.aiCognition AIno
cosm.comCosmyes
createmusicgroup.comCreate Music Groupyes
creatio.comCreatioyes
cyera.comCyerayes
datasnipper.comDataSnipperyes
deputy.comDeputyyes
devrev.comDevRevyes
doc.comDoc.comyes
egym.comEGYMyes
eigenlayer.comEigenLayeryes
elementbiosciences.comElement Biosciencesyes
elevenlabs.comElevenLabsyes
eliseai.comEliseAIyes
eon.ioEonno
evenuplaw.comEvenUpno
farcaster.xyzFarcasterno
figure.aiFigureno
flohealth.comFlono
groq.comGroqyes
growtherapy.comGrow Therapyyes
halcyon.aiHalcyonno
harvey.aiHarveyno
hashkey.comHashKeyyes
hifglobal.comHIFno
huma.comHumayes
humanity.orgHumanity Protocolno
huntress.comHuntressyes
intrabio.comIntraBioyes
io.netio.netno
itsflip.comFlipno
domaincompanyebm
Showing 1 to 50 of 109 entries

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.


The right domain name is an important consideration when it comes to building and protecting your brand. If you’re ready to take the next step and invest in a perfect domain name for your business, contact us to learn more about our available options and how we can help you get started.


Other resources

2024 branding business domain domain name domain names domains naming unicorn unicorn companies