49 startups became unicorns in 2024. Here are the industries they operate in

I recently stumbled upon a recent TechCrunch article about 49 startups that have become unicorns so far in 2024.

You can see the full list here.

In this post, I'll take a deeper dive and analyze the industries these unicorn startups operate it. Some of this data can be relevant to us, indie hackers, when deciding what to build.

Crypto startups took the #2 spot (after AI)

The most common industry in which these startups operate is AI. This isn't surprising.

What you might find surprising, however, is that the #2 industry after AI is crypto/blockchain:

• Story Protocol is a blockchain protocol currently valued at $2.24 billion. Founded in 2022.

• Eigen Layer allows you to stake etherium across multiple protocols at once. Currently valued at $1.1 billion. Founded in 2021.

• Farecaster is a blockchain-based social media network. It's currently valued at $1 billion.

The lesson: AI might be the "coolest thing in town", but blockchain and crypto are far from 'dead'. It's an industry that's still thriving.

Cybersecurity and health takes the #3 and #4 spots

Here are some cybersecurity startups that just became unicorns in 2024:

• Chainguard is a software that allows you to secure your containers. Founded in 2021, valued at $1.1 billion

• Bugcrowd is a crowdsourced cybersecurity platform. It's valued at $1 billion.

• Cyera is a data security startups. Founded in 2021, valued at $1.5 billion.

The lesson: Cybersecurity is a huge space. Most of these startups target the enterprise sector.

Healthcare is also a big industry in this list. Here are a few recent unicorns in this space:

• Growtherapy provides online psychological therapy, covered by insurance. It was launched in 2020 and is now worth $1.4 billion.

• Flo Health is a fertility tracker app, valued at $1 billion.

• Blinkhealth is an online pharmacy valued at $1.3 bllion.

The lesson: What's surprising here is the sheer number of consumer apps/sites that became unicorns. Do not underestimate healthcare; it's a powerful & potentially profitable niche.

A honorable mention: Real estate

I've seen 2 companies in the "new, recent unicorns" list there:

• Rentberry - a platform that lists long-term rentals. Founded in 2015, valued at $1 billion.

• HomeLIght - another real estate marketplace. Valued at $1.7 billion, founded in 2012.

The lesson: This category of "newly minted" unicorns was founded way before the apps I mentioned above. However, they deserve a honorable mention; real estate is a market in which I've seen a lot of indies succeed; from local real estate marketplaces to SaaS tools for realtors.