For a dozen years, Forbes has partnered with TrueBridge Capital Partners to highlight the companies that are likely to become unicorns in the near future. To qualify, startups must be venture-backed, based in the U.S. and worth less than $1 billion. In a sign of the times: Nearly all this year’s list members use AI in some fashion as they work on everything from bone marrow to biological threats, cybersecurity to creative design. Our track record is striking: Of the 275 alumni of this list, 60% did indeed become unicorns, including household names Duolingo and DoorDash. Another 60 were bought (or were merged). Nearly half of last year’s picks already are worth more than a billion. There have been surprisingly few disasters—just six companies, about 2%, imploded or shut down.

Lead Investors: Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital

Equity Raised: $45 million

Valuation: $225 million

The daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Havi Nguyen, 26, grew up managing Medicaid for her family while working at her parents’ nail salon. The Columbia University grad, who scored summer internships at Google and Facebook, got the idea for her startup Abby Care while working at a therapy startup, where she struggled to find in-home care for autistic children. She founded the business at in 2021 to help train families of disabled or elderly people to become paid caregivers — using Medicaid funds to pay them for the care they would have provided anyway. Backed by blue chip investors including Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, the company also gives caregivers access to an app that serves as a one-stop shop for time sheets, charting and asking questions of an AI-powered assistant. Abby Care wants to build a marketplace for clinical caregivers, like Uber did for drivers and Airbnb did for hotels. Says Nguyen, “Why don’t we just reimagine a new care model or health care system where we can leverage the family caregiver or the parent who really understands the patient best?” (Read the full feature story here.)

Founders: Ron Bhattacharyay, Ricky Moezinia,Rob Parker, Anton Troynikov (CEO)

Lead Investors: Altimeter Capital, Founders Fund

Equity Raised: $52 million

Valuation: $350 million

This San Francisco–based startup wants to power artificial intelligence data centers more efficiently by building new grids that deliver electricity in the form of direct current (DC). Electronics such as cellphones and computers require stable, nonfluctuating DC power, and commonly convert the alternating current (AC) from household wall sockets via a charging device or internal hardware. Because significant energy is lost in converting AC to DC, American Tera­ watt thinks building a DC-only network of buried transmission lines to connect data centers will save lots of power and aid in the race to build super AI. Led by 38-year-old founder Troynikov, who previously started Chroma (a vector database used by AI models for memory and storage), the firm plans initially to use gear from third-party vendors, with the intent to later make its own converters.

Founders: Alex Kostecki, Erich Nussbaumer, Nico Simko (CEO)

Lead Investors: Founder Collective, Kairos, Thrive Capital, Upfront Ventures, Walkabout Ventures

Equity Raised: $69 million

Valuation: $145 million

An unexpected bill—even one for a few hundred dollars—can create a crisis for hourly workers with little savings, Simko says. That’s why in 2019 he cofounded New York City–based Clair to let workers access part of their paycheck before payday. Built on top of existing payroll platforms like ADP, Clair verifies employment and analyzes wages to instantly calculate how much to advance, typically 30% to 50% of daily earnings.

Founders: Thanos Baskous, Vineet Edupuganti (CEO), Geng Sng

Lead Investors: Bain Capital Ventures, Greylock

Equity Raised: $53 million

Valuation: $320 million

Cogent’s AI agents identify critical security vulnerabilities, triage them and help IT fix them, says CEO Edupuganti, who worked for AI email security unicorn Abnormal before cofounding Cogent in 2024. Customers include engine oil maker Valvoline, the University of the Pacific and un­disclosed Las Vegas casinos.

Founders: Ryan Daniels (CEO), John Sarihan

Lead Investors: Bain Capital Ventures, Index Ventures, Lux Capital, Sequoia Capital

Equity Raised: $85 million

Valuation: $400 million

At New York City–based AI law firm Crosby, lawyers don’t pore over documents or review contracts. Instead, they manage AI agents that mark up NDAs and service agreements with comments and suggestions. Unlike traditional law firms that bill by the hour, Crosby charges its 130 clients—including AI startups Cursor, Cognition and Clay—a flat fee for each contract its agents review. “We’re not incentivized to keep reviewing over and over again. We get paid once,” says CEO Daniels, a former lawyer who claims his agents........

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