PitchBook: 537 US unicorns still carry 2021-22 bubble valuations

The striking figure is not the count of stale marks but the distribution squeeze: with VC payouts at roughly half their long-run norm, capital is trapped inside funds whose portfolios cannot be marked honestly without repricing. That mismatch, not any single company, is what keeps the private-public valuation gap wide and pushes the eventual adjustment onto later-stage buyers or continuation vehicles. Whether the logjam breaks through IPOs, secondary sales or structured deals is the open question — and the answer will set the reference prices for the entire venture stack.