hectocorn

English

Etymology

From hecto- (“hundred”) +‎ -corn, by analogy with unicorn.

Noun

hectocorn (plural hectocorns)

1. (finance) A private startup with a valuation of US$100 billion or greater.

   Coordinate terms: unicorn, decacorn

   • 2018 May 8, David Kellenberger, “Entering the Age of the Hectocorn”, in LinkedIn‎^[1]:

     If Ant Financial is able to raise it’s $9B funding round at an expected $150B valuation it will become the first Hectocorn (or venture backed private company valued at over $100B) – a massive business by any standards, public or private.

   • 2026 January 22, Aisha Down, Dan Milmo, “The year of the ‘hectocorn’: the $100bn tech companies that could float in 2026”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     You’ve probably heard of “unicorns” – technology startups valued at more than $1bn – but 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the “hectocorn”, with several US and European companies potentially floating on stock markets at valuations over $100bn (£75bn).