So Long, Unicorns. Hello, ZIRPicorns?

Aileen Lee, co-founder of seed venture capital firm Cowboy Ventures, famously coined the term “unicorn” to describe tech companies with billion-dollar valuations back in 2013. Now she’s using “ZIRPicorns” to describe the hundreds of startups that haven’t raised money since the zero-interest rate period and whose valuations are likely wildly off base. 

In a blog post celebrating the 10th birthday of her famous term, she writes that 40% of the 532 U.S. unicorns are trading at valuations below $1 billion in the secondary markets. So while the aggregate value of all unicorns is $1.5 trillion based on their last fundraising valuation, the real number is much smaller. She also offers a grim prediction: that more companies will shut down next year as investors grow more wary of “catching a falling knife.”

Her takeaway is that the amount of capital plowed into private tech exploded over the last decade, but capital efficiency—current valuation divided by private capital raised—nose-dived. Still, she predicts the unicorn club will continue to expand significantly over the next 10 years to 1,400. Here are some other takeaways I found interesting.