Houston welcomed a duo of unicorns in 2021, according to a new report. But these unicorns aren’t those mythical multicolored creatures. Rather, they’re startups valued at $1 billion or more.

As of December 2021, there were more than 900 unicorns around the world, according to market research company CB Insights. Former unicorns include Airbnb, Facebook, and Google.

Joining the unicorn club in 2021 were two startups based in the Houston area:

• Solugen, currently valued at $1.8 billion, according to the company, which uses corn syrup to produce chemicals.
• Axiom Space, valued at more than $1 billion as of February. The startup is developing the world’s first space station for commercial purposes.

Houston's other unicorn is fintech company, HighRadius, which reached the $1 billion valuation mark in January of 2020.

The Lone Star State added a few other companies to its unicorn herd. Austin had four companies claim the prestigious status — the most newly minted unicorns in Texas — and now has a total of six unicorns. Dallas added one new unicorn to its economy, making a total of three Dallas area-based unicorns, according to CB Insights.

Here are the other 2021 unicorns in Texas:

• Austin-based Iodine Software, valued at more than $1 billion as of December. The company’s artificial intelligence offering aims to help healthcare organizations improve their operations.
• Austin-based ZenBusiness, valued at $1.7 billion as of November. ZenBusiness provides an online platform designed to help entrepreneurs start, run, and grow their small businesses.
• Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace, valued at more than $1 billion as of May. The startup makes rockets and commercial spacecraft.
• Austin-based The Zebra, valued at more than $1 billion as of April. The Zebra runs an online marketplace that enables consumers to compare insurance quotes.
• Irving-based Caris Life Sciences is valued at a whopping $7.83 billion as of May. Caris employs artificial intelligence to come up with targeted cancer treatments.

Startups, particularly those in the tech space, increasingly are drawn to Austin. In 2020, CompTIA, a trade group for the tech industry, placed Austin atop its Tech Town USA index. The organization cited Austin as a “favorable alternative” to the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City for startups and other companies.

Joshua Baer, founder and CEO of Austin-based Capital Factory, an accelerator for startups, told Texas Monthly in April that Austin’s status as a business magnet has risen recently.

“Suddenly, we’ve gone from us having to beat our chest and tell everybody else how great Austin and Texas are to everybody showing up here, telling us why it’s so great, and why they moved here,” Baer says.

------

This article originally ran on CultureMap.