Back in 2013, venture capitalist Aileen Lee wanted a word to make it easy to describe private tech companies worth $1 billion or more. “I played with different words like ‘home run,’ ‘megahit,’ and they just all sounded kind of ‘blah.’ So I put in ‘unicorn’ because… these are very rare companies in the sense that there are thousands of startups in tech every year, and only a handful will wind up becoming a unicorn company,” she said in an interview. “They’re really rare.”

I guess Lee has never visited Vancouver where it seems like the city births another company worth more than $1 billion every few weeks.

Stewart Butterfield, the founder and CEO of Slack (formerly a unicorn startup), once said that the billion-dollar benchmark is arbitrary; however, he thought it made a difference psychologically. “One billion is better than $800 million because it’s the psychological threshold for potential customers, employees, and the press,” he told Fortune mag.

Whatever you think of the number, when it comes to building a business, you can’t deny the fact that a billion-dollar valuation is a major achievement—and yet, in the last six months, at least six Vancouver companies1 have reached this milestone.

Thinkific ($1B+)

Led by CEO Greg Smith, Thinkific is a cloud-based software platform that enables entrepreneurs and established businesses to create, market and sell online courses. Last year the company raised $22 million from Rhino Ventures, and today, the company went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange and topped $1-billion in a mega debut—and a massive win for its investors.

Thinkific @thinkific

We have so much to celebrate today! #THNC

April 27th 2021

2 Retweets8 Likes

Clio (~$2B)

Founded in 2008, Clio is one of BC’s largest home-grown technology companies, with around 575 employees and plans to hire 250 more as a result of their just-announced $137 million CAD round of funding. The new financing values the company at around $2 billion, as it continues to see its fortunes rise as a key tool in the toolkits of law firms as they navigate the pandemic.

Jack Newton @jack_newton

Thrilled to announce @goclio’s $110M Series E funding round, led by T. Rowe Price and OMERS, at a $1.6B valuation. This is a huge milestone in our journey toward building an enduring company that is transforming the legal experience for all.

Clio @goclio

A historic moment for legaltech: We just secured a $110M Series E funding round, valuing us at $1.6B. This marks another milestone in our vision to becoming an enduring 100-year old company. 1/4 https://t.co/Z91cYA8A3q

April 27th 2021

30 Retweets196 Likes

Dapper Labs ($7.5B)

Dapper Labs has almost single-handedly brought NFTs into the public consciousness with the success of its NBA Top Shot product and marketplace, and the company is reportedly raising financing at a $7.5 billion valuation. With a cap table that includes Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant and Will Smith and a recently announced partnership with Naomi Osaka, the company is on a complete tear, and could soon make that valuation seem low.

Boris Wertz @bwertz

Incredible growth happening @dapperlabs (creator of @flow_blockchain, @nbatopshot & @CryptoKitties): 🏀$500m + in NBA Top Shot sales 📈1.5m+ user accounts on Flow ️ 🖥️2K+ developers They're hiring across the board (& reminder: still day 1 for crypto!) dapperlabs.com/careersDapper Labs - Fun and games on the blockchainDapper Labs uses the power of play to deliver blockchain-based experiences that are made for you and ready for the real world.dapperlabs.com

April 21st 2021

15 Retweets116 Likes

GeoComply ($1B+)

GeoComply operates at the centre of a new generation of cybersecurity companies, leveraging advanced geolocation data to make better risk-based decisions. Last month the company announced strategic investments from Blackstone Growth and from Atairos. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, GeoComply CEO Anna Sainsbury told a local reporter that “it’s safe to say that Vancouver definitely has birthed another unicorn.”

Galvanize ($1B)

Galvanize was founded in 1972 when Hart Will developed an interactive audit software called Audit Command Language (ACL) and then launched it as a business with his son Harald in 1987. Harald ran the company until Laurie Schulz took over as president and CEO in 2011 before rebranding the company to Galvanize. Schulz continued to grow the company and announced this February that it was being acquired by US-based Diligent Corp. for a reported $1 billion.

Laurie Schultz @SchultzLaurie

Friends, today it was announced that Galvanize will become part of the Diligent family - catalyzing an immediate, material and meaningful redefinition of the GRC category. Can't wait to paint the next Picasso! Exclusive: Business softwaremaker Diligent to acquire Galvanize for $1 billionInsight Partners-backed corporate governance software maker, Diligent, plans to acquire Galvanize for $1 billion.fortune.com

February 24th 2021

3 Retweets10 Likes

Abcellera (~$7.94B)

Abcellera, which is now best known for creating the first COVID-19 anti-body treatment (that BC is not using), was founded in 2012 by biomedical researchers Carl Hansen, Véronique Lecault, Kevin Heyries, Daniel Da Costa and Oleh Petriv. The company received various forms of financing over the years, including a $645,000 USD grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a test for tuberculosis, $10 million in 2018, and $105 million in 2020. Last December, the company went public on the Nasdaq, and today it sits at a nearly $8 billion market capitalization.

William Johnson @notionport

Veronique Lecault, Chief Operating Officer at @AbCelleraBio. Her firm developed one of the first COVID-19 treatments, raised $555.5M in an IPO and is currently hiring for 70 jobs in the city.

March 8th 2021

6 Likes

Elsewhere in Canada, other tech companies that recently hit the billion-dollar mark, as noted earlier by Sean Silcoff, include Clearco, Benevity, Hopper Inc, and Verafin.