ouve 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. OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX and Stripe are among the big names said to be considering an initial public offering IPO this year. The success of their flotations – whether the shares maintain their value, rise or fall – could shape concerns about...
