A new analysis from Female Founders Fund, out this morning, adds some additional context to that data. What stands out to me is a new category the fund is calling “zombie unicorns.”

In 2025, there were 20 new female-founded unicorns (companies valued at more than $1 billion), and the aggregate valuation of female-founded unicorns reached a record high of $481 billion. Amazing! Except there is also a growing cohort of companies with unicorn valuations that are “still operating, but are unable to raise an up round, not on a clear path to IPO, and not attracting acquisition offers that match their last private valuation.”

Female Founders Fund doesn’t name check any companies that fall into this category, but a few come to mind. The fertility network Kindbody was valued at $1.8 billion in 2023, and earlier this year it was reported the company’s valuation had fallen to $400 million as it shuttered clinics. The luggage and travel brand Away was valued at $1.4 billion in 2019. Founder Jen Rubio said last year that Away’s investors were prepared for a “longer time horizon” for any exit. There’s even Glossier, which was valued at $1.2 billion in 2019 and last raised at a down round—although it seems to be growing again after a reset.

Many of these businesses came up during a different era of venture capital, when growth was king and valuations for consumer brands were higher. The challenge of resetting for a new era isn’t unique to female founders. But unsurprisingly, these companies’ fates are more likely to impact the rest of the female founder ecosystem, while the outcomes for companies with male founders facing the same challenges won’t affect men’s ability to raise capital.

“Zombie” doesn’t mean that these companies won’t survive. Female Founders Fund founding partner Anu Duggal is watching exactly how they survive. Down rounds? Structured financing with tough terms? Secondary sales to reset valuations? Acquisitions below their peak price? Or just long hold periods supported by cost cuts and a push to profitability?

Those decisions will impact the next generation of companies, especially those looking to move from seed to Series A dependent on the same investor ecosystem. “While we saw exciting momentum around large female-led exits in 2025, how these zombie unicorns ultimately find liquidity will shape the entire ecosystem,” Duggal says.

As Duggal hinted, it’s not all bad news. 2025 saw some notable exits for female founders: Rhode’s sale to Elf for $1 billion. Poppi’s acquisition by PepsiCo for $1.95 billion. Touchland’s $700 million sale to Church & Dwight. Female founders’ share of total U.S. exit count rose to 24.9% in 2025. Female Founders Fund argues that the “exit environment provided one of the clearest signals of durability: more female-founded companies found paths to liquidity, and total realized value increased materially.”

Female founders are survivors. And zombies? They come back to life.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

Danish voters are going to the polls today. And PM Mette Frederiksen is still out campaigning. Her Greenland showdown with Trump helped her win support, but while she's predicted to continue as PM her party is not expected to be able to form a majority. 

Meanwhile, in Italy. PM Giorgia Meloni put forward a referendum on the country's judiciary. Voters soundly rejected the plan to overhaul the country's judiciary after two days of voting; the outcome is expected to weaken Meloni's political standing. 

Rep. Maxine Waters is planning for Congress's next term. She's eyeing a second term as chair of the House Financial Services Committee if Democrats win a majority. At 87, that would make her the oldest leader of the influential committee in its history. She has the support of many of her colleagues, even as Democrats call for a new generation of leadership. 

An abortion case to watch in Georgia. Alexia Moore, 31, was arrested and charged with murder after taking a medication she bought online to end her pregnancy during her second trimester; she had been rushed to the hospital in severe pain. A state judge called the charge "extremely problematic" this week and set her bail at $1. 

ON MY RADAR

Could the girls of Camp Mystic have been saved? New York Magazine

It's time for the #MeToo campus drama to graduate The Cut

Robyn, on her own New Yorker

PARTING WORDS

"There hasn't been enough done, in my opinion, to thank them for sacrificing to keep this league alive so we could have this moment." 

— The Washington Mystics' Alysha Clark, explaining why she pushed for a provision in the WNBA's new deal: back pay for retired players. Players with at least five years of service will all get a payout, with those who played for 12 or more years getting $100,000.