Black Unicorn Factory is a pre-IPO startup accelerator and venture capital firm founded in 2020 that focuses on supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. The company operates a breakthrough equity crowdsourcing platform called Follow Me For Equity (FMFE), which rewards individuals—especially college students and young professionals—with monetizable equity in high-growth startups for performing online and social media engagement tasks. BUF has positioned itself as the largest Black-owned venture capital firm by volume of startups funded and serves a portfolio of over 150 startups positioned for IPO.
Black Unicorn Factory is publicly traded
Listed directly on Jul 31, 2025
This company is no longer available on our private secondary market. Shares can be traded publicly under its listed ticker.
Company data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Founded
2020
Total Funding
$645M
4 rounds
Last Private Valuation
$18B
Jul 31, 2025
Marked $18.16B fair-market valuation ($235/share) via independent appraisal, per company investor page.
Post-money reference point for secondary holders; not tied to a priced financing round.
Company self-reports ~$20.3B valuation (also cites $11.3B 'pre-listing') via press release, continuing an escalating, unverified valuation trail beyond the stored $18B mark
Stored $18B valuation is already stale and, like it, lacks independent corroboration
Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Rounds in grey italics are unconfirmed.
Total raised $645M across 4 rounds
Last updated 08-29-2026
| Date | Round | Amount Raised | Valuation | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2026 | Private Placement | $145M | — | Not disclosed |
| May 15, 2024 | Private Placement | $1M | — | Not disclosed |
| May 2021 | Series B | $420M | $6.1B | BarterVentures |
Johnny Stewart
Founder & President
Black Unicorn Factory withdrew the Form S-1 registration statement behind its proposed Nasdaq direct listing: a Rule 477 request dated May 29, 2026 and filed June 1, 2026 asks the SEC to withdraw File No. 333-289247 and all amendments, and confirms that no securities were or will be sold under it. The company gives as its reason that it has completed a strategic merger transaction with Crowdcasting Inc. that changed its operations, capitalisation, financial condition and corporate organisation to the point where the registration statement no longer describes the business, and says it will evaluate future financing, registration and public-market opportunities based on the post-merger combined entity. No registration statement is therefore on file, no trading has commenced, and the $18 billion appraisal and $154-per-share reference price carried in the withdrawn amendments are no longer supported by a live filing.
Black Unicorn Factory shares can be purchased through any standard brokerage account — including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and online platforms like Robinhood or E*TRADE. Search for the ticker to place an order.
Black Unicorn Factory went public in Jul 31, 2025 via direct_listing, with an offering valuation of approximately $18B. Black Unicorn Factory withdrew the Form S-1 registration statement behind its proposed Nasdaq direct listing: a Rule 477 request dated May 29, 2026 and filed June 1, 2026 asks the SEC to withdraw File No. 333-289247 and all amendments, and confirms that no securities were or will be sold under it. The company gives as its reason that it has completed a strategic merger transaction with Crowdcasting Inc. that changed its operations, capitalisation, financial condition and corporate organisation to the point where the registration statement no longer describes the business, and says it will evaluate future financing, registration and public-market opportunities based on the post-merger combined entity. No registration statement is therefore on file, no trading has commenced, and the $18 billion appraisal and $154-per-share reference price carried in the withdrawn amendments are no longer supported by a live filing.
Black Unicorn Factory raised $645M across 4 disclosed funding rounds prior to its public listing.
Black Unicorn Factory was founded by Johnny Stewart in 2020.
Black Unicorn Factory is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, United States.
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