Sequoia's 15-year X hype analysis: hype rarely predicted unicorns, until maybe AI
Konstantine · x · 2026-09-09
Sequoia's Konstantine and @ochonaut analyzed the most hyped topics on X for every year since 2011 (hype analysis 2.0), comparing against the most valuable company founded that year. Key findings:
- Crypto & Web3 held the #1 hype spot on X from the mid-2010s through the 2022 peak, yet the biggest companies founded in those years (OpenAI, Anthropic, Wiz, Anduril) had nothing to do with crypto.
- For most of the last 15 years, hype on X did not spot the next unicorn.
- A possible shift: xAI, SSI and Prometheus were all founded at the peak of AI hype. The authors will watch how this plays out over the next decade.
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