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TechUnicorns

Here Are 3 Unicorns That Are Struggling

By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
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By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
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May 23, 2016, 12:09 PM ET
GERMANY-SPLASHDIVING-WORLD-OFFBEAT
A participant of the Splashdiving World Championship wears a unicorn mask as he jumps into the Freizeitbad Silvana public swimming pool in Schweinfurt, southern Germany, on August 9, 2014. Around 50 participants try to find out until August 10, 2014 who is the "master of the cannonball". AFP PHOTO / DPA / KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND / GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand — AFP/Getty Images

Some promising ­startups with billion-dollar valuations, a.k.a. unicorns, are struggling. Here’s a brief look at three.

Theranos

Regulators are all over the blood-testing company, last valued at $9 billion, after a series of Wall Street Journal reports called its technology into question. Chief operating officer Sunny Balwani left in May.

Zenefits

The human resources software startup, last valued at $4.5 billion, was flying high until its CEO Parker Conrad abruptly resigned. The reason? The discovery of a tool that enabled some of its employees to skirt California health insurance licensing requirements.

The Honest Co.

Actress Jessica Alba co-founded the company, last valued at $1.7 billion, to sell safe and healthy products, but several lawsuits allege that they contain undisclosed chemicals.

To see Fortune’s full unicorn list, click here.

For more on unicorns, watch this Fortune video:

A version of this article appears in the June 1, 2016 issue of Fortune with the headline “Shorn Horns.”

About the Author
By Kia Kokalitcheva
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