Theres also the nice middle-ground of smaller but more established companies. They may not IPO any time soon but aren’t so chaotic, and also don’t have the multiple levels of bureaucracy of a big company.
Usually in these companies roles aren’t as formally defined, so you can grow in skills and experience even if the company is never going to be a unicorn or re-define the future of ‘XYZ’.
I'm at one and it's pleasant. Pay is smaller than my country's large corps, but I can basically work on all projects and do things however I like. There is ML research as well as interesting dev projects.
It's sometimes annoying to see people use lazy solutions and refuse to learn the proper way, but since I took ownership of the important modules I use early on, I've built a small bubble of good software I can build upon.
Usually in these companies roles aren’t as formally defined, so you can grow in skills and experience even if the company is never going to be a unicorn or re-define the future of ‘XYZ’.