Secondary markets thrive in Silicon Valley

Startup shares drive $140 bn secondary market boom amid IPO drought

- Bloomberg

Secondary transactions involving venture-backed startups are on track to hit a new high this year, as companies like OpenAI, SpaceX and Stripe Inc. organize tender offers to get employees paid, and investors look for ways to offload stakes outside of initial public offerings.

Tender offers provide staffers, former employees and certain investors a way to sell their shares directly to other investors. It's a break from past years, when major startups looking for a payday for staff would go public – the traditional route to fame and fortune in the tech world.

But with IPOs (initial public offerings) scarce, tender offers and other types of secondary deals surged. New View Capital, a firm that specializes in secondary markets, expects startup transactions on those markets to hit $21 billion in 2024, more than double the previous high in 2023.