Why Secondary Markets Are Eating the IPO | All-In Liquidity Secondary Markets Panel
A panel of investors discusses how secondary markets are giving founders and early backers a third exit path alongside IPOs and acquisitions, with volumes now double the 2021 peak.
The gist
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Secondary markets now account for 31% of all venture activity in 2025, letting employees and investors cash out without waiting for a public listing.
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Shares in top private companies are trading at a premium of 106 cents on the dollar, not the discounts many expect.
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Panelists warn retail investors against putting everything into peak valuations of mega-cap privates and suggest dollar-cost averaging with 30 to 50% of dry powder instead.
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Zipline is cited as a compelling secondary opportunity, an autonomous drone delivery company now expanding U.S. operations after proving its model in Africa.
Also mentioned
1:49
Anthropic
· "This is people buying into Anderal, Anthropic, SpaceX now represents 31% of all primary venture activity is..."
1:53
SpaceX
· "SpaceX now represents 31% of all primary venture activity is buying into these secondaries in 2025."
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