Trend Trend 3: the next generation of large companies grows up outside public markets

Summary

The third trend in CB Insights' outlook is that private companies are becoming the new public ones. The next generation of major firms is growing outside the visibility that stock markets traditionally provide. More than 1,300 unicorns now exist, some valued above the median S&P 500 company, and they stay private longer while still making large acquisitions. Leading AI startups reach large recurring revenue quickly without public disclosure. In response, regulators are opening private assets to retirement savers and big financial institutions are buying infrastructure for trading pre-IPO shares. CB Insights argues that investors must increasingly rely on predictive signals because disclosure no longer shows where value is created.