Why do Pre-IPO valuations in 2026 continue to rise? An analysis of the three core driving forces

2026 is becoming the most intense year for IPOs in U.S. stock-market history. According to PitchBook statistics, since 2026 began, there have been 79 IPO filings submitted in the United States, with 41 priced deals whose market value exceeds $50 million. Just in April, the U.S. IPO market had already raised $5.4 billion.

But what truly draws market attention is not the stock-price gains of companies that are already listed, but the sustained surge in valuations during the Pre-IPOs stage. OpenAI has reportedly reached an implied Pre-IPOs valuation of $1 trillion, up 163% from October 2025. Anthropic’s Pre-IPOs share price jumped from about $122 to about $900 in seven months—an increase of nearly 640%—with an implied valuation reaching $851 billion. SpaceX’s IPO valuation target after merging with xAI is as high as $1.75 trillion, and it plans to raise $75 billion. PitchBook research indicates that the IPOs of just SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI alone may create exit value greater than the total IPO value backed by all venture capital since 2000.

Driving Force 1: AI and the Space Economy Lead the Remaking of Valuations

The valuation logic for AI companies is shifting from the early-stage “model capability determines life or death” to a more pragmatic “entry control and commercial execution.”

Take OpenAI as an example. By early 2026, ChatGPT’s weekly active users have already exceeded 900 million. The company’s revenue surged from roughly $200 million in 2022 to more than $10 billion in 2025, delivering a 60x increase. The number of enterprise customers spending more than $1 million per year rose from 500 to over 1,000, and ARR exceeded $30 billion.

The market generally expects Anthropic’s IPO to launch around October 2026. The company has already been in talks with top investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, and it is expected to raise more than $60 billion. The valuation race between these two AI giants is a core variable behind the shift higher in the valuation “center” of the entire Pre-IPOs market. The “cash-generating ability” AI companies have shown is changing how investors price primary-market assets—investors are willing to pay higher premiums, betting on the leading companies in the next wave of technological innovation.

Driving Force 2: The Interest Rate Environment and Faster Inflows of Institutional Capital

After the Federal Reserve formally entered a rate-cutting cycle in 2025, risk assets were repriced, and the pace of valuation repair in the primary market has been extremely fast. The capital that had been stuck in high rounds in 2022 and 2023 finally found an exit window.

As of April 24, 2026, data from CME’s “Federal Reserve Watch” shows a 99% probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in April. Although the hawkish stance taken by the Fed’s prospective chair at a recent hearing drew market attention—pushing the yield on two-year U.S. Treasuries up by 7.55 basis points at one point—overall, the current interest-rate level still supports Pre-IPOs valuations.

From the perspective of institutional capital flows, total financing in the crypto primary market in Q1 2026 was $4.59 billion. Blockchain Capital, a venture capital firm, is raising $700 million for two new crypto funds, showing that institutional capital continues to flow into high-growth early-stage ecosystems. Institutional investors moving early directly lifts the valuation floor at the Pre-IPOs stage.

Driving Force 3: Platforms like Gate Lower the Participation Threshold for Pre-IPOs

Another key variable pushing Pre-IPOs valuations higher is the transformation toward democratized participation. Traditionally, Pre-IPOs investing has long been monopolized by venture capital, private equity, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with extremely high barriers to entry.

In April 2026, Gate officially launched a digital Pre-IPOs participation mechanism. It tokenizes traditional Pre-IPOs equity via blockchain technology to create low-threshold digital assets that can be subscribed for and traded within the platform. Users do not need to open an overseas securities account and do not need to meet high net-worth requirements; they only need to hold stablecoins such as USDT to participate. Within 24 hours of SPCX subscription opening, the total amount already exceeded $353 million.

Tokenization allows ordinary users to access quality assets at earlier stages. As market demand is amplified, valuation premiums are also pushed higher. Rainmaker Securities also noted in its annual outlook that the Pre-IPOs market is rapidly evolving from a niche liquidity tool into a key component of the broader capital market.

Potential Risks and Notes

Even though Pre-IPOs valuations continue to rise, investors still need to pay attention to multiple risks. Tokenized assets are not direct equity; valuation transparency is limited; liquidity may narrow quickly when the market comes under pressure; and regulatory uncertainty is also a variable that cannot be ignored. Any IPO timeline may change. When participating in the Pre-IPOs market, investors should have adequate expectations and be prepared for these risks.

Summary

Behind the continued rise in Pre-IPOs valuations in 2026 are the combined effects of three factors: the structural boom in AI and the space economy, liquidity released by the rate-cutting cycle, and the broad adoption of tokenized participation mechanisms. Among them, AI companies’ cash-generating ability and commercialization provide fundamental support for high valuations; accelerated institutional capital allocation drives valuation repair; and platforms like Gate, with their low-threshold participation model, bring early investment opportunities down to a wider range of users. The combined impact of these three driving forces makes 2026 a critical year for revaluing assets in the primary market.