Why are Pre-IPO valuations continuing to rise in 2026? A comprehensive breakdown of the four core driving forces

Since early 2026, the global Pre-IPO market has been in the capital “eye of the storm.” On June 12, SpaceX officially listed on Nasdaq at a price of $135 per share, raising up to $75 billion, with a target valuation reaching the range of $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion. Shortly after, on June 8, OpenAI secretly filed a draft S-1 for listing, planning to enter the public market in Q4 2026; its latest valuation has reached $852 billion. Top AI company Anthropic has also filed an IPO registration statement, with its latest valuation at about $965 billion, and after listing it is expected to challenge the $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion range. The combined valuation of these three super unicorns has already exceeded $3.5 trillion.

Amid this sweeping feast of capital, the Pre-IPO market is experiencing unprecedented heat.

The Ultra-Long “Privatization” Cycle: The Most Valuable Growth Stage Is Locked in Private Markets

To understand why Pre-IPO valuations keep rising, we first need to recognize a structural shift: the time from a company’s founding to its listing is being extended significantly.

In the 1990s, companies typically managed to go public within about 4 to 5 years; today, this cycle has been stretched to 12 years. This means that for star companies like SpaceX and OpenAI, their fastest-growing phases have all been “divided up” and captured in advance by early investors in the private market.

According to analysis by DWF Ventures, the total valuation of the world’s top 100 unicorns is about $2.94 trillion. In recent years, that figure has multiplied by several times—or even dozens of times—yet ordinary investors have had almost no opportunity to participate. The IPO cycle in 2026 is expected to be among the largest in history, potentially unlocking more than $3.6 trillion in value.

This structural scarcity is further intensified on the supply side. After infrastructure build-out and accumulation during 2024 to 2025, many projects based on AI Agents, specific application chains, and the DePIN track will reach the stage where issuance is possible in early 2026. In addition, potential IPO candidates also include leading global crypto exchanges Upbit, FalconX, Chainalysis, and Grayscale, which has already submitted its listing application. Kraken completed an $800 million Pre-IPO financing in November 2025, reaching a valuation of $20 billion. The supply landscape of the Pre-IPO market is expanding at an unprecedented speed.

Capital Frenzy in the AI Track: Moving From “Narrative-Driven” to “Cash Flow Pricing”

The AI sector’s capital frenzy is the most core catalyst behind the elevated Pre-IPO valuations in 2026.

Looking back at this round of AI fundraising: in March 2026, AI chip startup Rebellions completed a $400 million financing round with a valuation of $2.34 billion; in June of the same year, Prometheus, an AI startup co-founded with participation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, completed a $12 billion Series B round, with its valuation soaring to $41 billion; French AI unicorn Mistral AI is currently in talks for a new round of funding, with an estimated valuation of about €20 billion. These figures clearly show that capital in the primary market is flowing into the AI track at an unprecedented pace.

However, the force pushing valuations higher has shifted from a purely “technology narrative” to a more pragmatic “scalable cash flow capability.” Market analysts point out that what truly determines a company’s valuation has never been the technology itself alone, but whether the company can get global capital to believe that the technology can be scaled, commercialized continuously, and turned into long-term, stable cash flows.

The capital “siphoning” effect of super IPOs may be overestimated by the market. Historical experience shows that large IPOs are more often about capital reallocation rather than liquidity disappearing, and by itself they are less likely to become a direct trigger for systemic risk. From an industry perspective, the listing of SpaceX and OpenAI not only drives their own capitalization upgrades, but also reassures global markets about the certainty of sectors such as AI and commercial space, providing pricing references for peer assets. That said, the real test is whether the high valuations can be realized. If future revenue growth or commercialization progress falls short of expectations, related companies and tech growth segments may face valuation re-pricing pressure.

Private Liquidity Recovery: Exit Channels and Secondary Markets Expand in Tandem

The third driver behind continuously rising Pre-IPO valuations comes from a systemic improvement in liquidity in the private equity market.

In its latest analysis on June 15, Goldman Sachs noted that improved liquidity, AI-related trading activity, and sustained economic growth are expected to drive stronger returns in private equity. Senior executives from Goldman Sachs’ Global Banking and Markets Capital Solutions Group expect that trading activity may exceed the peak levels seen before 2021 within the next three years.

Expanding liquidity channels is especially critical. Besides IPOs and M&A, private equity funds can also use secondary market transfers and structured transactions. In 2025, the secondary market size was about $250 billion, and Goldman Sachs predicts it could reach $500 billion in five years. In terms of trading on secondary market fund products in private equity, from January to April 2026, Shanghai S Fund’s new transaction financing volume reached 11.013 billion yuan (RMB), of which transaction settlement amount was 3.802 billion yuan (RMB), a year-on-year increase of 1,084.42%.

The expansion on the exit side directly drives valuation linkages between primary and secondary markets. When the “circulatory system” of capital recovers smoothly, risk appetite naturally rises, and Pre-IPO valuations follow suit, moving higher. In addition, the Federal Reserve entering a rate-cut cycle is pushing risk assets to be revalued, and easing of U.S. regulatory policies toward crypto and fintech provides two major macro catalysts that resonate with private market liquidity—creating a strong synergy that pushes the Pre-IPO market to unprecedented levels of heat.

Structural Opportunities in the Crypto Market: Capital Rotation and New Entry Points for Pre-IPO Participation

In 2026, while the crypto market overall faces pressure, its structural value in participating in Pre-IPO has stood out against the trend.

As of mid-June 2026, the total market cap of the crypto market has fallen from its early-year peak to about $2.26 trillion, evaporating more than $810 billion compared with the high point. After capital exits the crypto market, it is looking for new directions for allocation. Bitcoin ETFs continue to see net outflows, while Solana spot ETFs have accumulated over $1.1 billion in assets under management, reflecting an institutional capital rotation trend. AI, semiconductors, and U.S. tech stocks are pulling risk capital out of the crypto market, while Pre-IPO assets have become an important destination for this pool of funds.

Crypto platforms are reshaping the participation landscape of the Pre-IPO market. In April 2026, Gate officially launched a digital Pre-IPO participation mechanism, opening the early investment channel—previously exclusive to institutions—to more than 54 million users worldwide. Users do not need to open overseas brokerage accounts or meet high net-worth thresholds; all they need is to hold stablecoins such as USDT to participate in subscriptions and trading. Traditional Pre-IPO investment typically has minimum entry requirements of millions of dollars and lock-up periods lasting for several years; whereas tokenized Pre-IPO asset certificates can enter dedicated pre-market trading venues, supporting 7×24-hour nonstop trading, and the release of liquidity brings unprecedented participation freedom.

Summary

Overall, the continued rise in 2026 Pre-IPO valuations is the result of four combined drivers: “shrinking supply + AI capital frenzy + private market liquidity recovery + expanded crypto entry channels.”

With the IPO cycle extended to 12 years, the most value-creating stage with growth potential is locked in the private market; AI has shifted from concept-led narratives to cash flow-based pricing, as capital keeps flowing in and lifts valuations in the primary market. As exit channels in private equity expand and secondary market trading activity surges, valuation linkages between primary and secondary markets rise in tandem. Meanwhile, crypto platforms, through tokenization innovations, have opened a new retail entry point for Pre-IPO investment, giving global investors unprecedented opportunities to participate.

For investors, whether they plan to allocate to the Pre-IPO track through traditional channels or via crypto platforms like Gate, they need to assess valuation risks carefully while also seizing opportunities. Behind the high premiums of Pre-IPO assets, the core test is always whether the fundamentals of the underlying companies can support current valuation expectations. At this critical juncture of 2026, the year of super unicorn listings, a rational view of valuations and deep research into the track are the keys to winning the race through the cycle.