As 2025 unfolds, the long-anticipated return of venture-backed liquidity is finally taking shape. After several muted years, Q2 brought a wave of tech IPOs, strategic M&A, and major secondary and tender offer events. But what’s actually happened so far - and what might be next?
At Equitybee, we track liquidity events for pre-IPO companies. As of July 2025, we’ve logged over 60 unique liquidity events this year - spanning IPOs, acquisitions, secondaries, tender offers, and even dividends.
*Equitybee is not affiliated with, associated with or endorsed by any of the companies listed and does not have access to any non-public or insider information about them. The inclusion of a company on the Equitybee 2025 Watch List does not imply any investment recommendation or guarantee of any future liquidity event. All information presented has been compiled from publicly available sources and is for informational purposes only.
2025 has seen a meaningful resurgence in public listings for late-stage venture-backed companies after a multi-year IPO drought. While selective, breakout listings - primarily in fintech, AI infrastructure, and digital health, have shown strong public market performance. Over half of tracked IPOs exceeded their highest private valuation as of July 2025, which could signal growing public market appetite for growth equity.
9 of the 11 IPOs occurred in Q2
As of 7/17/2025 7 of the 11 IPO companies trade above their last private valuation
*company sector and sub-sector sourced from PitchBook, Crunchbase and Tracxn.
Strategic M&A is back. In 2025, acquirers across tech, AI, and healthcare have resumed buying late-stage startups - sometimes at markdowns, but often at or above prior highs. From multi-billion-dollar AI platform takeouts to tuck-in cybersecurity buys, this year has seen a dramatic rise in M&A activity.
Of the 23 M&A deals tracked here, 10 exited at or above their peak private valuations, this includes landmark exits like Wiz, Io, and Ampere Computing - all at or above $6.5 billion. 6 companies exited below their peak valuation and for 7 the valuation was not disclosed.
AI is the leading sector in 2025 M&A
10 out of 16 disclosed deals exited at or above peak private valuation
As of 3/31/2025, Equitybee Investors have funded employee stock options at an average discount of 73% to the last known preferred share price.
Next Insurance, for example, exited at a 35% reduced valuation, yet Equitybee investors saw up to a 4.5x MOIC* return. (Learn more about Equitybee structural advantage in our Reddit IPO Case Study)
*Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated as the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment. In the Equitybee model, net proceeds typically comprise the original principal, accrued annual interest, and the investor’s share of the equity value at the liquidity event.
Tender offers have emerged as 2025’s most frequent liquidity path for startup shareholders in the U.S. After multiple years of IPO delays, many companies, especially late-stage, have reached a natural pressure point. With employees, early investors, and founding teams holding illiquid equity for 5-10 years or more, the demand for cash-out opportunities has grown.
Equitybee has historically seen its strongest investor outcomes through tender offers. Equitybee platform investors have gained exposure to pre-IPO companies by providing funding to employees to exercise options. Equitybee platform investments have experienced the tender offers have delivered a 3.16x average MOIC* (multiple on invested capital) in less than 24 months.
In 2025 alone, 28 tender offers have been tracked by Equitybee (21 publicly disclosed) - Equitybee Platform investors funded stock options in 23 of these companies.
*Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated as the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment.
*company sector and sub-sector sourced from PitchBook, Crunchbase and Tracxn.
From long-anticipated debuts like Figma, Discord, and Navan, to rising contenders like Replit, Tome, and Ramp, this section highlights the 45+ private companies investors should be watching most closely in the back half of the year.
The second half of 2025 is shaping up for potentially another wave of late-stage liquidity. Equitybee’s internal watch list - based on filings, banker hires, secondary activity, and public signals, tracks the most likely IPO, SPAC, and tender offer candidates still ahead.
After a multi-year liquidity drought, 2025 is shaping up as a turnaround year for venture-backed exits. While the IPO window is still cautious, strong demand for select names - and a healthy volume of secondaries, tender offers and M&A - signals that DPI (Distributed to Paid-In Capital) is finally about to return to LPs.
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*Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated as the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment. In the Equitybee model, net proceeds typically comprise the original principal, accrued annual interest (ranging from 3% to 5%), and the investor’s share of the equity value at the liquidity event (typically 20% to 45% of the funded shares). A 5% carried interest is applied to the accrued interest and the equity value share at distribution.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Private placements are speculative, illiquid, contain substantial risk and may result in the complete loss of capital to the investor. Consult your tax accountant as there may be tax considerations on profit amounts. Results may vary with each use and over time. Investor proceeds may be settled in cash or shares. Data calculated based on the Israel market reflects offers from June 2018 through March 2025; the US market reflects offers from March 2020 through March 2025.
