Future Private Report 2026
The future of investing may not be defined individually by the public or private market. It will be defined by investors’ ability to understand both.
Key Takeaways
The private market has cycled through four distinct regimes over the past ~7 years, culminating in today’s AI-led recovery.
Public and private market investments respond to stress in strikingly different ways.
The investable universe has expanded significantly; the number of unicorns has grown more than 4x since 2019.
The private market shares many of the same sector exposures as the public market, but with even heavier concentration in technology-related themes.
AI has become the defining investment theme across both the public and private market, but exposure looks different depending on where you sit.
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Executive summary 2
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Private market rides the AI valuation3
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Stress can force public market trading, while the private market often slows down 4
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Private market posts strong returns despite steeper draw5
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Investable universe expands with unicorn count jumping 4x6
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The private market leans harder into tech than public peers7
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Enterprise software followed by industrial takes over the private market map8
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The public and private market get AI exposure differently9
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Exit recovery headlined by a select few10
Howe Ng is the Chief Strategy Officer at Forge Global. Prior to Forge, Howe held senior roles at BlackRock and Barclays Global Investors, including in their iShares ETF and Systematic Active Equity Portfolio Management divisions. He also served as Chief Operating Officer at Nipun Capital, an alternative asset management firm focusing on emerging markets and Asian strategies.
Andrew Alden, CFA, serves as Vice President of Quantitative Research at Forge Global, where he leads a research team focused on the private market. Prior to this role, Andrew launched Semantiqa, an investment management firm, which focused on the public-market growth equities space.
Louis is a Senior Data Analyst at Forge Global, focusing on valuations and private market trends. Before joining Forge, Louis worked in corporate finance at Initiative Media and was a startup founder.
Legal Notices and Disclosures
Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”) is an affiliate of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), Member SIPC. Forge and Schwab are separate but wholly owned subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
©2026 Forge Global, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors, is highly speculative, is high risk, and you should be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are highly illiquid and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. Each investment carries its own risks, and you should conduct your own due diligence regarding the investment, including obtaining independent professional advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
This is not a recommendation, offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities by Forge Securities LLC (“Forge Securities”) or any of its affiliates, nor an offer of brokerage services in any jurisdiction where Forge Securities is not permitted to offer brokerage services. Registered representatives of Forge Securities do not (1) advise any party on the merits of a particular transaction; (2) assist in the determination of fair value of any security; or (3) provide legal, tax, or transactional advisory services. Securities and investments are offered only to customers of Forge Securities, a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA & SIPC. Securities referenced in this article may be offered by Forge Securities, and certain Forge affiliates may act as principals in such transactions. See Forge Global, Inc. and its affiliates’ Disclosure Library (Disclaimers & Disclosures and Form CRS) for additional disclosures.
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