Private equity · Pre-IPO secondaries · Delaware LLC
The largest private technology companies, before they list.
Unicorn Private acquires secondary stakes in late-stage private technology companies, the so-called unicorns, and holds them to an exit, typically an IPO or a strategic sale. Participation is reserved for qualified and professional investors.
Request informationOur approachWho we are
Late-stage leaders, not early bets.
Unicorn Private is a private equity firm structured as a Delaware LLC. It was founded in 2026 by investors who have been active in private equity and startup investing since 2005, with more than twenty years of combined experience.
The firm focuses on a narrow universe: the largest privately held technology companies, valued above one billion dollars in institutional funding rounds and on a visible path toward a listing. We do not invest in early-stage startups. Concentrating on established companies with real products and revenue narrows the range of outcomes, but investing in private companies remains high risk.
Why this market
A market that is hard to reach by design.
Many of the largest technology companies now stay private for a decade or longer, so a growing share of the value they create accrues before the IPO. Access to their shares is limited: most transfers need the company's consent, existing investors hold rights of first refusal, sellers are few and hard to identify, and every transaction requires specialised legal work. Most vehicles built for listed equities are not designed to hold these positions.
Sourcing sellers
Early employees, founders and early funds seeking liquidity, reached directly and through established secondary intermediaries.
Pricing each entry
Every position is assessed against the latest funding round, recent secondary trades and the rights attached to the share class being acquired.
Completing the transfer
Company consent, rights of first refusal and transfer restrictions are the core of the work, and the reason many transactions never close.
Strategy
Exposure only to leaders, held to an exit.
We acquire secondary stakes in the largest private technology companies globally and hold them until an exit, typically an IPO or a strategic acquisition.
Diversification across up to 20 positions
No single company is meant to determine the outcome of the portfolio.
Late-stage leaders only
Companies already selected and valued by institutional investors, with established users and revenue.
An exit-oriented holding period
Positions are held until a listing or a sale. Holding periods typically run for several years and cannot be shortened on demand.
Private company shares are illiquid, their valuations are not market prices, and they can lose value or be lost entirely. Diversification reduces the weight of any single company, it does not remove these risks.
Reference universe
The most valuable private companies today.
The companies below are the most valuable private companies by latest reported valuation. They define the universe in which Unicorn Private operates. They are not a list of current holdings: portfolio positions are disclosed to partners in the offering documents.
| Company | Sector | Latest reported valuation | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Artificial intelligence | $965 bn | May 2026 | Private. IPO reported for mid-October 2026 |
| OpenAI | Artificial intelligence | $852 bn | March 2026 | Private |
| ByteDance | Internet | $600 bn | April 2026 | Private |
| Databricks | Data and AI software | $190 bn | August 2026 | Private |
| Stripe | Payments infrastructure | $159 bn | February 2026 | Private |
| Revolut | Financial technology | $75 bn | November 2025 | Private |
| Shein | E-commerce | $66 bn | May 2023 | Private |
| Anduril Industries | Defense technology | $61 bn | May 2026 | Private |
| Canva | Design software | $42 bn | October 2024 | Private |
| Project Prometheus | Artificial intelligence | $41 bn | June 2026 | Private |
| Figure AI | Humanoid robotics | $39 bn | September 2025 | Private |
| Ramp | Financial technology | $32 bn | November 2025 | Private |
| Safe Superintelligence | Artificial intelligence | $32 bn | April 2025 | Private |
| Epic Games | Video games | $31.5 bn | June 2022 | Private |
Valuations are the latest reported private round or report values, not market prices, as of 21 September 2026. Figures, dates and sources for every company are in the unicorn tracker.
Recently listed, no longer part of the private universe
- SpaceX. Listed on Nasdaq as SPCX on 12 June 2026, after merging with xAI in February 2026.
- Cerebras. Listed on Nasdaq as CBRS on 14 May 2026.
- Chime. Listed on Nasdaq as CHYM on 12 June 2025.
Reference index
The Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 Index.
Unicorn Private takes as its reference the Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 Index, which tracks late-stage venture-backed companies valued at 1 billion dollars or more, focusing on the largest and most liquid unicorns. Constituents are equally weighted and the index is reconstituted every quarter.
According to Morningstar, the index returned 813% over the ten years to 18 September 2026, equal to about 24.8% a year. In 2025 alone it rose 107.3%, against 17.4% for the Morningstar US Market Index.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 to 18 Sep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +2.41% | +8.47% | +23.47% | +15.95% | +32.21% | +94.13% | -48.96% | -13.47% | +59.67% | +107.25% | +45.84% |
The index was launched on 25 September 2025. Returns before that date are back-calculated by Morningstar from 19 December 2014, applying the index rules to historical data, and were not achieved in real time. The annual figures show large swings, including a fall of 49% in 2022. Index returns are not the returns of Unicorn Private and are not a forecast of them. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Source: Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 Index, Morningstar Indexes, data as of 18 September 2026.
Partnership
How partners join the firm.
Unicorn Private raises capital from partners through periodic capital increases. Each round expands the firm's capacity to acquire positions and strengthens its position in negotiations with sellers.
Participation is reserved for qualified and professional investors, family offices and institutions. The definitions differ by jurisdiction: in Switzerland qualified investors, in the European Union professional clients, in the United States accredited investors. Our guide on who can access pre-IPO investments explains the concepts at a general level.
The terms, structure, fees and risks of each round are set out in the offering documents, which are provided only after an investor's eligibility has been confirmed.
Contact
Request information on the current round.
Write to us with a short description of your profile and your jurisdiction of residence. We will confirm eligibility first, then share the documentation.
Firm website: unicornprivate.com · Research: guides, tracker and glossary · Newsletter: unicornprivate.substack.com
Sources
- Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 Index, Morningstar Indexes
- What's Driving the Largest Unicorns?, Morningstar Indexes, 13 March 2026
- Initial public offering of SpaceX, Wikipedia
- Cerebras (CBRS) starts trading on Nasdaq after IPO, CNBC, 14 May 2026
- Chime pops 37% in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range, CNBC, 12 June 2025
- Anthropic IPO launch shifts toward mid-October: Reuters, CNBC, 5 September 2026
- Unicorn tracker, Unicorn Private Research