Klarna Group Plc signage during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA version of this article appeared in CNBC’s Inside Alts newsletter, a guide to the fast-growing world of alternative investments, from private equity and private credit to hedge funds and venture capital. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Even as the IPO market is starting to rebound, startups are staying private for longer thanks in large part to alternative capital, according to new data.The median age of companies that have gone private so far this year is 13 years since founding, up from a median of 10 years in 2018, according to new data from Renaissance Capital.A separate, recent study by Jay Ritter at the University of Florida found that between 1980 and 2024, the average age of companies going public has more than doubled.Companies going public also have much larger revenue, since they’re maturing longer in private hands. In 1980, the median revenue for IPO companies was $16 million, or $64 million in inflation-adjusted 2024 dollars. By 2024, their median revenue had soared to $218 million, according to Ritter’s study.[embedded content]The number of so-called “unicorns,” or private companies with valuations of more than $1 billion, has swelled to over 1,200 as of July, according to CB Insights. OpenAI’s valuation of $500 billion, notched with last week’s sale of employee shares topped SpaceX’s $400 billion valuation to become the world’s most highly valued private company.Analysts and economists largely blame the regulatory burden and short-term pressures associated with being a publicly traded company for the urge to stay private. Yet the surge in alternative investments and private capital – from sovereign wealth funds and family offices to venture capital, private equity and private credit – are providing more than enough capital for today’s tech startups.Global private-equity assets under management have risen over 15% a year over the past decade to over $12 trillion, according to Preqin. Over the next decade, they’re expected to double to around $25 trillion.Get Inside Alts directly to your inboxThe Inside Alts newsletter with Robert Frank and Leslie Picker is your guide to the fast-growing world of alternative investments.Subscribe here to get access today.Venture capital assets under management in North America are expected to increase from $1.36 trillion at the start of 2025 to $1.8 trillion in …
