What private names should I be tracking in the secondary markets?
It’s a question we hear a lot at Augment, and that’s no surprise. As secondary market activity grows, and companies stay private longer, knowing the top pre-IPO names is becoming essential for technology investors, regardless of where they sit.
Our Augment Power 20 report and rankings (produced in collaboration with Sacra) offer a unique, data-driven view.
The Power 20 is different from other private market indices and rankings because it uses a wider lens. The methodology goes beyond price signals and activity to encompass revenue and revenue-growth estimates for the top companies. That means the rankings include a dimension more closely tethered to company fundamentals.
The result is a blended ranking that delivers a comprehensive, balanced view of the private markets — and a more representative slice of the top pre-IPO names.
To recap, here is the full basket of factors we consider:
We also take measures to avoid over-indexing on quarterly blips by accounting for historical momentum, balancing QoQ changes in the above factors with performance in past quarters.
In each report, we round out the Power 20 with a selection of up-and-coming names that have seen significant activity and/or activity growth, but are not yet qualifying for the top ranks.
The result is a balanced view into the market. It offers investors a wide-aperture lens into the most significant pre-IPO names — not merely those that might have seen a quarterly bump in liquidity, or that happen to be more traded because the underlying company is permissive around secondary-share transfers.
This is our third Power 20 report. Over that time, the data has consistently pointed to signs of increasing maturity in this market. Companies are establishing more consistent track records and investor activity has been pushing prices up in a steady manner:
Given their outsize impact both economically and in advancing key industries including AI, defense, and financial services, the Power 20 arguably should be as closely followed as some of the top companies in the public markets. Our rankings are a small step in that direction.
AI companies continue to dominate growth metrics in the Power 20, here are some highlights:
We'll follow up on LinkedIn with a series of posts analyzing all the key trends, including the OpenAI vs. Anthropic rivalry and the rise of AI as seen through the private markets. So please keep an eye out and follow along!
Want to dive deeper into the Augment Power 20? Visit our website to download the full Q3 2024 report and explore our rankings.
Inclusion in the Augment Power 20 does not predict future performance and should not be considered investment advice. Investing in private companies in the secondary market carries risks, including potential lack of liquidity and limited financial information.
*Revenue figures are based on third-party estimates and are subject to limitations in data availability and methodology.