How to Invest in AI Companies Before They Go Public

How to Invest in AI Companies Before They Go Public

Artificial intelligence has created a new class of technology companies that can attract billions of dollars in funding long before ordinary investors can buy a share. AI labs, chipmakers, infrastructure providers, and software companies are reaching valuations once associated with established public corporations.

This guide, updated August 2026, explains how private AI investing works, who can participate, how secondary transactions are structured, and what investors should consider before buying private shares.

Who Can Invest in Private AI Companies?

The SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate reported in 2025 that approximately 12.6% of U.S. individuals qualify as accredited investors, and only 4.3% of accredited investors actually own private-market securities. The figures illustrate why access to private AI companies remains limited even as secondary marketplaces expand.

Under SEC Rule 501, an individual can generally qualify with a net worth above $1 million, excluding a primary residence, or annual income above $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly with a spouse during the previous two years, with a reasonable expectation of meeting the same threshold in the current year.

Specialized secondary marketplaces connect eligible buyers and sellers. Depending on the platform, investors may see indicative valuations, bid-and-ask prices, company research, or individual offerings. Some transactions provide direct ownership, while others use special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that pool investors into a single investment.

Cerebras private market analysis illustrates why private AI companies attract this type of investor attention. Before its IPO, the company was positioned as a specialized challenger to Nvidia in AI computing, focusing on large-scale wafer-based processors designed to accelerate AI workloads. Reuters reported that Cerebras generated $510 million in revenue in 2025, up from $290.3 million in 2024, while noting that its architecture positioned it differently from Nvidia’s dominant GPU-based approach.

5 Platforms for Investing in Private AI Companies

These include:

1. Forge Global

Forge Global’s marketplace covers technology and AI companies and combines transaction services with private-market data. Forge reported more than 27,000 private-market transactions across more than 650 companies as of December 31, 2025, while Reuters reported in 2025 that Charles Schwab agreed to acquire Forge for approximately $660 million.

• Pricing/fees: Direct secondary transaction fees are typically 2% to 4%, although costs vary by transaction size, structure, and market conditions.
• Accredited investor requirement: Private-security investments generally require accredited-investor status.
• Minimum investment: Direct secondary transactions generally start at $100,000, while some Forge Fund offerings begin at $5,000.
• Marketplace mechanics: Buyers can view buying and selling interest and submit bids or asks, although trades are not automatically matched in every case.
• Use cases: Employees and early shareholders can seek liquidity, while accredited individuals and institutions can gain exposure to late-stage private companies.
• Tender offers vs. secondary sales: A marketplace provides an alternative when a company does not run a tender offer, but a tender offer generally provides a more defined price and transaction window.
• Regulatory and settlement: Forge Securities is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member. Transfers remain subject to issuer requirements, while settlement depends on the security and transaction structure.
• Cerebras context: Cerebras shares traded on Forge before the company’s transition to the public markets.
• Alternatives: Hiive, EquityZen, Nasdaq Private Market, and Caplight provide overlapping private-market access.

Pros

• More than 27,000 completed private-market transactions.
• Strong infrastructure for larger secondary transactions.
• Extensive private-company pricing and transaction data.

Cons

• The $100,000 direct-investment minimum is high for many individuals.
• Issuer approval can prevent a trade from closing.
• Fees and transaction structures vary by deal.

2. Hiive

Hiive takes a more market-driven approach, allowing buyers and sellers to interact around live private-market pricing rather than relying solely on curated offerings. Its platform covers technology, AI, fintech, healthcare, and other private companies, with market reports providing additional company-specific context.

Hiive recorded more than $2.1 billion in transaction volume during 2025, with transactions above $1 million accounting for nearly 70% of total platform volume.

• Pricing/fees: Fees vary by transaction, security, and structure.
• Accredited investor requirement: Private securities generally require accredited-investor status or, for certain opportunities, qualified-purchaser status.
• Minimum investment: Minimums depend on the security and transaction, with some opportunities designed for substantial institutional allocations and others accommodating smaller accredited-investor investments.
• Marketplace mechanics: Buyers and sellers can negotiate around bids, offers, transaction history, and pricing.
• Use cases: The platform can provide liquidity for employees with vested shares and access for accredited individuals, funds, and institutional investors seeking late-stage private companies.
• Tender offers vs. secondary sales: Hiive offers an alternative to company-sponsored tender offers, although marketplace liquidity depends on available buyers and issuer approval.
• Regulatory and settlement: Transactions can involve Regulation D, transfer restrictions, board approval, and ROFR provisions. Depending on the structure, shares may be transferred directly or held through a fund or other vehicle.
• Cerebras context: Hiive’s Cerebras market data recorded more than 712 Cerebras transactions closed as of March 18, 2026, providing a significant example of secondary-market activity surrounding an AI-chip company before its public listing.
• Alternatives: Forge Global, EquityZen, Nasdaq Private Market, and Caplight offer overlapping private-market services.

Pros

• Strong visibility into private-market pricing and trading activity.
• Useful for researching high-profile AI and technology companies.
• More than $2.1 billion in 2025 transaction volume demonstrates substantial market activity.

Cons

• Private-market liquidity remains far below public-market liquidity.
• Issuer approval and ROFR provisions can prevent transactions from closing.
• Secondary pricing can differ significantly from a company’s latest funding valuation.

3. EquityZen

EquityZen has operated since 2013 and provides access to pre-IPO companies through direct share acquisitions and single- or multi-company investment structures. The platform had more than 800,000 registered users and had processed more than 49,000 transactions across more than 450 private companies since launch.

• Pricing/fees: Standard investment fees generally start at 2.5% for investments up to $1 million and fall to 2% above that level.
• Accredited investor requirement: Private offerings require accredited-investor status. Verification includes an accreditation questionnaire, a suitability questionnaire, and annual eligibility representation.
• Minimum investment: The standard minimum is $10,000, although some opportunities start at $5,000.
• Marketplace mechanics: EquityZen generally sources shares after investors indicate interest, then launches an offering once sufficient demand is assembled.
• Use cases: Suitable for accredited individuals seeking late-stage private-company exposure, professional investors seeking allocations, and shareholders looking for a structured liquidity route.
• Tender offers vs. secondary sales: EquityZen provides an alternative to company-sponsored tenders, but investors do not receive the same certainty of timing as a defined company liquidity program.
• Regulatory and settlement: EquityZen Securities LLC is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member. Transactions can use Regulation D structures and remain subject to company transfer restrictions and ROFR provisions. EquityZen states that transactions can typically close 8 to 11 weeks after investor commitments are finalized.
• Cerebras context: Its structured offering model can be useful when sufficient Cerebras shares are available to support an organized transaction.
• Alternatives: Forge and Hiive offer more marketplace-oriented approaches, while Nasdaq Private Market and Caplight provide more institutional or data-focused alternatives.

Pros

• $10,000 standard minimum is relatively accessible.
• Clear accreditation and investment process.
• Large user base and transaction history.

Cons

• Investors may have to wait for shares and demand to be sourced.
• The standard fee adds to investment costs.
• Transactions can take weeks and remain subject to company approval.

4. Nasdaq Private Market

Nasdaq Private Market combines secondary transactions with company-sponsored liquidity programs. Its infrastructure helps private companies manage employee and shareholder liquidity while supporting institutional investors. Nasdaq Private Market reported more than $6 billion in tender-offer transaction value during 2024, roughly double its reported level from the previous year.

• Pricing/fees: Fees vary by company program, transaction structure, and participating parties.
• Accredited investor requirement: Individual participation generally requires accredited-investor status, with institutional investors subject to applicable qualification and AML/KYC requirements.
• Minimum investment: A typical minimum trade size is $25,000, although company programs and fund structures can differ.
• Marketplace mechanics: NPM supports direct secondary trades as well as company-sponsored tender offers, with infrastructure for private-securities settlement and institutional transactions.
• Use cases: Particularly useful for employees selling vested shares, institutions acquiring private-company positions, and companies organizing structured liquidity programs.
• Tender offers vs. secondary sales: Company-sponsored tenders can provide greater certainty because the issuer establishes the price, eligibility, size, and participation window.
• Regulatory and settlement: Transactions can involve Regulation D, Rule 144A, company consent, ROFR, and other transfer restrictions. NPM also provides settlement infrastructure designed specifically for private securities.
• Cerebras context: Its institutional infrastructure is relevant to late-stage AI companies such as Cerebras as they move between funding rounds, employee liquidity programs, secondary transactions, and eventual public offerings.
• Alternatives: Hiive, Forge Global, EquityZen, and Caplight offer other combinations of direct trading, data, and company-sponsored liquidity.

Pros

• Strong infrastructure for company-sponsored tender offers.
• $25,000 typical minimum, which is lower than some large direct-secondary transactions.
• Institutional settlement and compliance infrastructure.

Cons

• Less oriented toward casual, self-directed investors.
• Access depends heavily on company participation and available inventory.
• Fees and eligibility vary across programs.

5. Caplight

Caplight platforms provide live bids and offers alongside historical pricing, funding-round information, investor data, and other company signals. It raised $16 million in funding and recorded more than $706 million invested in direct-secondary transactions during the first half of 2024.

• Pricing/fees: Data and trading products use different pricing structures, with professional access offered on a quote-based basis. Securities transactions are executed through Caplight Markets LLC.
• Accredited investor requirement: Certain securities transactions are limited to accredited investors, with eligibility requirements varying by offering.
• Minimum investment: Caplight does not publish a universal minimum; transaction sizes depend on the company, seller, broker, and deal structure.
• Marketplace mechanics: The platform provides live bids and offers, matching tools, transaction workflows, company research, and its MarketPrice reference-price system.
• Use cases: Employees can seek liquidity, while brokers and institutional investors can source secondary opportunities and research private-company valuations.
• Tender offers vs. secondary sales: Caplight provides a more continuous marketplace alternative to a company-sponsored tender offer, but liquidity depends on counterparties rather than a company-defined liquidity event.
• Regulatory and settlement: Securities transactions are executed through Caplight Markets LLC, a FINRA/SIPC-registered broker-dealer. Private securities remain subject to issuer restrictions and applicable securities laws.
• Cerebras context: Caplight’s pricing and research tools can help investors compare private-company funding valuations with secondary-market pricing when evaluating AI infrastructure businesses such as Cerebras.
• Alternatives: Hiive, Forge, EquityZen, and Nasdaq Private Market are alternative options.

Pros

• Live bids and offers provide visibility into private-market demand.
• Combines trading with extensive private-company research.
• More than $706 million in direct-secondary investment was recorded through the platform in H1 2024.

Cons

• Pricing is not standardized across all services and transactions.
• Professional trading tools may be more useful to experienced investors.
• Liquidity still depends on counterparties and issuer restrictions.

Comparison Table

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best platform for investing in private AI companies before an IPO?

There is no single best platform for every investor. The right choice depends on minimum investment, fees, access to specific companies, pricing transparency, and whether the investor wants direct shares or an SPV structure.

How can I invest in a company like Cerebras before it goes public?

If Cerebras shares are available through a private secondary marketplace, an eligible investor may be able to purchase shares from an existing shareholder rather than from Cerebras itself. Availability depends on current sellers, company transfer policies, and any applicable approval requirements.

What should investors check before buying pre-IPO AI shares?

Investors should examine the company’s latest valuation, financing history, share class, transfer restrictions, fees, ownership structure, and the terms of the proposed transaction. It is also important to understand whether the investment involves direct shares or an SPV and how shares and investor funds are handled through settlement and escrow.

Endnote

Investing in private AI companies before an IPO can provide access to businesses that may still be years away from the public markets. Private-market platforms can make these opportunities easier to research and transact, but they do not eliminate the underlying risks. Comparing marketplaces, understanding the structure of each transaction, and checking how valuations are established can help investors make more informed decisions when evaluating pre-IPO opportunities.