MSCI All Country Venture-Backed Private Company Indexes

Venture-backed private companies are reshaping industries and redefining the investment landscape. Fueled by growth in size, influence and investor interest, the need for transparency, structure and timely insight is more important than ever. The MSCI All Country Venture-Backed Private Company Indexes offer a clearer view into the performance of some of the largest private companies driving global innovation.

Bringing clarity to the market for venture-backed equities

• Measure late-stage private markets

  Access daily, verified data on the performance of venture-backed private companies¹. Evaluate this dynamic segment and benchmark performance with greater confidence.

• Efficiently construct venture-backed portfolios

  Build rules-based, transparent portfolios capturing transformative businesses that trade outside mainstream public equity markets.²

• Bridge public and private views

  Close the transparency gap by applying standards similar to those used in public markets – bringing greater alignment to your investment decision-making.

What are venture-backed private companies?

Large venture-backed private companies are typically established businesses that have raised capital through venture capital firms rather than public equity markets. These companies often operate in fast-moving, innovation-driven sectors such as technology, life sciences, or fintech. While some investors may consider these companies “pre-IPO” or “late stage,” there is no guarantee that a company will go public, and many may choose to remain private indefinitely.

Key characteristics:

• Privately held: Do not trade on public equity exchanges
• Venture-backed: Funding comes from venture capital firms rather than public markets
• Sector focus: Many operate in technology-driven industries
• Valuation: Have relatively large valuations that may be greater than that of many publicly listed companies. As of January 2025, more than 1,200 such companies had valuations greater than $1 billion³

Illustrative examples of prominent, venture-backed private companies⁴

• Space Exploration Technologies Corp
• ByteDance Ltd.
• OpenAI, LLC
• Stripe, Inc.
• X.AI Corp

Applying index insights in private markets

• Support research

  Inform private market analysis with consistent, transparent data built on MSCI’s rigorous, rules-based index methodology.

• Underpin products

  Provide a robust foundation for index-linked strategies using standardized, market-based insights into a fast-moving segment of private markets.

• Enable product innovation

  Design differentiated alternative offerings and help educate clients on a rapidly changing market using index-based insights.

• Structure asset allocation

  Help define and structure portfolio allocations into larger, more liquid private companies with greater transparency.

• Benchmark performance

  Evaluate pricing trends and performance using indexes grounded in decades of experience and secondary market data.

• ¹To calculate the MSCI All Country Venture-Backed Private Company Indexes, MSCI works with two data providers specializing in providing high-quality data on privately held venture-backed companies, Caplight and PM Insights. Both firms collect private company secondary market transaction data and publish estimated company share prices, valuations and other related information.
• ² Private equity investments are generally less liquid than public equity investments. Unlike publicly traded securities, private equity interests are not listed on public markets and are typically subject to transfer restrictions and long holding periods. Secondary markets for private equity interests are limited in scope and may not offer immediate liquidity or favorable pricing. Transactions in the secondary market can be complex, time-consuming, and subject to discounts from net asset value.
• ³ CB Insight, The Complete List Of Unicorn Companies March 31 2025.
• ⁴ These companies are example constituents of the MSCI All Country Venture-Backed Private Company Top 20 Equal Weighted Index as of March 31, 2025.