Exits improved; liquidity remained constrained

Why the rebound is incomplete

The 2024 Yearbook had put exit value near $98 billion. A larger 2025 total is meaningful, but NVCA says the industry still faced a backlog of private companies and weak cash distributions to limited partners. Exit value is not identical to cash returned to each fund or employee.

A second liquidity channel

Carta recorded 396 tender offers among its customers in 2025, 62% more than in 2024. Tender programs can create liquidity while a company remains private, subject to eligibility and price. They are neither an IPO nor a guarantee that all security holders can sell.

What to watch

Assess liquidity through proceeds, eligibility, seniority and timing, not only aggregate acquisition or IPO counts. For an employee, the relevant facts include the specific security, exercise cost and permitted sale terms. For an LP, distributions matter more directly than a headline exit valuation.

The private-market tender figure should be read as a count of programs, not a total payout. A single program can cover different numbers of holders and amounts, so transaction count alone cannot settle the distribution question.