Published on May 2025
It’s been a long wait for the IPO window to reopen — especially for VC-backed tech companies. And while the broader U.S. IPO market is showing signs of life, the path remains blocked for most private startups.
In Q1 2025, U.S. markets saw 59 IPOs raising $8.9B — a 55% year-over-year increase. But only 2 of those were VC-backed, down from 12 in Q1 2024. The traditional exit is still largely closed to venture investors and startup employees alike.
So where is liquidity actually happening?
Source: EY Global IPO Trends Q1 2025
M&A Activity Surges as Startups Seek Alternative Exits. In Q1 2025, there were 205 closed venture-backed M&A deals in the U.S., totaling $22.7B — the strongest M&A quarter since 2021.
Notable upcoming exits were accessible to investors via the Equitybee platform, includes:
Wiz – Google acquisition for $32B.
Next Insurance – Munich Re acquisition for $2.6B
Egnyte – buyout by TA Associates and GI Partners for $1.5B
Source: Q1 2025 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report
Q1 2025 witnessed a substantial increase in SPAC IPO activity, with the number of IPOs more than tripling and total capital raised increasing by over 300% compared to Q1 2024.
sources:Industry Update SPACs Q1 2024 report by houlihan capital and Q1 2025 SPAC Market Update and Outlook by ICR.
Another liquidity path that is quietly gaining traction: tender offers. While harder to track industry-wide due to their private nature, Equitybee has seen a sharp rise in these events over the past 18 months. In 2025 alone, we’ve tracked 14 tender offer announcements, with the following already finalized and distributed — offering a representative view of the range of outcomes and timelines:
*Time to Liquidity represents the average time it took investors participating in each event to receive distributions. It is measured as the number of months between the original investment date and the actual distribution date for each participating investor in a given offer.
**Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated based on the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment amount. In the Equitybee model, net proceeds typically include: 1x of the original principal + accrued annual interest (typically between 3%–5%) + a percentage of the equity value at the time of the liquidity event (the investor's share incentive, typically 20%–45% of the shares funded).
For the data presented; For all tender offer events except Ripple, the transactions involved the sale of 100% of the investors’ shares. These positions are considered fully realized, and MOIC is calculated on the full investment amount.
***For Ripple, the MOIC reflects partial liquidity: The February 2025 tender offer represented a sale of 3% of the investors’ shares. An earlier August 2024 tender offer also included the sale of 2.27%, taken together, just 5.27% of the total position has been sold to date.the MOIC shown for Ripple is based only on the proceeds from the shares sold of the Feb.2025 event, not the total investment.Despite selling just 5.27% of the position, investors through Equitybee have already recovered 87% of their original principal investment.
Despite the IPO slowdown, Equitybee investors continue to see strong returns across multiple liquidity paths. Our top-performing channel — tender offers and secondary events — is uniquely tied to funding employee stock options and largely inaccessible to traditional VCs. These deals have delivered an average 3.16x MOIC and reached liquidity in just 20.6 months on average.
VC Fund Performance 2024 report provides a new benchmark — and the trend holds: Equitybee-enabled investments realized returns out performed the top 10% VC funds in the past 6 vintages at distributed capital.
*Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated as the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment. In the Equitybee model, net proceeds typically comprise the original principal, accrued annual interest (ranging from 3% to 5%), and the investor’s share of the equity value at the liquidity event (typically 20% to 45% of the funded shares). A 5% carried interest is applied to the accrued interest and the equity value share at distribution.
**Time to liquidity Indicates average time from investment date to distribution date, sourced from Equitybee’s proprietary data
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Private placements are speculative, illiquid, contain substantial risk and may result in the complete loss of capital to the investor. Consult your tax accountant as there may be tax considerations on profit amounts. Results may vary with each use and over time. Investor proceeds may be settled in cash or shares.
The IPO market remains slow — but liquidity is not.
M&A, tender offers, secondaries, and SPACs are not just filling the gap — in some cases, they’re outperforming IPOs on both speed and return.
Check out our latest DPI Report to compare between Equitybee Platform Investments DPI vs. Top 10% VC Funds on Carta.
Startup employees often receive stock options as part of their compensation. To convert these options into shares, employees must exercise their right to purchase these stock options, which involves significant upfront capital. Many employees cannot afford to do this or chose not to risk their own capital, missing out on participating in the potential future success of the companies. Equitybee’s investors can provide the needed capital, allowing employees to exercise their options. In return, investors receive their initial investment, annual interest, and a percentage of the equity's value upon a successful liquidity event, such as an IPO or acquisition. This creates a mutually beneficial opportunity in a largely untapped market worth over $150 billion*.
Join the success of hundreds of investors who made it with Equitybee
*Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated as the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment. In the Equitybee model, net proceeds typically comprise the original principal, accrued annual interest (ranging from 3% to 5%), and the investor’s share of the equity value at the liquidity event (typically 20% to 45% of the funded shares). A 5% carried interest is applied to the accrued interest and the equity value share at distribution.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Private placements are speculative, illiquid, contain substantial risk and may result in the complete loss of capital to the investor. Consult your tax accountant as there may be tax considerations on profit amounts. Results may vary with each use and over time. Investor proceeds may be settled in cash or shares.