Stripe, Databricks, Rippling, and OpenAI all made the cut when Forge (NYSE: FRGE), a private market platform, identified the Private Magnificent 7, which comprises seven of the largest, most resilient, and highest-performing companies in the U.S. innovation economy. Much like their public market counterparts, this diverse group of late-stage, venture-backed companies has demonstrated both superior growth and remarkable resilience throughout the recent market cycle, including the Great Reset, a period of significant valuation contraction that characterized the post-peak period of the last 2.5 years.
The Private Magnificent 7 includes SpaceX, OpenAI, Stripe, Databricks, Fanatics, Scale AI, and Rippling, spanning multiple sectors including AI, Aerospace, Fintech, Consumer and Lifestyle, and Enterprise Software.
“While the post-2021 market downturn was undoubtedly a challenging period for the private market, the Private Magnificent 7 proved resilient,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. “Forge believes these companies reflect the current and emerging themes of private investing and are driving the secular growth of the U.S. innovation economy.”
The Private Magnificent 7 collectively accounts for $473 billion in implied valuation, based on Forge data – 30x smaller than the Public Magnificent 7, which is now roughly equal to the size of Japan, Canada, and the U.K.’s stock markets combined.
Though smaller in size, the Private Magnificent 7 has outperformed its public market counterpart by 16.9% in the 12-month period ending Aug. 31. The select group’s price performance rose 55.3%, and in comparison, the public Magnificent 7 rose 38.4% in the same period. While the sector compositions are different between the Public and Private Magnificent 7, Artificial Intelligence as a secular growth trend is reflected in both cohorts.
Forge operates a platform for private market trading and data intelligence. This includes Forge Price, a proprietary pricing model for approximately 250 late-stage, venture-backed companies with secondary market liquidity. Forge Price underlies the methodology for identifying the Private Magnificent 7.
The selection process for identifying the Private Magnificent 7 was based on criteria including company size, share price performance, secondary trading liquidity, market leadership, and brand equity.