EquityZen, a secondary marketplace for private securities, says trading on its platform rose 57.4% quarter over quarter, comparing Q3 2026 to the second quarter.
The size of transactions also experienced growth, as the average purchase increased by 38% compared to the second quarter. The sell side saw an increase of 103.96%.
Other data points include:
- 83.5% of trades closed below companies’ prior funding-round valuations
- AI premium transactions fell sharply – to 26.5% in Q3 from 62% in Q2
- 60% of Enterprise SaaS trades still closed at a premium.
Trading activity concentrated in mid-stage firms valued at $5 billion to $10 billion. The most active sectors were AI, Fintech, and “Emerging Energy.”
AI accounted for 43% of the deals, Fintech at 24.1%, with Emerging Energy trailing.
The energy trade was said to be driven by AI demands as data centers outstrip existing power sources.
The top private securities were:
- Higgsfield, a video AI firm
- Clay (+547), an AI-driven go-to-market (GTM) and data operations startup;
- Fireworks AI (+314), an AI infrastructure company;
- Tensordyne (+142), an AI inference platform.
- Heart Aerospace (+9880), an electric aircraft firm
- AI robotics platform Atoms (+212).
EquityZen added that its marketplace has now transitioned from an experiment into a key market for investors, providing a reliable liquidity option.
The company was acquired by Morgan Stanley in the fall of 2025.
