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<strong>A16Z's David George on How Private and Public Markets Fused Into One</strong>

Joe Weisenthal, Tracy Alloway
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⚡ Quantum Brief
Andreessen Horowitz’s David George argues private markets now rival public ones in liquidity, reducing urgency for companies like Stripe or Databricks to IPO. Deep-pocketed private investors and secondary markets allow firms to stay private longer. Major tech firms like Anthropic and SpaceX may still pursue IPOs in 2026, but the trend leans toward delayed public listings. George notes private capital’s growth eliminates traditional IPO pressures for revenue or scale. AI disruption is reshaping investment strategies, with private giants leveraging flexibility to avoid public scrutiny. George suggests only strategic needs—like acquisitions or liquidity events—now justify going public. The fusion of private and public markets blurs traditional boundaries, as late-stage funding rounds mimic public-market dynamics. This shift redefines how companies access capital and manage growth. George implies public markets may increasingly serve as an exit for mature firms rather than a growth engine, marking a structural shift in how top-tier companies operate and scale.
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Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000Why companies don't feel the rush to IPO.Listen to Odd Lots on Apple PodcastsListen to Odd Lots on SpotifyWatch Odd Lots on YouTubeSubscribe to the newsletterThis year could be a big one for IPOs. From Anthropic to SpaceX to OpenAI, we could see some gigantic companies hit the public market. But of course, the big story is that big, thriving companies feel less and less pressure to go public. In a different era, private giants like Databricks and Stripe might've IPO'd a long time ago. So what's changed? Why are companies comfortable staying private for so long? On this episode, we speak with David George, a general partner at Andreesen Horowitz, who leads the firm's growth investing team. He discusses how private markets have grown deeper and more liquid, which greatly reduces the need for companies to have public stock at all. We also talk about how he's thinking about the AI disruption trade, and when it makes sense for these private giants to bite the bullet and expose their stock to public investors.

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