UniFi by CAIA Crossing the Threshold - 12

" Moving forward, the role of the
individual will play a pivotal role
in the industry's growth. "
Between 2000 and the end of 2020, the number of public companies has fallen by 38%
from 7,810 to 4,8145
, an abnormal trend relative to the rest of the world. In fact, most
developed nations have at least stagnated in terms of the number of public companies.6
As of 2022, 87% of US companies with revenues over US$100 million are now private, with
2,800 public companies of that size versus 18,000 private firms (Exhibit 1).
Meanwhile, the number of unicorns (private companies with a valuation of over US$1
billion) has surged: the first unicorn appeared in 2005 (Alibaba); twenty years later, there
are more than 900.7
In the past, most of these unicorns would have been publicly traded for years before
reaching large-cap status. Instead, it is private companies that are now growing larger and
choosing to stay private for longer periods before going public. In fact, the average age of
technology companies at IPO increased from 4.5 years in 1999 to over 12 years in 20208,9
.
5 Private Market Investing - Staying Private Longer | Hamilton Lane, IPO Data - Jay R. Ritter (ufl.edu)
6
7
" Capital Formation " . CFA Institute. 2018. https://www.cfainstitute.org/-/media/documents/article/
position-paper/capital-formation.ashx
CBInsights, Dec. 9, 2021. (https://www.cbinsights.com/research/unicorn-startup-market-map/)
8
IPO Data - Jay R. Ritter (ufl.edu)
9 Private Market Investing - Staying Private Longer | Hamilton Lane
12 BUILDING A NEW WORLD

http://www.ufl.edu https://www.cfainstitute.org/-/media/documents/article/ https://www.cbinsights.com/research/unicorn-startup-market-map/ http://www.ufl.edu

UniFi by CAIA Crossing the Threshold

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