Prediction markets platform Polymarket has unveiled its latest trading product, which will allow users to purchase positions on outcomes associated with private companies.
Announced on May 19, this first-of-its-kind trading facility seeks to connect investors to so-called 'unicorns' - a term used to describe privately-held start-up companies carrying a valuation of $1B or more.
Until now, only accredited investors had been capable of buying and selling shares tied to 'high-value unicorns' such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
This has stood as a significant source of frustration for public investors who may have monitored and anticipated company dealings without financial empowerment. Polymarket's new trading solution eliminates that longstanding blockade through a sideways channel.
Polymarket revealed that it will integrate Nasdaq Private Market (NPM) data to resolve contract settlements, with purchase options for IPO timing, valuations, company milestones and secondary market affairs.
Everyday investors to have their say
In a press release, Polymarket outlined that there are over 1,600 unicorn businesses unavailable for traditional trading among casual investors.
Individual investors are therefore prohibited from engaging with these start-up firms as their value escalates. Only when the entity is listed on a publicly trading market - at which point its valuation may already be known - can everyday stakeholders enter into contracts tied to the company.
Under this first-of-its-kind offering, Polymarket will permit trades on questions related to business operations.
For example, Polymarket now publishes contracts tied to outcomes spanning several private companies, including questions on:
- Valuation milestones
- IPO timings
- Secondary market activities
Users can also predict whether certain entities will transition to IPO before industry peers; at the time of writing, one Polymarket listing asks: "Will Anthropic or OpenAI IPO first?"
If the chosen outcome is accurate, the trade returns a monetary payout.
Polymarket also showcases transparent dollar volume metrics per individual market, as well as the most popular outcome among traders.
This maneuver to welcome public trades on privately-held companies sees Polymarket step ahead of Kalshi, which itself delivers markets for possible IPO listings but not precise valuations.
Moreover, Kalshi accumulates data from numerous sources to settle markets, such as company websites and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among others; an approach quite distinct from that of Polymarket.
Mutually beneficial arrangement for private institutions
Just as Polymarket expects would-be public investors to engage in previously-unavailable trading activity via this market, institutional investors may also gain newfound advantages.
Nasdaq Vice President of Data Rodolfo Sanchez explained that data will "flow in both directions", pointing to a mutual communication between the prediction platform and the NPM.
Sanchez, who joined NPM in May 2025, stated that Polymarket activity could be used as a "real-time signal" to be leveraged by institutional investors seeking improved insight across wider market expectations for private company endeavors.
Looking ahead, Polymarket confirmed plans to debut additional markets "on an ongoing basis", potentially bringing further depth to its existing private company trading opportunities.
