Startups

After years of false starts, the IPO market feels like it is approaching a genuine inflection point. The consensus among bankers and investors at this year’s conference was notably more optimistic than the macro backdrop might suggest. That optimism has since found its first proof point: shares in chipmaker Cerebras Systems more than doubled on its market debut after raising $5.5 billion, the largest IPO of the year, confirming that investor appetite for the right AI story is very much alive. 

The venture capital ecosystem has undergone a structural shift. As venture-backed companies have opted to remain private for longer, distributions for fund limited partners (LPs) have become increasingly constrained. This liquidity bottleneck has prompted general partners (GPs) to explore alternative solutions – chief among them, GP-led secondary transactions.

At last year’s Private Growth Conference, expectations were high that the IPO market would reopen — and by year’s end, the data looked encouraging. The Jefferies 2025 Private Growth Conference brought together hundreds of top bankers, investors, founders, and tech executives to discuss the sector’s key trends and developments. The insights below are drawn from

Explore Ravi Mhatre’s insights on AI-driven growth and venture capital’s pivotal role. Discover how AI reshapes enterprise and innovation!

We recently spoke with Evan Osheroff, Jefferies’ Managing Director of Software Investment Banking, to get his take on what’s shaping the technology market and where it’s headed.

Evan Osheroff, Managing Director of Software Investment Banking at Jefferies, sat down with Don Stalter, North American Partner at Global Founders Capital, to discuss the trajectory of artificial intelligence (AI) and the opportunities growth investors are eyeing in the sector.

Anushka Salinas, CEO of Nanit, discusses how AI powers the market’s top-grossing smart baby monitor. She shares insights on the power of customer data, the role of AI algorithms on product innovation, and more!

We recently met with Kumin at the Jefferies Private Internet Conference in Los Angeles, where we explored his vision for AI’s future and its impact on growth investing within private equity.

Heitzmann believes, “we will have an IPO or two in the next twelve months, and then we think 2025 will be as close to normal as we have seen in years.”