The Rise of Secondary Markets: How Venture Capital's Three-Way Exit Liquidity Split Reshapes Funding

Venture capital exits have fundamentally shifted from IPO-dominated liquidity to a three-way split among IPOs, M&A, and secondaries. Secondary markets have grown from 3% of exit value in 2015 to 31% ($95B in trailing twelve months), driven by 2022's IPO market closure and institutional adoption by major financial firms. This structural change creates new liquidity pathways for founders, GPs, and LPs while exposing coverage gaps for non-elite companies.