Public markets were buoyant over the past week, with the S&P500/Nasdaq100 +2%/+2%. YTD the S&P500/Nasdaq100 are now +3%/+4%. In our view, favorable May inflation data and increased optimism on a US/China trade deal were the primary drivers of performance. Our NPM Private Market Tracker*, which shows the estimated average price performance of the 50 largest names in our internal Tape D® data, is now +11% YTD.
In this week’s Private Markets Weekly, we wanted to discuss the cybersecurity space. Many industry analysts expect generative AI to be used by both hackers and cybersecurity firms in the coming years, resulting in a proliferation of activity. Hackers are expected to use AI agents to execute attacks. AI tools can already be used to generate code and emails for phishing attacks. Cybersecurity firms are in turn expected to use AI tools to more quickly detect and respond to attacks. According to Research and Markets, the global cybersecurity market is $215bn in size and expected to grow at an 11% CAGR over the next 10 years.
Another trend in software broadly is consolidation of wallet share into a smaller number of vendors. Accordingly, we note that there is convergence between various cybersecurity verticals, leading to heightened competition – and perhaps exit opportunities – between smaller startups and broader platform providers. For instance, in March 2025 Alphabet announced an agreement to acquire cloud security company Wiz for $32bn (~46x sales; source: Strategy of Security). Another example is Mastercard’s acquisition of privately held Recorded Future, for $2.65bn (8-9x sales multiple; Source: Strategy of Security) in May 2025.
BIGGEST MOVERS AND TOPICAL NAMES
Based on our proprietary Tape D® data, the best performers in the private market thus far in 2025 have been x.AI (+102% estimated share price performance), OpenAI (+97%) and Anduril Industries (+76%).
RECENT EVENTS
- Nvidia announced it will enter the GPU cloud market and rent processors to customers directly. (6/11; The Information)
- Israel has attacked nuclear and missile sites in Iran (6/12; AP)
- OpenAI announced it has achieved a $10bn ARR and now has 3mm paying business users. (6/9; CNBC)
NOTABLE CAPITAL RAISES
- Moove, a company that supports Waymo’s robotaxi fleets, is seeking to raise $300mm. (6/12; The Information)
- Storage platform Vast Data is in the market to raise capital at a reported $25bn valuation. (6/10; StrictlyVC)
- OpenAI has approached new investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund and India’s Reliance Industries as part of its ongoing $40bn fundraising process (6/11; The Information)
NOTABLE EXITS
- Meta is investing $14.3bn for a 49% stake in ScaleAI. ScaleAI CEO Alexandr Wang will be leaving the company to join Meta but will remain a director at ScaleAI. (6/12; CNBC)
- Chime’s IPO priced and was +37% on its first day of trading. (6/12; StrictlyVC)
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