Private doesn't mean small
There is an outdated belief that private companies are by definition small, early-stage and risky. That picture no longer holds. Several of the most valuable private companies in the US have valuations that exceed the majority of companies in the S&P 500. OpenAI is valued at around $500 billion – more than companies such as Coca-Cola, Visa or Walmart.
The reason these companies are private is not that they aren't ready for the stock market, but that they don't need it. The private market now offers enough capital, and the companies avoid the demands of quarterly reporting and the short-termism that often comes with a listing.
1. SpaceX – valuation: ~$800 billion
SpaceX is the most valuable private company and dominates global space technology. The company is estimated to have generated $15–16 billion in revenue in 2025 and reported operating earnings (EBITDA) of $8 billion.
Starlink, the company's satellite internet service, is the real growth engine. From 10,000 beta users in 2021 the service has grown to over 10 million subscribers in February 2026, active in over 100 countries. Starlink accounted for an estimated $10 billion of revenue in 2025, with revenue sources from consumer subscriptions, maritime services, in-flight WiFi and US defence contracts.
The rocket launch business, with the reusable Falcon 9, carried out a record 134 launches in 2024. SpaceX controls about 75 percent of the commercial launch market and has secured a Pentagon contract worth $5.9 billion for 28 national-security launches.
2. OpenAI – valuation: ~$500 billion
The company behind ChatGPT reported annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over $20 billion at the end of 2025, a tripling from $6 billion in 2024 and a tenfold increase since 2023. Over 800 million people use ChatGPT every week and more than one million companies pay for the company's services.
Revenue comes from three main sources: consumer subscriptions (ChatGPT Plus, Pro), enterprise services (ChatGPT Enterprise, Team) and API access for developers. The enterprise segment was the fastest growing in 2025, with 7 million paid workplace seats.
The challenge for OpenAI is profitability. The company is investing enormous sums in compute – from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to 1.9 gigawatts in 2025 – and is estimated to have burned $8.5 billion during 2025. OpenAI has, however, signalled that revenue mirrors available compute almost exactly, suggesting that growth is constrained by infrastructure rather than demand.
3. Anthropic – valuation: ~$240 billion
Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, has quickly established itself as OpenAI's foremost competitor in generative AI. Its AI model Claude has gained a strong foothold in the enterprise segment, and the company is reported to have a 32 percent market share of enterprise AI usage – actually higher than OpenAI's 25 percent in that segment.
The company has secured investments from Amazon ($8 billion), Google (over $3 billion) and most recently a funding round with Microsoft and Nvidia expected to push the valuation to $350 billion. Revenue has grown sharply – from $1 billion in annual run-rate at the start of 2025 to an estimated $4 billion by mid-year.
4. Stripe – valuation: ~$107 billion
Stripe is the payment infrastructure that powers the internet. The company processed $1.4 trillion in payments during 2024, up 38 percent, equivalent to 1.3 percent of the world's GDP. Gross revenue was estimated at $19.4 billion in 2025, while net revenue (after transaction costs) was around $5.1 billion in 2024 with a net margin of an estimated 10.6 percent.
Stripe has built far more than a payment solution. The company's ecosystem includes billing (Stripe Billing, with 200 million active subscriptions), business lending (Stripe Capital), company incorporation (Atlas), physical payment terminals (Terminal) and now also crypto payments. Stripe Billing and the company's Revenue and Finance Automation suite passed $500 million in recurring revenue in February 2025.
Stripe is profitable and invests a larger share of its revenue in product development than any comparable company. 78 percent of the companies on the Forbes AI 50 list are built on Stripe's infrastructure, and half of the 100 largest listed companies in the US are customers.
5. Databricks – valuation: ~$100 billion
Databricks offers a leading data and AI platform based on the "data lakehouse" concept – a combination of data warehouses and data lakes. The company raised $10 billion in its Series J round in December 2024 and is now valued at $100 billion. Databricks has a strong foothold among enterprise customers and is pointed out as one of the most likely large IPO candidates in 2026.
6–10. xAI, Canva, Revolut, Ripple and Ramp
xAI (valued at an estimated $245 billion) is Elon Musk's AI company behind the Grok model, integrated with the X platform. The company has invested heavily in the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis.
Canva ($42 billion) has made design tools accessible to everyone and has grown from a simple image tool into a full-scale design platform for businesses.
Revolut ($75 billion) is a British digital bank with 65 million global users offering everything from currency exchange to crypto trading.
Ripple ($40 billion) operates in crypto and cross-border payments and has successfully navigated regulatory challenges in the US.
Ramp ($32 billion) offers corporate cards and expense management with AI-driven automation and has grown quickly among US companies.
What happens next – IPO pipelines and opportunities
Several of these companies may go public during 2026–2027. Stripe has carried out repeated secondary transactions interpreted as preparations. SpaceX has reportedly planned what could be the largest stock-market flotation in history, with a target valuation of $1.5 trillion. Anthropic is reportedly discussing an IPO in 2026–2027.
For investors who buy unlisted shares before a listing, there is the opportunity to share in the potential value appreciation. But it is not a guarantee – IPOs can be delayed, cancelled or take place on different terms than expected.
How to invest in US private companies via Accumeo
Investments in large US private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Stripe must in practice be made through so-called SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles). These are separate companies that pool capital from several investors in order to make a single investment in a private company. In the event of an IPO, the SPV's holding is converted into listed shares in accordance with the listing terms.
Just like other early investors, SPVs are generally subject to a lock-up period, often around 180 days. During this period the shares cannot be sold. The exposure, however, remains unchanged. After the lock-up, the manager may choose to sell shares and distribute the proceeds to investors, or distribute shares directly to investors (an in-kind distribution), if the structure allows it. The method is determined by the SPV agreement and the manager's strategy.
There is no way for an individual private person to buy directly onto these companies' cap tables – the SPV structure is the established standard in the US private market.
Not all SPVs are alike, however. In the industry it is common to see fee models that include both a management fee and performance-based compensation (carried interest), often on the order of 2 percent in annual fees and 20 percent of profits – a structure known as "2/20". Some players also stack fees across multiple layers, which can erode returns considerably.
Accumeo sets up and administers its own SPVs for each investment. We are the only platform in Sweden that offers a 0/0 structure: no management fee and no carried interest. You pay only a fee of 5–10% at the time of investment – we take no share of your profit. That means your entire upside accrues to you as the investor.
We structure investments in accordance with applicable regulations, and you get full clarity on what you own, how the structure works and which terms apply.
If you have questions about how it works, you are very welcome to contact us. If you would like to see which investment opportunities are available right now, you can create an account and explore our platform.
