Paths to Exit
Startup investors get paid when there is an exit: an IPO, an acquisition or a sale of shares to other investors. Here are the main paths, how long they take and how they have looked in 2025 and 2026.
The main exits
| Exit | How it works | Recent example |
|---|---|---|
| IPO | Company lists shares on an exchange | Figma, July 2025; CoreWeave, March 2025 |
| Acquisition | A larger company buys the startup | Google agreed to buy Wiz for $32 billion in March 2025 |
| Secondary sale | Early holders sell shares to new private investors | Employee share sales at large AI companies |
| Direct listing or SPAC | Alternative routes to public markets | Less common since 2022 |
Public examples.
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