Case study · North America
Perplexity: proof a discount isn't just for cooling companies
The situation
Perplexity's primary funding moved fast: a $200 million round in September 2025 valued the company at $20 billion, up sharply from $9 billion just nine months earlier in December 2024, pricing the round at roughly $69.54 per share. On paper, that's exactly the growth profile that tends to produce secondary-market premiums, as discount and premium covers — buyers competing for a scarce, fast-appreciating name.
How the deal worked
That's not quite what happened. By early 2026, secondary marketplaces showed a split picture: Forge quoted shares near the $69.54 last-round price, while Hiive showed trades around $63.16 — a roughly 9% discount to the round Perplexity had just closed. Perplexity has also offered secondary sales of existing shares directly through platforms like Crowdcube, transactions in which the company receives no proceeds and existing holders sell to new investors.
The outcome
Unlike OpenAI, which ran a large company-organized tender, Perplexity hadn't (as of early 2026) run a comparable large-scale liquidity event for employees — its CEO has indicated no IPO is expected before 2028, leaving marketplace trading and smaller platform-facilitated sales as the main outlets for anyone wanting to sell.
What it teaches
Fast growth and a hot sector narrative don't automatically produce a secondary-market premium — thin trading volume, a shorter track record at the new valuation, or simply cautious buyer sentiment about how long the growth rate can hold can produce a discount even in a company everyone is talking about. Don't assume "in-demand" always means "trades above the last round" — check actual marketplace prints, not just headline funding news.
What to look for in a deal like this
- That marketplace trading below the last round is a market price, not a valuation event — the company's official mark does not change.
- The size and liquidity of the trades behind the quoted price: thin volume makes any single print unreliable.
- Which share class is trading, since common stock routinely trades below the preferred price set in a funding round.
Frequently asked
Why can a company's shares trade below its last round price?
Because a funding round prices newly issued preferred shares with downside protections, while the secondary market prices common stock without them. Add sentiment shifts since the round, and a gap is normal rather than alarming.
Is the marketplace price or the round price the real valuation?
They measure different things. The round price is what one investor paid for protected shares in a negotiation; the marketplace price is what someone will pay today for unprotected shares in small size. Neither is the single true number.
Compare this with the other North America deals in thecase-study index, or readwhy secondary sales happen for the motivation behind each deal shape. The glossary defines the terms used above.