VC Secondary Market Trends | January 2026 | PM Insights

Institutional secondary market-driven data insights covering a universe of private venture-backed companies.

February 5, 2026

‍PM Insights offers a comprehensive look at private market activity, covering sector trends, company-level insights, and monthly performance metrics.

The January 2026 report highlights movements in ROI, volatility, volumes, and valuations, while tracking institutional involvement and comparing current secondary market prices to recent funding rounds.

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Key Takeaways

PM50 Growth: ROI delivered another month of strong growth, posting a +7.60% return
Institutional-level Activity: Activity reached a record 971 contributions in January 2026, signaling peak demand
Peak Volume: Monthly Total Bid and Ask Volume peaked at $38.11 billion in January 2026, nearly double the prior peak of $19.36 billion in December 2025‍
Sector Return: AI topped sector performance with a +12.46% gain, signaling strong momentum‍
Largest increase: Redwood Materials, bid-ask volume was up +682.07%, from $6.20 million to $48.50 million

Monthly Statistics

|| Monthly statistics from January, 2021 until January 2026

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Monthly PM50 Growth ROI

The chart below shows PM50 Growth’s month-on-month ROI.

Early Growth Phase (2021)
- January 2021 – Returns reached a peak of +16.25%, showing strong early gains‍
Market Correction Period (2022)‍
- June 2022 – Performance dropped to a low of -10.50% after a steady decline
- Late 2022 – Returns remained largely negative, reflecting weak market conditions‍
Recovery and Expansion (2023-2025)‍
- May 2023 onward – Performance turned positive, with momentum gradually building
- February 2025 – Returns climbed to a post-rebound high of +15.33%
- January 2026 – Performance settled at +7.60%, holding in positive territory

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Monthly Institutional Level Activity

The chart below shows the monthly count of institutional-level ($1M+) bid, ask, or trade contributions.

Reduced Participation Period
- April and December 2021 – Recorded the lowest levels at 185 contributions, highlighting reduced interest‍
Notable Activity Spikes‍
- April 2022 and March 2023 – Marked by notable spikes of 636 and 688 transactions‍
Peak Institutional Demand‍
- January 2026 – Activity reached a record 971 contributions, signaling peak demand

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Monthly Total Bid and Ask Volume

The chart below presents total monthly bid and ask volumes tracked by PM Insights.

Reduced Liquidity Period‍
- December 2021 – Fell to $2.12 billion, reflecting reduced activity‍
Notable Volume Spikes‍
- April 2022 and March 2023 –Volume surged to $12.64 billion and $19.23 billion, respectively
Peak Volume
- January 2026 – Volume peaked at $38.11 billion, nearly double the prior peak of $19.36 billion in Dec 2025

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Monthly Bid and Ask Volume Ratio

The stacked bar chart below shows the total monthly bid and ask volumes alongside their relative ratios.

Largest bid-side activity: 56.99% of $4.90 billion in January 2021‍
Largest ask-side activity: 94.37% of $12.64 billion in April 2022
January 2026: Ask-side activity was 89.63% of $38.11 billion

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Monthly Mean Volume per Indication Type

The chart below presents the monthly average volumes for asks, bids, and trades over the period from January 2021 to January 2026.

Asks:
- Highest average ask volume: $43.25 million in June 2021
- Lowest average ask volume: $7.59 million in January 2024
- January 2026 average ask volume: $11.20 million, down -2.96% from December 2025

Bids:
- Highest average bid volume: $33.58 million in June 2021
- Lowest average bid volume: $6.12 million in February 2022
- January 2026 average bid volume: $11.27 million, down -29.87% from December 2025

Trades:
- Highest average trade volume: $15.65 million in June 2021
- Lowest average trade volume: $1.18 million in October 2024
- January 2026 average trade volume: $5.43 million, down -11.73% from December 2025

All:
- Highest average volume: $33.82 million in June 2021
- Lowest average volume: $7.26 million in November 2023
- January 2026 average volume: $10.37 million, down -6.06% from December 2025

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Sectors

Headquarters

CEO

ROI Private & Public

|| ROI from January 31, 2025 until January 31, 2026

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_{The PM50 Growth tracks the performance of the 50 most active private names observed in the secondary market. It is an equal-weighted index, rebalanced on a monthly basis.}

_{This rebalancing of constituents over time gives way for more active names to participate in what we observe as "market performance," and in a more appropriate manner than static selections and weightings criteria.}

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Private Market: Sector Level for January 2026

|| Sector-level analysis for January 2026‍

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MoM Return on Investment (ROI)

The graph below displays the MoM ROI, broken down by PM Insights’ actively tracked sectors, covering the period from December 31, 2025 to January 31, 2026.

Strongest gain: AI topped sector performance with a +12.46% gain, signaling strong momentum
Highest decline: eCommerce posted the lowest performance at -5.63%
PM50 Growth: Achieved a +7.60% gain, maintaining consistent upward movement

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Volatility of ROI

The volatility of the ROI is calculated based on the ROI movements within a 90-day rolling window ending on that date. ROI is calculated from the start of 2021. The graph below shows the top 20 sectors ranked by ROI volatility as of January 31, 2026.

Highest volatility: AI led all sectors at 186%, indicating pronounced price swings and elevated investor uncertainty
Lowest volatility: Data sector recorded just 26%, signaling relatively stable and consistent performance
PM50 Growth: Volatility stood at 114%, reflecting moderate fluctuations compared with the AI sector

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Total Bid and Ask Volume Ratio

The stacked bar chart below highlights total ask and bid volumes, along with their ratios, across sectors for selected companies with notable activity during the time period between January 1, 2026 and January 31, 2026.

Highest bid ratio – Talent Management sector led in buy-side activity, with bids making up 50.86% of its $157.30 million total volume
Highest ask ratio – InvestmentTech sector saw the strongest sell-side activity, with asks accounting for 100% of $3.90 million volume
PM50 Growth – Activity skewed heavily toward the sell side, with asks representing 89.87% of the $35.96 billion in total volume

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Change in Composite Price (MoM)

PM Insights highlights the top five and bottom five companies in terms of change in composite price between December 31, 2025 and January 31, 2026 with significant activities i.e. at least 3 institutional-level contributions—to identify those experiencing the most notable shifts in market sentiment.

Strongest gain: Replit's composite price rose by +136.98% from $104.04 to $246.55
Largest decline: OYO Rooms' composite price fell -36.54% from $0.52 to $0.33

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Change in Total Bid and Ask Volume (MoM)

PM Insights highlights the top five and bottom five companies with significant activities in terms of change in total bid and ask volume between December 31, 2025 and January 31, 2026.

Largest increase: Redwood Materials, up +682.07%, from $6.20 million to $48.50 million
Largest decrease: Groq, down -97.03%, from $298.80 million to $8.90 million

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Proportion of Change in Valuation

The chart below highlights the ratio of companies in PM Insights' universe current trading levels relative to recent round valuations.

Latest vs prior round: 86% of companies raised new funding at a higher valuation than their previous round
Latest round vs current secondary market activity: 70% of companies are currently trading at lower valuations than their latest round

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