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Ask any active investor where value gets created, and they’ll point to the public markets: the tickers, the earnings calls, the daily charts.
But over the last decade, a quieter shift has changed that answer. More and more of a company’s growth now happens before it ever goes public.
Consider how long today’s biggest names stayed private. Companies raise billions across private rounds, building enormous value while everyday investors wait for an IPO.
And that exit may only arrive after much of the upside is realized.
The result is a widening gap: institutions and venture capital participate early, while the individual investor is left to buy in at the opening bell, if not later.
That gap is exactly what StartEngine was built to close.
Opening a market that was closed for decades
Since 2017, StartEngine has worked to give everyday investors access to private companies, the kind of opportunities historically reserved for venture funds and institutions.
StartEngine has grown into one of the largest private-market investing platforms in the U.S., with more than 2.4 million registered users and over $1.2 billion deployed on the platform to date.¹
And with its pre-IPO product line, investors have gained exposure to companies like Anthropic ahead of the public markets.²
It’s a model built for a pre-IPO opportunity that could reach $210.5 billion by 2034.³
A mission that became a business
Access is the mission. Growth is the proof. And for StartEngine, it’s working.
The company’s revenue has nearly doubled in back-to-back years:⁴
$23 million in 2023
$48 million in 2024
$109 million in 2025
Much of that momentum comes from StartEngine’s pre-IPO product line, which contributed roughly 80% of 2025 revenue.⁴
In Q1 2026, revenue was $25M (compared to $30.3M in Q1 2025). See footnote 4 for more details.
Demand has been strong enough that offerings have repeatedly sold out.
The company continues to expand its footprint. In March 2026, StartEngine acquired Vinovest, moving into fine wine and whisky investing,⁵ building on its 2023 acquisition of SeedInvest’s assets.¹
Each step broadens the range of alternative investments its community can reach.
It’s a strategy shaped by a founder who has scaled category-defining companies before.
Co-Founder and CEO Howard Marks co-founded Activision — the studio behind Call of Duty — which was later acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion.⁶
He went on to found Acclaim Entertainment, later acquired by Disney.⁷
Now you can own the platform itself
Here’s what makes this moment different: StartEngine isn’t just offering access to private companies. It’s offering a stake in the platform that’s opening the door to investors like you.
That's right: StartEngine’s latest round is now open to the public.
More than 50,000 shareholders have already invested over $100 million directly into StartEngine. And now you can join them at $1.60 per share, with a minimum investment of $500.80.
Qualifying investments can also earn up to 20% bonus shares, and the tiers stack.⁸
For investors who already understand where markets are moving, this is a rare chance to back the infrastructure moving them.
1. StartEngine’s user base was determined by the number of unique email addresses in the company’s database as of March 31, 2026. One individual may have more than one email address. In May 2023, StartEngine acquired assets of SeedInvest, including email lists for SeedInvest’s users, investors and founders. Click here for more details.
2. The companies which StartEngine Private invests in are not involved in or endorsing investments in StartEngine Private, and have not approved StartEngine Private LLC or its affiliates.
When you invest through StartEngine Private, you are buying an interest in a separate Series of StartEngine Private LLC, not directly in the companies listed. References in this email to specific offerings are abbreviated names used to identify the applicable Series of StartEngine Private LLC and are not the full legal names of those Series. The Series may hold shares directly or through a special-purpose vehicle (SPV). Your interests may differ from the companies’ stock in both rights and value, and there may not be a one-to-one economic parity between the value of Series interests and the underlying shares. The Series also bears its own costs (such as transaction and administrative expenses), which may reduce investor returns. To the extent that SE Private holds the shares through a SPV, such SPV may separately charge fees or bear its own costs and that may further reduce investor returns.
The initial offerings were made under Regulation D, Rule 506(c), through StartEngine Primary LLC (member FINRA/SIPC), and were available only to accredited investors. To the extent that SE Private holds the shares through a SPV, such SPV may separately charge fees or bear its own costs and that may further reduce investor returns. These investments are speculative, illiquid, and high risk, and you should be prepared to hold them indefinitely and to bear the risk of losing your entire investment.
StartEngine and its affiliates do not provide financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. This update may include information from third party or public sources that has not been independently verified and may be incomplete or inaccurate. Before investing, review the full offering documents on the offering pages and consult your advisors.
3. Source: Intel Market Research, “Pre-IPO Private Share Trading Market Growth Analysis, Dynamics, Key Players and Innovations, Outlook and Forecast 2026-2034,” May 6, 2026
4. This revenue growth has been driven by StartEngine Private, a new product line that offers funds in late stage companies. This product line contributed $86,603,559 of the $109,580,580 in revenue during FY 2025. To understand the impact on margins, review StartEngine’s Annual and Quarterly Reports for our latest financials. Past performance may not be indicative of future performance. Note that in Q1 2026, our revenue was $25M (compared to $30.3M in Q1 2025).
5. Source: David Nusbaum, “StartEngine Acquires Vinovest: A Game-Changing Move for Alternative Investing,” Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2026
6. Source: Michael Race & Zoe Kleinman, “Microsoft Completes $69BN Takeover of Call of Duty Maker Activision Blizzard,” BBC, October 13, 2023
7. Sources: Playdom, “Playdom Announces Acquisition of Acclaim Games Inc.,” PR Newswire, May 18, 2010; Michael Arrington, “Playdom Acquired By Disney For Up To $763.2 Million,” TechCrunch, July 27, 2010
8. Investors in StartEngine can receive up to 20% total bonus shares based on certain criteria:
Perks Terms & Conditions
10% if you reserved shares during the latest Test the Waters phase
10% if you are a member of the Venture Club. Members get 10% on all investments in eligible offerings for an entire year for an annual fee of $275. This can be purchased at checkout.
5% if you invest between $3,000 and $4,999.99
10% if you invest between $5,000 and $29,999.99
20% if you invest $30,000 or more.
Bonus shares in this offering are stackable. The maximum amount of bonus shares that an investor can receive is 20%. An investor with a Test the Waters or Venture Club bonus may stack one amount-based bonus on top, up to the 20% maximum. For example, a Venture Club member who invests at least $5,000 will receive 20% additional shares. If that person also invests $30,000, they will still receive the maximum of 20% bonus shares. Bonus shares may not immediately appear on your investor dashboard, but will be issued prior to the offering closing.
In order to receive perks from an investment, one must submit a single investment that meets the minimum perk requirement.
If you are investing via a self-directed IRA, you cannot receive additional perks beyond bonus shares due to tax laws.
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This is a paid advertisement for StartEngine's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.startengine.com. Barchart has not reviewed, approved, or endorsed the content and was paid $3.00 per click for placement and promotion of the content on this site and other forms of public distribution covering the period of August-December 2026. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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