Next Round Capital Partners
Next Round Capital Partners is a New York-based secondary market intermediary that provides liquidity for pre-IPO shares in venture-backed companies, connecting founders, employees, and early investors with institutional and accredited buyers across 150+ tracked issuers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Next Round Capital Partners does
Next Round Capital Partners is a New York-headquartered private investment firm that operates as a secondary market intermediary for pre-IPO shares in venture-backed companies. Founded by Ken Smythe, the firm connects sellers (founders, employees, early investors) with buyers (institutional investors, family offices, and accredited individuals), focusing on category-defining private issuers such as SpaceX, xAI, OpenAI, Anduril, Databricks, Stripe, and Epic Games. Securities are offered through an unaffiliated FINRA/SIPC broker-dealer, Hollister Associates, LLC, and transaction execution is supported by infrastructure partners including Zanbato and Nasdaq Private Market.
The firm's core product surface comprises two strategies: a Growth Technology co-investment product and a VC Secondaries product that delivers bespoke liquidity solutions. The platform tracks 150+ private companies and serves 500+ investors, with cumulative transaction volume exceeding $2 billion since inception. Marquee transactions include helping a growth equity fund secure over $100 million in SpaceX shares and facilitating approximately $600 million of OpenAI secondary share sales in 2026.
Revenue is generated on a transaction-fee / take-rate basis across deal sizes ranging from $500K to $10M+, with leadership comprising Wall Street veterans and former institutional private-secondaries executives. The firm operates with a lean team (1–10 employees) across New York and San Francisco, using direct institutional sales and inside-sales distribution, supported by thought-leadership content and earned media in publications such as Bloomberg, the New York Times, and Forbes.
Next Round Capital Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Next Round Capital Partners
- Legal name
- Next Round Capital Partners
- Website
- https://nextroundcap.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Next Round Capital Partners is a New York-based secondary market intermediary that provides liquidity for pre-IPO shares in venture-backed companies, connecting founders, employees, and early investors with institutional and accredited buyers across 150+ tracked issuers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Next Round Capital Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secondary Market Brokerage / Private Securities
- NAICS
- Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150)
- SIC
- Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Capital Secondaries (LP Interests & Direct Secondaries) (FSANAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Secondaries Fundraising & Liquidity Intermediation (LP Stakes/GP-led) (FSAEALAG), LP Secondaries — Venture Capital Funds (FSAHALAB)
Keywords
Where Next Round Capital Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Next Round Capital Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Secondary Transaction Fees: Facilitates buying and selling of pre-IPO shares in venture-backed private companies, earning transaction fees for matching buyers and sellers in the private markets.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Per transaction | Small transactions ($500K - $2M) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Per transaction | Mid-market transactions ($2M - $10M) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Per transaction | Large block trades ($10M+) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Next Round Capital Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Next Round Capital Partners is a private investment firm and broker-dealer that facilitates secondary market transactions in venture-backed, pre-IPO companies. It connects institutional and accredited investors with founders, employees, and early shareholders seeking liquidity, providing bespoke transaction structuring across private companies such as SpaceX, xAI, OpenAI, and other unicorns.
Product overview
Next Round Capital operates as a unified pre-IPO stock marketplace offering two core investment products: Growth Technology (growth-stage technology investment strategy with strategic acceleration) and VC Secondaries (liquidity solutions for private company shareholders). The platform connects sophisticated investors with venture-backed private companies, providing access to categories including AI, space technology, defense tech, and enterprise software. The company facilitates transactions in leading private companies including SpaceX, xAI, Waymo, Anduril, OpenAI, Databricks, Stripe, Epic Games, and over 40 other private unicorns.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Growth Technology Growth-stage technology investment strategy that provides capital and strategic acceleration to high-potential companies, with a focus on unlocking liquidity in private markets. Targeted at investors seeking exposure to venture-backed growth-stage technology businesses.
- VC Secondaries Liquidity solutions for shareholders, employees, and early investors in high-growth private companies, facilitating secondary market transactions for pre-IPO shares. Designed for venture-backed company stakeholders who need to monetize equity positions before an IPO.
- Pre-IPO Stock Marketplace Digital platform enabling institutional and accredited investors to buy and sell shares in elite private companies before their IPO, including SpaceX, xAI, OpenAI, and other category-defining businesses. Connects sophisticated investors with venture-backed private companies across AI, space technology, defense tech, and enterprise software sectors.
Companies that use Next Round Capital Partners
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Next Round Capital Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Next Round Capital Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Hollister Associates, LLCcoreSecurities offered through Hollister Associates, LLC, a FINRA/SIPC member firm. Next Round Capital Partners and Hollister Associates are not affiliated entities.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Next Round Capital Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SharesPost: SharesPost is one of the original private company secondary marketplaces, operating with a similar business model of intermediating accredited and institutional investor access to venture-backed pre-IPO shares.
- Zanbato: Zanbato operates a private securities trading ATS that Next Round already partners with for execution; it directly competes for the same institutional secondary flow in pre-IPO tech and AI names.
- Forge Global: Forge is the largest technology-enabled marketplace for private company shares, directly competing with Next Round on pre-IPO secondary transactions in tier-1 venture-backed names including SpaceX, OpenAI, and Stripe.
- Hiive: Hiive is an online marketplace for private company shares competing for the same buy-side and sell-side flow in venture-backed secondaries, with comparable deal-size tiers and target investor base.
- Linqto: Linqto is a technology-driven private securities marketplace focused on venture secondaries; Managing Director Matt Mindell previously led buy-side trading and deal execution at Linqto, making it a directly overlapping platform.
- Nasdaq Private Market: Nasdaq Private Market operates a leading technology platform for secondary trading in private company securities, directly comparable to Next Round's offering; Managing Partner Sharif Khaleel previously led institutional client relationships there.
- EquityZen: EquityZen is a long-standing private market investment platform that facilitates secondary transactions in venture-backed companies, targeting institutional and accredited investors with similar transaction-size profiles to Next Round.
Regional players
- Moonfare: Moonfare operates a digital private equity and secondary platform primarily serving European institutional and accredited investors; comparable business model but geographically distinct from Next Round's US-centric focus.
Others
- SecondMarket: SecondMarket was a pioneer in private company secondary trading (acquired by NASDAQ), establishing the playbook Next Round and similar boutique intermediaries now follow for institutional pre-IPO access.
Broad incumbents
- Carta: Carta is the dominant cap-table management platform and has expanded into private market liquidity and secondary transactions through CartaX; while broader in scope, it increasingly competes with boutique intermediaries like Next Round for secondary flow.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Next Round Capital Partners social profiles
Digital presenceNext Round Capital Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Next Round Capital Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Next Round Capital Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Next Round Capital Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Next Round Capital Partners
What does Next Round Capital Partners do?
Next Round Capital Partners is a private investment firm and broker-dealer that facilitates secondary market transactions in venture-backed, pre-IPO companies. It connects institutional and accredited investors with founders, employees, and early shareholders seeking liquidity, providing bespoke transaction structuring across private companies such as SpaceX, xAI, OpenAI, and other unicorns.
Is Next Round Capital Partners a public or private company?
Next Round Capital Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Next Round Capital Partners founded?
Next Round Capital Partners was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Next Round Capital Partners based?
Next Round Capital Partners is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Next Round Capital Partners make money?
One revenue line is on record: secondary Transaction Fees.
Who are Next Round Capital Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SharesPost, Zanbato, Forge Global, Hiive, Linqto, Nasdaq Private Market and EquityZen. Moonfare is listed as a regional player. SecondMarket is listed as an others. Carta is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Next Round Capital Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Next Round Capital Partners.
What industry is Next Round Capital Partners in?
Next Round Capital Partners's product category is Secondary Market Brokerage / Private Securities. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAFAJ, Venture Capital Secondaries (LP Interests & Direct Secondaries), with a secondary code of FSAEALAG, Secondaries Fundraising & Liquidity Intermediation (LP Stakes/GP-led). Its NAICS code is 52391 and its SIC code is 6211.