Equitybee platform investments continue to outperform traditional venture capital DPI benchmarks. Across 8 vintages from 2018 to 2025, Equitybee exceeded the PitchBook top 10% VC DPI benchmark in 7 vintages, and exceeded both the top 25% and median benchmarks in all 8.
These results reflect Equitybee's model, which provides investors with access to diversified private market exposure through employee stock options. This approach focuses on late-stage companies, with investments made at the original grant price, which is often below the company's most recent valuation.
Key Takeaways:
• Equitybee outperformed the PitchBook top 10% DPI benchmark in 7 of 8 vintages (2018-2025), and outperformed top 25% and median benchmarks in all 8.
• Since the end of Q1 2026, Equitybee investors received distributions from 17 additional liquidity events, led by the Wiz M&A distribution (aggregate MOIC of 16.65x) and including the Armis, Brex and Carbyne acquisitions and post-lockup distributions from five 2025 IPOs.
• Equitybee DPI increased quarter over quarter in 6 of 8 vintages, with the largest gain in the 2022 vintage (0.28x to 0.40x). All results reflect realized distributions only, measured as of June 30, 2026.
• The 2022 vintage is the only cohort currently below the top 10% benchmark (-40%). Equitybee's 2022 DPI rose from 0.28x to 0.40x during the quarter, but PitchBook's top 10% benchmark for the same vintage also moved up, from 0.42x to 0.67x. Equitybee's 2022 vintage still outperforms PitchBook's top 25% (0.21x) and median (0.03x).
*DPI = Distributions to Paid-In Capital; figures rounded to two decimal places. VC data from PitchBook; Equitybee data as of June 30, 2026.
Equitybee's outperformance widens against broader benchmark cohorts. Compared to PitchBook's top 25% and median, Equitybee delivered higher DPI in every vintage from 2018 through 2025.
PitchBook benchmark data as of June 30, 2026.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Equitybee's DPI is calculated either (a) as Total Net Investor Distributions divided by Total Invested Capital (including fees) for individual transactions, aggregated by vintage year, or (b) as Total Net Investor Distributions divided by Total Capital Contributed for funds-of-funds, by vintage year in which the first investment was completed. Results are as of June 30, 2026. VC benchmarks sourced from PitchBook.
Since the end of Q1 2026, Equitybee investors received distributions from 17 additional liquidity events. Q2 activity was led by the Wiz acquisition. Alphabet completed its $32 billion all-cash acquisition of Wiz on March 11, 2026, and Equitybee distributed proceeds to investors on April 8, 2026.
The Wiz distribution generated an aggregate MOIC of 16.65x and a top investor ROI of 1,747% on offers funded in August 2022, just under four years from funding to liquidity.Several notable Q2 2026 distributions included:
**ROI calculation based on top ROI per investor per company. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Q2 distributions came from a diversified mix of event types: six M&A transactions (Wiz, Armis Security, Brex, Carbyne, dbt Labs and Groq), five post-lockup IPO distributions (Navan, Netskope, Via, MNTN and Wealthfront), four tender offers and secondaries (Ripple, SpaceX, Imperative Care and Faire), one SPAC (Infleqtion) and one dividend (Belkin Laser).
Three M&A transactions listed as in progress in the Q1 2026 report closed and distributed during the quarter: Capital One completed its $5.15 billion acquisition of Brex on April 7, 2026, ServiceNow completed its $7.75 billion all-cash acquisition of Armis on April 20, 2026, and Axon completed its $625 million acquisition of Carbyne. The IPO distributions reflect companies that listed in 2025 and whose post-IPO lockup periods expired, allowing previously restricted shares to be sold and proceeds distributed to investors.
Across all 17 distributions, investor proceeds totaled 1.60x the capital invested (including fees). Fifteen of the 17 events returned more than the capital invested; the Navan IPO distribution and the Faire secondary returned less.
Read the full Wiz liquidity case study.
Q2 2026 was the largest quarter for venture exits on record, and the most concentrated. According to the Q2 2026 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, US venture deal value reached $412.7 billion in the first half of 2026, already exceeding the full-year 2025 total, with 87.5% of that capital going into rounds of $100 million or more and AI accounting for 86% of all venture dollars.
Exit value was dominated by a single event: SpaceX's $1.7 trillion IPO in June, the largest IPO of all time, which by PitchBook's count generated more exit value in one quarter than the entire prior decade combined. Without SpaceX, PitchBook notes, the quarter's exit value would sit at a level consistent with the constrained environment of recent years.
The IPO window reopened for the largest names. Renaissance Capital counted 48 US IPOs raising a record $104.8 billion in Q2 2026, up from $15.3 billion in Q1, with Cerebras Systems leading nine other $1 billion-plus listings. Yet Renaissance also noted that VC-backed tech "largely remained absent" beyond the headline names, and PitchBook observes that "the private market is again swelling with unrealized value." In PitchBook's words, "until the AI listing wave broadens into sustained liquidity across multiple companies, the gap between record paper value and realized distributions will remain the defining tension of the market."
Against this backdrop, Equitybee continued to generate realized DPI across all eight tracked vintages, with DPI rising quarter over quarter in six of them. Q2 distributions came from six M&A transactions, five post-lockup IPO distributions, four tender offers and secondaries, one SPAC and one dividend, reflecting how the platform's diversified holdings generate liquidity across multiple event types rather than relying on a single exit channel.
Two of the largest IPOs in venture history priced in Q2 2026. Because of post-IPO lockups, distributions tied to Q2 listings in which Equitybee investors hold positions fall into later quarters and are not reflected in these results.
Cerebras Systems (Nasdaq: CBRS) priced its IPO at $185 per share on May 13, 2026 and began trading on May 14, raising approximately $5.5 billion. Equitybee investors received distributions from a Cerebras secondary transaction in Q1 2026, ahead of the listing, and continue to hold Cerebras positions that are subject to the post-IPO lockup. Cerebras' lockup releases shares in stages rather than on a single date: a first tranche for pre-IPO investors after the company's first earnings report as a public company, further tranches after second-quarter earnings and on fixed dates in August, September and October, and the remainder at the earlier of the post-third-quarter earnings release or the 180-day outside date in November 2026 (lockup terms). Distributions from these positions are expected following the applicable lockup releases, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX) priced its IPO at $135 per share on June 11, 2026 and began trading on June 12, raising approximately $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.7 trillion. Equitybee investors received distributions from a SpaceX secondary transaction during Q2 2026, ahead of the listing, and continue to hold SpaceX positions that are subject to the post-IPO lockup. Pre-IPO holders other than Elon Musk and significant insiders are subject to a staggered release beginning after SpaceX's first quarterly results as a public company, with additional releases after second-quarter earnings and a 180-day baseline for other pre-IPO holders. Distributions from these positions are expected following the applicable lockup releases, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
Post-lockup distributions expected in the Q3 2026 report. Two further listings in which Equitybee investors hold positions reached liquidity milestones after the quarter closed.
EquipmentShare (Nasdaq: EQPT) completed its IPO on January 23, 2026, and its 180-day lockup expired on July 22, 2026, allowing previously restricted shares to be sold. Freenome (Nasdaq: FRNM) completed its business combination with Perceptive Capital Solutions Corp on July 20, 2026 and began trading on July 21, 2026. Distributions from both positions are expected to be reflected in the Q3 2026 DPI report, subject to applicable lockup and registration terms.
M&A transactions completed after quarter-end. Two acquisitions announced during Q2 2026 involve companies in which Equitybee investors hold positions, and neither is reflected in the Q2 2026 results. Salesforce signed a definitive agreement on June 15, 2026 to acquire Fin (formerly Intercom) for approximately $3.6 billion and completed the acquisition on September 10, 2026. Accenture announced on June 19, 2026 an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Dragos, alongside Dragos' acquisitions of runZero and NetRise, in a transaction with a combined enterprise value of approximately $4.175 billion; Accenture's majority investment closed in September 2026, with Dragos continuing to operate as an independent company. Distributions related to these transactions depend on the terms applicable to the shares held and on settlement timing, and will be reflected in a future report.
Looking further ahead, the Q2 2026 Venture Monitor reports that OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed for public listings. Anthropic was reported in mid-July to be preparing a listing as early as October 2026, while OpenAI's debut is now reported for 2027 and Databricks has deferred its IPO (Dealroom IPO tracker). Renaissance Capital expects the second half of 2026 to open with SK hynix's US listing. Many of these companies have spent a decade or more private and are among the biggest private companies ever built, a dynamic explored in Equitybee's newsletter, Will 2026 Be the Biggest Year Ever for New Tech Millionaires? Timing and outcomes remain uncertain. Companies of this scale highlight the magnitude of venture-backed value that may eventually reach public markets and influence future liquidity cycles.
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DPI (Distributions to Paid-In): Total cash returned ÷ total invested capital.
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Equitybee DPI: Total Net Investor Distributions ÷ Total Invested Capital (including fees), aggregated by vintage year.*
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Vintage Year: First year capital was deployed.
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Benchmarks: PitchBook VC fund DPI, 2018-2025.
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Cut-off Date: June 30, 2026.
* For funds-of-funds, Equitybee's DPI is calculated as Total Net Investor Distributions divided by Total Capital Contributed for funds-of-funds, by vintage year in which the first investment was completed.
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Reflects realized distributions only (no unrealized marks).
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Aggregated platform-level data (not individual investor results).
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Vintage alignment follows deployment year.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Equitybee's DPI is calculated either (a) as Total Net Investor Distributions divided by Total Invested Capital (including fees) for individual transactions, aggregated by vintage year, or (b) as Total Net Investor Distributions divided by Total Capital Contributed for funds-of-funds, by vintage year in which the first investment was completed. Results are as of June 30, 2026. VC benchmarks sourced from PitchBook.
Startup employees often receive stock options as part of their compensation. To convert these options into shares, employees must exercise their right to purchase these stock options, which involves significant upfront capital. Many employees cannot afford to do this, missing out on participating in the potential future success of the companies. Equitybee’s investors can provide the needed capital, allowing employees to exercise their options. In return, investors receive their initial investment, annual interest, and a percentage of the equity's value upon a successful liquidity event, such as an IPO or acquisition. This creates a mutually beneficial opportunity in a largely untapped market worth over $150 billion*.
Despite the aforementioned distribution drought from traditional US venture capital funds (mainly stemming from the lack of IPOs), Equitybee investments have continued to generate liquidity from a myriad of liquidity event types. This well-balanced mix means that Equitybee investors don’t need to rely on a hot IPO market to receive distributions. Additionally, tender offers (Equitybee’s historically highest performing liquidity event type) are a mostly unique exit route tied to the funding of employee stock options, which typically traditional VCs don’t have access to.
*Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is calculated as the net proceeds distributed to investors divided by their original investment. In the Equitybee model, net proceeds typically comprise the original principal, accrued annual interest (ranging from 3% to 5%), and the investor’s share of the equity value at the liquidity event (typically 20% to 45% of the funded shares). A 5% carried interest is applied to the accrued interest and the equity value share at distribution.
**Time to liquidity Indicates average time from investment date to distribution date, sourced from Equitybee’s proprietary data
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Private placements are speculative, illiquid, contain substantial risk and may result in the complete loss of capital to the investor. Consult your tax accountant as there may be tax considerations on profit amounts. Results may vary with each use and over time. Investor proceeds may be settled in cash or shares.