OpenVC has launched the NYSE OpenVC 500 Index, a new benchmark that bridges major U.S. public companies with large venture-backed firms that still trade privately.

The company says the goal is to give investors a broader way to track where corporate value sits as more high-profile startups delay going public.

"If you're benchmarking U.S. equity market performance based solely on the performance of publicly-listed companies, you're missing a huge piece of the puzzle," said David Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of OpenVC. 

"In fact, the two largest private venture-backed companies in the U.S. today are each valued at more than $850 billion, which would place them comfortably on the list of the 15 largest companies in the NYSE U.S. 500,” Shapiro added. “Add the fact that private companies are pioneering so much of the innovation taking place in artificial intelligence and other areas of the tech sector, and it's no wonder investors have been demanding greater transparency to the full picture of the U.S. equity market, something we're very excited to finally be providing them with today." 

The index pulls from two existing NYSE-branded benchmarks, one focused on large U.S.-listed companies and another tracking venture-backed private firms valued above $1 billion. The 500 largest U.S.-headquartered companies are selected and weighted using a modified, non-float-adjusted market capitalization approach, the company stated in a press release.

ICE Data Indices, which provides financial technology and data services across major asset classes, will handle administration and daily calculation.

"We have decades of experience designing new index methodologies to meet the needs of the constantly evolving financial markets," said Preston Peacock, head of ICE Data Indices. "By leveraging OpenVC's innovative methodology for valuing private companies and ICE's listed equity indices, we're able to bridge the chasm between public and private markets and create an index that benchmarks the breadth and dynamism of the U.S. capital markets." 

The roster will be refreshed once a year.

"To build an index like this, you need the data and experience that only ICE can bring to the table," Shapiro said. "The work they do is second to none, and we're very pleased to once again be partnering with them to deliver the kind of modern indexing solutions that are essential for truly understanding and benchmarking the markets of today, not the markets of the past."

OpenVC was founded in 2021 and provides indexing and investment solutions for venture capital, with a mission to make the VC space more transparent, accessible and efficient. 

The company first launched OPEN Unicorn Index Fund, which tracks an index of the 50 largest U.S. Unicorns with valuations of $1 billion or greater, including SpaceX and Stripe.

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