Secondary investors are beginning to treat shares of fintech Ramp and workforce management firm Rippling less like speculative startup bets and more like future IPO stocks.

Forge Global said Q1 2026 was a "defining quarter" for the late-stage VC-backed private market, as capital became increasingly concentrated in top-tier names despite volatility in public equities. Forge's fintech basket gained 0.68%, primarily driven by Ramp, which gained 2.14%, the report stated.

Secondary-market investors and research notes from platforms such as Forge often point to a cluster of "pre-IPO" trading signals, including tighter pricing spreads, repeat institutional participation, lower employee selling pressure, and more stable demand in secondary transactions.

Investors aren't just betting on growth anymore — they're betting on which private companies could realistically become durable public-market winners. Ramp and Rippling increasingly sit near the top of that list.

Ramp appears to be benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around fintech infrastructure and AI-powered enterprise automation. Investors increasingly view the company less as a corporate card startup and more as a broader finance software platform, a framing that aligns more closely with public software-as-a-service (SaaS) multiples.

Those active in secondary markets say buyers are also holding shares longer instead of flipping positions quickly, a dynamic often associated with expectations for a larger future liquidity event.

Rippling is seeing a similar shift.

The workforce management software company has become one of the more closely watched names in secondaries with a strong revenue scale near $1 billion and continued expansion across its HR, payroll, and IT platform, driving steady demand.

In a market where many late-stage SaaS companies remain stuck below peak valuations, Rippling continues attracting relatively steady demand.

Private-Market Recovery Is Becoming Increasingly Selective

Forge noted in its latest outlook that investors are focusing heavily on companies viewed as category leaders with durable growth profiles rather than chasing unicorn valuations broadly.

That's creating a widening divide between companies seen as IPO-caliber and those still struggling with weak liquidity and valuation pressure.

Similar secondary-market dynamics have been observed in several late-stage private companies, including Stripe, Databricks, and Reddit, where liquidity conditions and institutional demand tended to tighten as companies matured toward potential public-market readiness.

Whether Ramp or Rippling move toward public listings anytime soon remains unclear.

But in private markets, investor behavior often shifts before companies formally signal IPO plans — and increasingly, companies are trading as if they are already approaching that stage.

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