SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq Private Market (NPM), a premier provider of secondary liquidity solutions for private companies, employees, and investors, today announced a new liquidity partnership with KittyHawk, an investment firm focused on leading-edge seed to late-stage pre-IPO companies. KittyHawk will serve as the inaugural member of the new NPM Liquidity Provider Program designed to enhance liquidity on the SecondMarket® Investor Workstation and Employee Direct platform by offering private company employees improved access to buyers for their equity holdings.
Since inception over a decade ago, NPM has executed more than $55 billion in transactional volume for 200,000+ individual eligible employee shareholders and investors across 760+ company-sponsored liquidity programs. In September, the company launched its SecondMarket® Employee Direct, Investor Workstation, and Company Workstation. These electronic trading platforms are customized to support eligible employee shareholders when they sell their hard-earned equity shares via tender offers or block trades, as well as investors when they buy or sell equity holdings.
KittyHawk focuses on investments across artificial intelligence, longevity, advanced materials, MedTech, FinTech, cybersecurity, robotics, aerospace, SaaS, climate, and more. Through its partnership with NPM, KittyHawk Secondaries will leverage the Liquidity Provider Program to invest in some of the world's most disruptive Unicorns enabling it to provide liquidity to employees and, as a result, offer a diversified portfolio of late-stage companies for secondary fund investors.
"We are excited to launch this new program with KittyHawk. NPM and Kittyhawk have a common passion to support the entrepreneurs who are transforming the way we live and work. As partners, we will unlock better liquidity across the private market ecosystem,” noted Tom Callahan, Chief Executive Officer, Nasdaq Private Market.
The NPM Liquidity Provider Program offers access to the SecondMarket Investor Workstation; actionable data on watchlist companies; order submissions; watchlists and notifications about available order flow in designated companies; negotiations with approved counterparties; matching with sellers on terms; as well as transfer and settlement of matched transactions, shares, and funds via NPM Transfer & Settlement.
KittyHawk Founder Will Weisman commented, "At KittyHawk, we are committed to empowering the next generation of disruptive entrepreneurs, and we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Nasdaq Private Market. By leveraging NPM’s innovative liquidity solutions, we’re excited to offer better access to liquidity for employees and investors, while continuing to support the growth of transformative companies in sectors ranging from AI and biotech to aerospace and cybersecurity. Together, we will unlock new opportunities and drive greater efficiency in this increasingly important segment of the private market ecosystem."
“This partnership offers KittyHawk a significant structural advantage, allowing us to access compelling secondary market opportunities,” said Alexandra Peterson, Partner at KittyHawk. “What’s even more rewarding is that, through this collaboration, we can directly provide liquidity to a new class of participants—private company employees—who have historically faced challenges in unlocking the full value of their equity. By improving access to liquidity, we’re offering them greater flexibility and enabling them to realize the full potential of their holdings.”
NPM’s primary business lines include Company Solutions, SecondMarket Trading Marketplace, Transfer and Settlement, and Tape DTM Data and Analytics. Its Company Solutions business supports private companies using proprietary technology to facilitate tenders, auctions, and pre-direct listing programs. NPM’s next-generation SecondMarket electronic trading marketplace is bringing transparency and efficiency to the block trading of private shares for employees and investors with a model fully aligned with the interests of private companies. Its Transfer and Settlement technology streamlines the complex, burdensome process of post-match workflows for companies and trading counterparties. NPM’s Tape DTM product aims to deliver on the market’s need for actionable insights into trading activity and private company data for investors.
About Nasdaq Private Market
Nasdaq Private Market provides liquidity solutions for private companies, employees, and investors throughout each stage of the pre-IPO lifecycle. In 2013, the company was founded within Nasdaq, Inc. Today, it is an independent company with strategic investments from Nasdaq, Allen & Company, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citi, DRW Venture Capital, Goldman Sachs, HiJoJo Partners, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
For more information about Nasdaq Private Market, visit www.nasdaqprivatemarket.com. Explore LinkedIn and X for the latest company news.
About Kittyhawk
KittyHawk is an investment firm focused on leading-edge seed to late-stage pre-IPO companies. The firm supports mission-driven entrepreneurs in their quest to build world-changing organizations through its two primary strategies: KittyHawk Frontier and KittyHawk Secondaries. Headquartered in Los Angeles, KittyHawk has team members in the San Francisco Bay Area, London, Austin, UAE, Riyadh and New York.
For more information on KittyHawk, visit www.kittyhawk.vc.
Disclosures and Disclaimers
NPM is not: (a) a registered exchange under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b) a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; or (c) a financial or tax planner and does not offer legal or financial advice to any user of the NPM website or its services. Securities-related services are offered through NPM Securities, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and alternative trading system, and member FINRA/SIPC. Transactions in securities conducted through NPM Securities, LLC are not listed or traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, nor are the securities subject to the same listing or qualification standards applicable to securities listed or traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
Media Contacts
Amanda Gold
Chief Marketing Officer, Nasdaq Private Market
Amanda.Gold@npm.com
Anaika Theodore
KittyHawk
inquiries@kittyhawk.vc
