--- title: 2026 Tech Trends description: "With the road to IPO now averaging 15.9 years, \"private is the new public\". Discover how EquityZen and Morgan Stanley are providing access to pre-IPO growth in AI and robotics as part of the evolving financial landscape." image: https://blog.equityzen.com/hubfs/unnamed-Feb-26-2026-06-07-06-5117-PM.png --- [![EquityZen](https://blog.equityzen.com/hubfs/equityzen-logo.svg "EquityZen")](https://equityzen.com/) - [Investments](https://equityzen.com/explore/) - [Explore](https://equityzen.com/explore-private-market/) - How it Works - [Investors](https://equityzen.com/investor/) - [Shareholders](https://equityzen.com/shareholder/) - [Institutions](https://equityzen.com/institutions/) - [Issuers](https://equityzen.com/issuers/) - [Financial Advisors](https://equityzen.com/financial-advisors/) - [Insights](https://blog.equityzen.com/) - [Login](https://equityzen.com/accounts/login/) - [Sign Up](https://equityzen.com/accounts/register/) [Back to insights](https://blog.equityzen.com) [Company News](https://blog.equityzen.com/tag/company-news) [Market Views](https://blog.equityzen.com/tag/market-views) [IPO News](https://blog.equityzen.com/tag/ipo-news) # 2026 Tech Trends ![EquityZen](https://blog.equityzen.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image%20(5).png?width=96&height=96&name=image%20(5).png) Written by EquityZen • February 26, 2026 • 1 min read ![2026 Tech Trends ](https://blog.equityzen.com/hs-fs/hubfs/unnamed-Feb-26-2026-06-07-06-5117-PM.png?width=1318&height=736&name=unnamed-Feb-26-2026-06-07-06-5117-PM.png) In this article Like this article? The road to IPO now averages nearly 16 years1, meaning significant growth occurs well before a company hits the ticker. The CB Insights Tech Trends 2026 report identifies this shift as "Private becomes the new public". Now part of Morgan Stanley, EquityZen sits within an institutional framework designed to provide access to these market leaders as they stay private longer. With a 200% surge in first-time investors2 backing sectors like AI and robotics, the infrastructure for secondary trading is a growing component of the financial landscape. ###### Footnes 1. CB Insights — State of Venture Q3’25; Acquisition data 2. EquityZen data as of December, 2025 Join Investors and Shareholders Exploring the Private Markets Today [![Get Started](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/20754585/8e691282-6ef2-4809-87ba-5604efc0edbe.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/20754585/8e691282-6ef2-4809-87ba-5604efc0edbe) ### Related Articles ![Kiplinger: How to Invest in Companies Before They Go Public](https://blog.equityzen.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-01%20at%209.56.06%20AM.png?width=812&height=446&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-11-01%20at%209.56.06%20AM.png) ##### Kiplinger: How to Invest in Companies Before They Go Public First Arm, then Instacart and Klaviyo. More companies are starting to list publicly this fall, endin... 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Investing in private companies may be considered highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk, including the risk of substantial loss of investment. Investors must be able to afford the loss of their entire investment. See [our Risk Factors](https://equityzen.com/risk-factors/) for a more detailed explanation of the risks involved by investing through EquityZen’s platform.   EquityZen Securities LLC (“EquityZen Securities”) is a subsidiary of EquityZen Inc. EquityZen Securities is a broker/dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is a [FINRA](http://www.finra.org/)/[SIPC](https://www.sipc.org/) member firm.   Equity securities are offered through EquityZen Securities. Check the background of this firm on [FINRA’s BrokerCheck](https://brokercheck.finra.org/firm/summary/281820).   EquityZen Inc. was awarded a 2024 Fintech Breakthrough Award by Tech Breakthrough LLC on March 19, 2025, based on the prior year and covering calendar year 2024, and has compensated FinTech Breakthrough LLC for use of its name and logo in connection with the award. FinTech Breakthrough LLC is a third party and has no affiliation with EquityZen.   EquityZen created the ticker symbols referenced on this page for use solely on the EquityZen platform. They do not refer to any publicly traded stock. EquityZen does not have an affiliation with, formal relationship with, or endorsement from any of the companies featured and none of the statements on the site should be attributed to those companies.   “Market Activity” and other transactional data displayed on this website is compiled by EquityZen and is confidential and historical in nature. 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