Arabic version: كلير ستريت تطلق منصة ما قبل الطرح العام مع إتاحة التعرّض لداتابريكس

According to Cnbc, Clear Street is close to announcing a platform for accredited investors to buy interests in late-stage private companies, beginning with AI software company Databricks. Databricks was valued at $188 billion this month, while Clear Street said it intends to add as many as 30 startups to the platform by yearend.

Clear Street CEO and co-founder Uri Cohen said the goal is to “remove friction and give more people the ability to invest in more products.” He said much wealth creation has occurred in private markets and that more retail and smaller investors want to participate. The firm plans to focus mostly on technology companies valued from $5 billion to $20 billion that are roughly six months to two years from an initial public offering.

The Databricks offering would not involve investors buying stock issued directly by Databricks. Instead, they would acquire an interest in a special purpose vehicle that holds a stake in a third-party fund owning the shares. Clear Street said the external fund would remain Databricks’ shareholder of record. A Databricks spokesperson said the company “does not have any engagement or relationship with Clear Street.”

Clear Street said it will act as counterparty for the transactions. “If there is a risk, we are taking it,” Cohen said. The company is also creating dedicated private-company equity research led by analyst Owen Lau, which Cohen described as an effort to bring public-market-style transparency to opaque private markets.

The launch follows growing interest from wealthy investors seeking stakes in companies before public listings. Goldman Sachs recently created a platform to expand private-company offerings for wealthy clients and family offices. Clear Street, which was valued at nearly $12 billion in a private funding round earlier this year, paused its own IPO plans in February. Cohen said the firm is cash-flow positive and raised liquidity through a $400 million investment-grade bond offering, while it may look toward a 2027 listing depending on market conditions.