Nicolas Meier

How to create Liquidity in Today's Market? The Truth About The Exit Market

The core message of the session was that venture liquidity can no longer be treated as a simple end-state reached through IPO or acquisition; funds, founders, employees, and LPs need a broader toolkit for turning private-market value into cash. The moderator framed the discussion around DPI with the memorable investor line that “it’s trash until it’s cash,” then invited perspectives from a listed venture investor, a global long-term investor, a GP-stakes investor, and a venture lawyer. Ben Wilkinson described Molten Ventures as a UK-listed VC platform investing directly at Series A and Series B, operating a secondary platform, and acting as an LP in 80 European seed funds. Nicolas outlined Temasek’s roughly $350 billion global portfolio, including Singapore-headquartered companies, global direct investments from late-stage growth through public markets, and AUM platforms. Cara positioned Blue Owl’s GP-stakes work as giving visibility across private markets, while Aaron described Cooley’s role advising venture-backed companies and investors through funding, exits, secondaries, M&A, and IPOs. The early market discussion centered on selective capital availability and bifurcation. Nicolas said markets are open but demanding, with abundant capital for AI-native companies while “pre AI native” businesses must prove they remain AI-resilient or can benefit from AI. He argued public-market valuations are “not cheap” but not excessive, noting share-price appreciation this year has largely been earnings-driven and that valuations are lower than at the beginning of the year. He emphasized underwriting on fundamentals, portfolio construction, and deploying through cycles. Ben agreed that AI is drawing capital toward perceived winners, but added that Europe’s sovereignty and resilience themes are changing government procurement and corporate support for European technology businesses. He cited Molten’s interest in enabling technology layers, AI-native companies, space, and quantum, including the Munich-based ESO Aerospace round co-led earlier in the year. Cara reinforced the bifurcation theme, describing a pronounced barbell in venture, technology, and software: a small group of highly successful companies attracting disproportionate capital at extraordinary valuations, and another group that may be unable to convert to cash at current marks. She called some AI-related CapEx numbers “quite frightening,” specifically referencing $1.2 trillion of CapEx going into the space next year, while acknowledging that public valuations are still being supported by earnings growth. The moderator challenged the exceptional-company narrative by asking how many outcomes can be as large as Nvidia acquisitions, Stripe deals, or massive IPOs. Nicolas responded that Europe’s exit environment is broader than headline outcomes, pointing to middle-of-the-fairway sales to strategic buyers and increasingly to private equity as the transactions that may solve much of the DPI issue. The final provided segment shifted into LP pressure and liquidity mechanisms. Aaron said LP pressure on venture funds to produce liquidity is real, because VC funds themselves have had difficulty fundraising and LPs have their own obligations, including to pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. He contrasted the older assumption that venture-backed companies would eventually IPO or be acquired on a predictable timeline with the current reality of companies staying private longer and IPO windows closing. He also connected this pressure to structural changes among some US tier-one venture firms registering as investment advisers so they can access broader forms of liquidity rather than relying solely on IPO markets reopening and staying open.