Forge Closes Over $150M in Funding, Adds New Investors Amid Another Record-Breaking Quarter
4.5.2021 17:30:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), the leading global private securities marketplace, announced today that it has received FINRA approval to operate as a single broker dealer with SharesPost, which Forge merged with in 2020, and that it closed an oversubscribed round of more than $150M in new funding. Total funding raised to date exceeds $250M with the latest round including existing investor Deutsche Börse and Forge’s new investors Temasek, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, LUN Partners Group and others. The continued interest from global strategic and financial investors validates Forge’s leadership position as it continues to develop new, innovative products and services to meet the needs of the private market.
“We’re excited to have these incredible companies partner with Forge as we continue to build the operating system for the private market,” said Forge CEO Kelly Rodriques. “With their support and backing, and the momentum coming from the SharesPost merger, we are in an excellent position to continue to build world-class solutions and bring data, technology and liquidity at scale to the private markets.”
Since inception, Forge has completed more than $9B in transactions in nearly 400 private companies. In the months since its acquisition of SharesPost, the company tallied three consecutive record-breaking quarters including in Q1 2021 when Forge completed 1400 transactions totaling more than $730M of volume.
Forge intends to use the increased funding to continue to expand service offerings in the US and beyond. Jane Atherton, Managing Director, Investment at Temasek International and Paul Hilgers, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse's cash market business, will join Forge’s board.
“The importance of private markets is growing – for companies and investors alike,“ explains Christoph Hansmeyer, Head of Group Strategy & M&A at Deutsche Börse. “Investing in Forge pays testament to our commitment to help companies access liquidity both publicly and privately, and allows global investors to participate in the wealth created in both the public and private markets.”
With more than 642 private unicorn companies globally totaling $2T in collective valuation and with many of those staying private for 10 years or more, unicorn companies are increasingly turning to the private market for liquidity solutions that Forge provides. Global institutions, through their investments in Forge, are signaling increased interest in innovative new products and services that build on the core secondary trading capabilities that the Forge platform delivers.
"The private securities market plays an increasingly important role in today’s financial landscape, and Wells Fargo recognizes the significance of a digital platform like Forge in the ongoing evolution of this marketplace,” said Tom Richardson, Head of Principal Technology Investments at Wells Fargo Strategic Capital. “Forge's liquidity solutions simplify the complexities of private market transactions and introduces further transparency into the price discovery process. We’re excited about the opportunities this brings to our customers and look forward to seeing Forge’s continued growth.”
In February 2021, Forge launched Forge Company Solutions, a comprehensive liquidity solution suite for private, high-growth companies to facilitate custom liquidity programs including executive liquidity, company-sponsored employee liquidity, tender offers and direct listings.
About Forge
Forge serves the complex and emerging needs of the private market ecosystem by forging new connections through our technology, data and expertise. Founded in 2014, the firm empowers investors and shareholders by facilitating liquidity in the private markets. Forge is backed by top Silicon Valley investors and large, global institutions including Deutsche Börse, Temasek, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, FT Partners, Draper Associates, Peter Thiel, Munich Re Ventures and LUN Partners Group. . Securities related services are offered through Forge Market, LLC (“Forge Markets”) and SharesPost Financial Corporation (“SPFC”), each of which is a member of FINRA/SIPC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Forge Global, Inc. Transactional information includes trades conducted through SPFC, Forge Markets, and Emerson Equity, LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC and a broker dealer for SharesPost, Inc.) in 2011.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210504005348/en/
Contact information
Kelsey Quickstad
press@forgeglobal.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Merz Therapeutics Receives EU/EEA Approval for XEOMIN® for the Treatment of Pediatric Spasticity Associated With Pes Equinus17.9.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Merz Therapeutics, a leading player in neurology-focused specialty pharma, today announced that it has received approval in the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA) for XEOMIN® (incobotulinumtoxinA) for the symptomatic treatment of spasticity associated with pes equinus, a condition in which tight calf muscles cause the foot to point downward, in ambulant and non-ambulant children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 2 to 17 years.1,2 This approval expands access to an established botulinum neurotoxin therapy for some of the youngest and most vulnerable patients across Europe. Spasticity is a common and often disruptive symptom in children and adolescents with neurological conditions, including CP. This condition is associated with muscle tightness that can severely restrict physical movement, daily functioning, and personal autonomy. Among children and youth, CP stands as a primary driver of this symptom and remains the most prevalent childhood motor disability,
Mediterranean Network for Haemoglobinopathies Launches in Rome, Connecting Clinical Experts and Patient Leaders to Advance Equitable Care17.9.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
The Mediterranean Network for Haemoglobinopathies (MNfH) was recently launched at Palazzo Wedekind in Rome, bringing together leading clinicians and patient representatives from Cyprus, Greece, and Italy, with the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF). Supported by Avanzanite Bioscience as Founding Sponsor, the independent regional platform will connect expertise across borders, strengthen the patient voice, and turn shared knowledge into practical initiatives that can improve care for people living with haemoglobinopathies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260916107487/en/ Adam Plich, Co-Founder and CEO, Avanzanite Bioscience. Avanzanite enabled the establishment of the Network in recognition of both the considerable expertise that already exists across the Mediterranean and the persistent gaps that remain in access to specialist care, sustainable blood supplies, treatment advances and evidence-based inn
IKI Advances Promotional Forecast Accuracy by More Than 10 Points With SymphonyAI17.9.2026 08:03:00 EEST | Press release
SymphonyAI, a global leader in Vertical AI, today announced that IKI, one of Lithuania's largest grocery retailers, is implementing SymphonyAI's Promotional Evaluation and Promotional Planning solutions across its network of 250 stores, as part of its strategy to strengthen data-driven promotional planning. IKI continuously evaluates opportunities to strengthen its category management and promotional planning capabilities. As promotional programs become increasingly sophisticated, the retailer has invested in advanced analytics and AI-driven forecasting to support data-driven decision making across its business. In its initial work with SymphonyAI across select categories, IKI has seen promotional forecast accuracy improve by more than 10 percentage points, along with a reduction in stock-outs during promotional periods. "At IKI, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to strengthen our decision-making with better data and technology," said Klavs Berzins, Head of Category Managem
Lattice Expands Secure Control FPGA Leadership with New Lattice Mach-N2 Family17.9.2026 05:00:00 EEST | Press release
Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable and platform firmware leader, today announced Lattice Mach™-N2 FPGA family, extending its long-running secure control FPGA leadership with new devices purpose-built for system control and security in modern infrastructure. Built on the Lattice Nexus™ 2 small FPGA platform, Mach-N2 combines integrated flash, a hardware Root of Trust, and CNSA 2.0-compliant post-quantum cryptography (PQC) with crypto agility for trusted, always-on system control and security across next-generation systems. "The demands on system control and security are accelerating as post-quantum mandates take hold, and customers building long-lifecycle infrastructure seek solutions that will help them design with today and tomorrow’s security needs in mind," said Esam Elashmawi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Lattice Semiconductor. "Mach-N2 represents a significant step forward in logic density and bandwidth while adding the most complete post-qua
Lattice Advances FPGA Design with New Leadership AI-Driven Development Tool, Lattice Prompt17.9.2026 05:00:00 EEST | Press release
Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable and platform firmware leader, today introduced a new leadership AI-powered FPGA development tool for small and mid-range FPGAs that redefines how FPGA developers work across the full design flow. Lattice Prompt pairs with AI agentic tools developers already use, combining them with Lattice design tools, knowledge base, and documentation to turn natural language inputs into validated responses, dramatically accelerating FPGA development while optimizing design performance and capability. "Accelerating time-to-market demands and rising design complexity are putting mounting pressure on FPGA developers to do more with every design cycle," said Esam Elashmawi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Lattice Semiconductor. "Lattice Prompt gives developers AI-assisted access to the full design flow, grounded in Lattice's validated knowledge, so they can focus on what matters most: building differentiated systems." Lattice Prompt:
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom