Powered by machine learning, PitchBook Valuation Estimates delivers an independent valuation framework for private companies
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PitchBook, the leading private capital market intelligence platform, today announced the launch of PitchBook Valuation Estimates, the industry’s first daily, standardized valuation framework designed to improve transparency in private markets by delivering a consistent, independent, and data-informed valuation signal across thousands of VC-backed companies. Built to reflect how markets are pricing companies today—not at the last funding event—the model combines machine learning with PitchBook’s best-in-class private market data, public market signals, and deep capital structure insight to deliver market-informed valuations.
Private market valuations are back in focus as median valuations in 2025 have surpassed 2021 highs across most investment stages, driven by intense competition for AI-native companies. While AI startups are commanding significant valuation premiums and outsized step-ups, much of the broader venture market remains under pressure, with companies that haven’t raised since 2022 or 2023 increasingly facing valuation discounts. This disconnect is also evident at exit, where more than half of IPOs are pricing below their most recent private valuations, highlighting the risks of relying on stale private market pricing. Valuation concentration has further intensified, with the 10 largest US unicorns accounting for more than half of total unicorn value, even as nearly half of all unicorns have not been revalued in the past three years.
Launching with coverage of more than 15,000 VC-backed companies, Valuation Estimates provides investors, advisors, and auditors with a transparent framework they can apply consistently across portfolios, sectors, and market cycles. Unlike traditional valuation approaches that rely on lagging financials, infrequent third-party marks, or limited comparable transactions, PitchBook Valuation Estimates continuously incorporates observed public and private market data to produce a mark-to-market valuation signal. The model updates companies’ last known valuation using relevant public and private comparables and incorporating company-specific indicators such as employee growth and company age to generate a consistent, market-aligned view of private company value.
“PitchBook Valuation Estimates is a major step forward for the industry, helping investors assess private company value with greater confidence in a market that has long operated without a clear valuation benchmark,” said Rod Diefendorf, President and COO at PitchBook. “It addresses the industry’s biggest barrier, transparency, by delivering a daily valuation framework built on the most comprehensive private market data available. As the pulse of the private capital markets, PitchBook is helping customers navigate complexity by setting a new standard for private market valuations.”
Integrated directly into the PitchBook platform, Valuation Estimates supports critical workflows across the private capital lifecycle, including deal sourcing and pricing, portfolio monitoring, risk management, and fund-level modeling. Investors can compare companies to peers in a more timely way, improve pricing confidence in M&A and fundraising discussions, monitor valuation risk across portfolios, and plan for liquidity with greater precision. Powered by PitchBook and Morningstar data, Valuation Estimates are refreshed daily, ensuring estimates reflect evolving market conditions while maintaining a consistent methodology across companies, sectors, and portfolios.
“Our goal was to establish a valuation standard that reflects how private markets actually function today. As the market has become more dynamic and liquidity more uneven, pricing can vary widely depending on who is transacting and why, creating real noise around private company valuations,” said Nizar Tarhuni, EVP of Research and Market Intelligence at PitchBook. “Valuation Estimates sets a consistent valuation anchor by combining what the market has been willing to pay with indicators that track company progress between funding rounds, powered by PitchBook’s extensive experience analyzing private markets, working with clients, and observing how valuation gaps emerge across market cycles. The result is a first-of-its-kind framework that provides a clearer signal investors can rely on.”
The launch builds on PitchBook’s expanding suite of AI and ML-driven tools, including PitchBook’s VC Exit Predictor and PitchBook Navigator, further reinforcing the firm’s position as a trusted, independent authority on private market intelligence. PitchBook plans to expand Valuation Estimates with additional data inputs and deeper workflow integrations. Future enhancements will introduce greater user flexibility, including custom input analysis and complementary predictive insights designed to support portfolio planning and exit timing.
For more information about PitchBook Valuation Estimates, click here.
About PitchBook, a Morningstar company
As the pulse of private capital markets, PitchBook delivers trusted, real-time data, research, and technology to help investors, dealmakers, and innovators make decisions with confidence. Its products provide comprehensive information on companies, investors, funds, deals, and people, along with tools that help professionals analyze market activity and make informed decisions. Founded in 2007, PitchBook today serves more than 100,000 clients worldwide and is recognized as the leading source of private capital market intelligence. PitchBook has grown to over 3,000 employees across offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, London, Singapore, Mumbai, and other global locations. Since 2016, PitchBook has operated as a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc.
For more information, visit www.pitchbook.com.
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