Why the US Private Markets Leaped Ahead in 2025 While Asia Stayed Stagnant, and How NED Helps Close the Gap

In 2025 the private capital markets in the United States entered a new phase of maturity that few in Asia fully recognized.

The numbers tell the story. Global secondary transactions hit $103 billion in the first half of 2025 alone, up 51% from the prior year and setting a new six-month record. Blackstone predicts the market will reach $220 billion for the full year and $400 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, Asian VC and PE funds continue posting DPI ratios 15% to 25% lower than their Western counterparts and Bain's 2025 Asia-Pacific Private Equity Report ranks "challenging exit conditions" as the number one concern among Asian GPs.

The US ecosystem moved toward cleaner governance, structured liquidity vehicles, predictable secondary markets, and exit-focused operating models. Asian markets, by contrast, continued operating with the same habits that shaped the region ten years ago. The result has been painful for VCs. DPI weakens, fund cycles stretch, and founders feel trapped in late-stage limbo.

To understand the gap, it helps to look at how US investors reframed private markets during this cycle.

Howard Marks has written for years about the power of transparency, discipline, and aligned incentives in shaping long-term returns. In 2025 those values became embedded into the private market infrastructure itself. US companies preparing for growth rounds or pre-IPO events now enter processes with audit-ready financials, clear cap tables, defined governance rights, and well-structured secondary options. Underwriters, continuation vehicles, and market makers all rely on that clarity.

Think of it like riding a motorcycle in formation. US funds operate like professional racing teams: every bike is maintained to spec, every rider knows the signals, the pit crew is synchronized, and the lead rider can count on the entire pack moving as one unit. When the pace accelerates, nobody hesitates because the systems are already locked in.

Asia has a different story. Many late-stage companies still operate with complex cap tables filled with legacy investors who can't agree on exit timing. Financial statements remain uneven, toggling between local GAAP and unaudited management accounts. Governance bodies lack independent oversight. Secondary liquidity is treated as a sign of distress instead of a strategic tool. Instead of preparing early for exit, many founders still wait for the mythical perfect market window, which rarely arrives in time.

The outcome is predictable. DPI suffers because exits stall. Funds extend lifecycles past ten years. Founders lose negotiating power with both acquirers and investors. And analysts in the US often view Asian assets as interesting but operationally messy, which depresses valuation multiples even when revenue growth is strong.

In conversations with dozens of VCs across Singapore, Korea, India, and Indonesia this year, the same frustration repeats. They see US markets accelerating. They see US institutional investors demanding more structure and more discipline. They see Asian founders pushing harder but not breaking through. Everyone agrees on the diagnosis, but very few have a clear operational playbook to close the gap.

This is where NED fits in.

Our work across Asian late-stage companies focuses on the structural issues that suppress valuation and slow exits. We help founders rebuild their capital stack so that it is legible to US investors. We help companies prepare dual-standard audits (US GAAP or IFRS alongside local standards), tighten governance, simplify share classes, and remove blockers that underwriters dislike. We design SPVs and secondary processes that release pressure rather than signaling weakness. And we build operating cadences that turn chaotic execution into exit-ready momentum.

The most important shift NED brings is the idea that exit readiness is not something you start at the end. It is an operating system that begins twelve to eighteen months before a formal process. When done correctly, this system raises valuation before a single new dollar of revenue arrives.

Here's the motorcycle analogy again. Most Asian founders are riding solo at high speed with no backup plan, no pit crew, and no clear idea when the next fuel station appears. They're fast. They're skilled. But when something breaks or when the road changes, they're stuck on the shoulder watching the pack disappear over the horizon. NED doesn't just fix the bike. We build the entire support system so that when you accelerate into the final stretch, you're riding with confidence, precision, and infrastructure that gets you across the finish line first.

Asia has the talent and the innovation to match the United States. What it lacks is the structure.

The gap is fixable and we work every week with VCs who want their portfolio leaders to break out of stagnation and reach the valuation levels their technology deserves. We've seen it happen. Companies that were stuck at $400M suddenly command $1.2B valuations after restructuring their cap table and governance. Founders who couldn't get a single term sheet from a US strategic buyer suddenly run competitive dual-track processes because they cleaned up their data rooms and built KPI scorecards that institutional buyers trust.

The private market world in 2025 rewards clarity. NED helps Asian founders build it.

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1.  CAIS, "What's Behind the Continued Growth in Private Markets Secondaries?," 2025, https://www.caisgroup.com/articles/whats-behind-the-recent-growth-in-private-markets-secondaries.

2.  Ropes & Gray LLP, "U.S. Private Equity Market Recap - October 2025," October 2025, https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/alerts/2025/10/us-pe-market-recap-october.

3.  Wellington Management, "Asia's evolving venture capital market," August 20, 2024, https://www.wellington.com/en-sg/intermediary/insights/asias-evolving-venture-capital-market.

4.  Bain & Company, "Asia-Pacific Private Equity Report 2025," 2025, https://www.bain.com/insights/asia-pacific-private-equity-report-2025/.