Goldman Sachs launches private markets platform for wealthy clients

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Goldman Sachs private markets platform

Highlights

Goldman Sachs launched a new alternative investments platform for wealthy clients, consolidating direct investing and secondary trading in private companies under one structure.
The platform specifically targets later-stage private companies with established revenue, addressing client demand to access private growth firms before their public listings.
Record quarterly revenue and AI-driven momentum prompted Goldman Sachs to expand its private markets advisory, aiming to capture increased investor interest in private and AI-related infrastructure assets.

Platform combines direct investing and secondary trading

As first reported by CNBC, the new alternative investments platform brings together Goldman Sachs' existing alternatives business with two newly created teams under one structure. The platform is designed to help wealthy clients take direct stakes in individual private companies and to support trading in those holdings, according to a memo seen by the outlet.

One of the new teams focuses on direct investments in private companies rather than broader private equity funds. The other is centered on helping clients buy and sell those stakes, formalizing a business that Goldman has already been building around private investment liquidity.

Kristin Olson, Goldman Sachs' global head of alternatives for wealth, says client demand has increasingly centered on gaining access to large private growth companies before they list publicly. She says the firm is generally targeting later-stage businesses with established products, meaningful revenue and clearer routes to profitability, seeking a balance between risk and return.

Wall Street trends and AI demand support the strategy

Goldman's move reflects a broader Wall Street shift toward wealth and asset management businesses that are viewed as more stable than investment banking and trading. It also comes as successful startups remain private for longer, leaving much of their value creation with early and private-market investors rather than public shareholders.

Olson says Goldman has arranged direct investments in later-stage private companies for wealthy clients for roughly two decades, including access to Facebook before its 2012 initial public offering and later to companies such as SpaceX, Stripe and Canva. She says rising demand for the asset class led executives to separate and define the business more clearly.

The AI investment boom is also increasing interest in the strategy. Beyond model developers, Goldman is steering clients toward AI-related infrastructure opportunities, including data centers and similar projects, as the bank looks to capture more of the investment activity tied to the sector.

The launch comes days after Goldman reports record quarterly revenue, with executives highlighting AI-related momentum across investment banking, trading and financing. The new secondary advisory group is expected to broaden the firm's marketplace for private holdings and advise clients seeking exits from investments held outside Goldman.

In our earlier article on Goldman Sachs (GS) price analysis, we noted that the stock was trading well above key weekly moving averages, signaling a strong bullish structure despite some near-term volatility. The report also highlighted how solid financial results and ongoing institutional interest were supporting sentiment, while outlining key technical levels traders were watching—particularly support near $1,030 and resistance around $1,140.

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