.Why stay out of public markets? Several factors explain why these record-valued companies have not (yet) taken the plunge. First, the abundance of private capital in recent years enables them to fund themselves without tapping public markets. Giant funds (venture capital, sovereign wealth funds, large institutional investors) have eagerly poured billions into AI, space and fintech, convinced of the sectors' potential. "The influx of capital into private markets in recent years has given companies the flexibility to stay private longer - sometimes indefinitely" notes Morgan Stanley. In short, rather than endure stockmarket swings, these companies prefer to control the timetable. Elon Musk, for instance, has said he would only make SpaceX public once Starlink's revenues are sufficiently predictable and stable. According to the Wall Street Journal and The Information, the US giant is considering an IPO in late 2026. Likewise, the political or regulatory backdrop can slow a listing: ByteDance faced pressure from US authorities demanding the divestment of TikTok's US operations, making any IPO risky until the dispute was resolved. Another major reason: maintaining control. Remaining private allows founders and executives not to dilute their decision-making power. Without answering to a multitude of public shareholders, they can pursue a long-term vision. They avoid the pressure of quarterly results and the transparency requirements that come with being listed. For example, OpenAI - structured as a capped-profit company - can invest heavily in AI research without fearing the immediate reaction of shareholders seeking short-term profits. Similarly, ByteDance or SpaceX can steer investments (into audacious projects like Mars colonization for SpaceX, or in-house AI chips for ByteDance) without the level of public scrutiny a listing would bring. Confidentiality around strategic financial data (margins, R&D spend, etc.) is also an advantage: these companies do not have to disclose everything publicly, which protects them against competitors. The benefits of staying private Beyond cyclical reasons, these giants derive structural benefits from staying private. First, they tap colossal private financing that spares them the constraints of an IPO. OpenAI is a striking example: in 2023-2025, the AI startup raised unprecedented sums, notably via a $6.6bn share sale to investors including SoftBank and others, propelling its valuation to $500bn. Anthropic also raised $13bn in a round led by Google, Amazon and others, doubling its valuation in a few months. It has never been easier for unlisted companies to raise such sums - a sign that private equity