Raghav Kapoor, CEO and co-founder of Smartkarma and founder of PvtIQ, dives into the rapidly evolving landscape of Asia's private markets. He discusses the substantial $74 billion investment versus a mere $23 billion return, highlighting a critical capital-exit imbalance. Kapoor sheds light on the need for pre-IPO research and better data transparency, emphasizing how Smartkarma aims to narrow the information gap. He envisions a merging of private and public markets, creating new opportunities for growth and investor engagement.
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insights INSIGHT
From Opacity To Disclosure By Incentives
Early private markets thrived on opacity because capital chased deals, reducing disclosure incentives.
As markets mature, incentives shift toward better price discovery and disclosure.
insights INSIGHT
Fragmentation Creates A Benchmark Problem
Southeast Asia is highly fragmented and underweighted in global indices, limiting passive liquidity.
This creates a benchmark problem that slows institutional flows and necessitates active investors.
insights INSIGHT
Follow The Families To Map Markets
Prominent families and conglomerates dominate Southeast Asian private markets and shape deal flow.
Following family networks is crucial to mapping opportunities and understanding long-term strategies.
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"Public markets are behaving more like private markets. Private markets want to behave more like public markets. So actually, they're just one market.What's not the same is the level of research, information, data disclosure. Correct. That's the only difference. It's this information gap that, to us, is the single biggest opportunity now.We think over the course of the next five to 10 years, there'll be more trading venues, more liquidity providers, more market makers, more investor types—all of that. And I think what Smartkarma has always done is be the information flow for part of capital markets.In fact, that sort of 74 billion number, I think, is quite conservative. I've seen other estimates that are close to 120 billion. So it depends on what you see as sort of growth and what you see beyond. But regardless, I think it’s very large numbers, and the ratio of exit to invested capital is extremely low. A 50 billion hole is a pretty big hole." - Raghav Kapoor, CEO of Smartkarma
Raghav Kapoor, CEO & co-founder of Smartkarma, joined us for a conversation on the launch of PvtIQ and the structural transformation of Asia's private markets. Drawing from his experience building Smartkarma's independent research platform, Raghav explained how client demand for pre-IPO coverage led to creating PvtIQ, an intelligence platform designed to bridge the critical information gap in Southeast Asia's private markets. We discussed the striking imbalance where $74 billion has been invested into the region's tech ecosystem but only $23 billion has been returned through exits, highlighting the urgent need for better data infrastructure and price discovery. Raghav shared unique insights on how families dominate the region's investment landscape, why private and public markets are converging into one, and his vision for PvtIQ to become the intelligence backbone supporting companies, investors, and regulators in bringing more transparency and efficiency to Asia's rapidly evolving private market ecosystem.
Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Raghav Kapoor [00:57]] Smartkarma launches PvtIQ for Asia's private markets [03:11]] Investors requesting coverage three years before IPO [04:08]] Supporting MAS equity market development program [05:24]] Singapore's public markets languished despite private growth [06:13]] Path from fundraising to public listing explained [08:37]] $74 billion invested, only $23 billion exits [09:45]] Companies need support to achieve IPO readiness [11:00]] Capital chasing deals shifted to improving disclosure [11:57]] Southeast Asia's extreme market fragmentation challenges [13:23]] Families dominate and influence Southeast Asian markets [14:38]] Lack of data creates serious structural challenges [19:01]] Private market investors transitioning from momentum investing [20:18]] Digital banks provide disclosure model for research [21:24]] Late stage private rounds resemble public IPOs [23:26]] Liquidity without information is just volatility [24:06]] Private and public markets converging into one [25:30]] Information gap is the single biggest opportunity [27:00]] Private market research TAM already $8 billion [28:57]] What great looks like: intelligence backbone for Asia's private markets [30:57]] Closing
Profile: Raghav Kapoor, CEO and co-founder, SmartkarmaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ragkap/
Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Recorded in Poddster Singapore
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