Goldman Sachs has launched a new alternative investments platform aimed at wealthy clients and family offices wanting direct ownership in private, fast-growing companies. This initiative merges Goldman’s existing alternatives business with two newly created teams that specialize in direct investments in individual private firms and facilitating the trading of these stakes. The platform is designed to give clients access to promising private companies before they eventually go public, reflecting a rising trend of startups staying private longer and creating substantial value outside public markets.

Kristin Olson, Goldman’s global head of alternatives for wealth, emphasized that the firm’s focus is on later-stage companies with established products and revenues, which strike a balance between risk and reward. The firm’s experience includes arranging early investments in firms like Facebook before its 2012 IPO, as well as in SpaceX, Stripe, and Canva. The move to formally segment this business comes as demand surges among investors eager to partake in growth companies prior to their public market debuts.

The alternative investments platform also encompasses a new secondary advisory group, created to expand the marketplace for buying and selling stakes in private companies. This group will assist clients seeking liquidity or exit opportunities for both Goldman-managed and external private investments, addressing an important need as investors increasingly look to manage their private holdings actively. This development underscores Goldman’s strategy to deepen its wealth and asset management services with steadier revenue streams compared to traditional investment banking.

Goldman’s announcement coincided with the firm’s report of record quarterly revenue driven largely by AI-related activity across its divisions, further validating its positioning in the evolving investment landscape. The firm is guiding clients toward not only AI-focused companies but also infrastructure supporting AI, such as data centers. This shift highlights how Goldman adapts its private markets approach to emerging technology trends, aligning client investment opportunities with the broader tech innovations reshaping Wall Street today.