Connectivity Is the Private Secondaries Moat
Noel Moldvai and Adam Crawley, co-founders of Augment, on software-enabled secondaries markets
Connectivity is the moat because private secondaries volume is still fragmented across brokers, banks, wealth managers, and niche platforms, not concentrated in one destination. Augment is trying to sit in the middle as the execution layer, so orders can flow in from many endpoints, get matched faster, and close with less manual back and forth. That matters because speed and breadth of distribution are what turn a thin brokered market into something that starts to feel liquid.
-
Augment seeded the marketplace through independent broker dealers because much of the market still runs through relationship driven brokers, and those brokers want software for order books, client portals, KYC, and execution. Plugging into them brings immediate buy and sell flow without hiring a giant in house brokerage team.
-
The strategic model is similar to exchange infrastructure in other markets. In 2023, the goal was API connectivity with brokerages, wealth managers, and other marketplaces. By 2026, that expanded into the wealth channel, RIAs, and retail brokerages, where integrations act as distribution rails that can unlock more demand without forcing customers onto one standalone app.
-
This also explains the importance of data products from firms like Caplight and Zanbato. In private markets, participants need recent trades and pricing context before they trust an order book. The more connected the venues are, the easier it is to aggregate price signals, tighten spreads, and make execution feel credible rather than opaque.
The market is heading toward a hub and spoke structure, where a few platforms own supply, trust, and execution while many advisors, brokers, and consumer apps provide the front end. If Augment keeps adding integrations and distribution, it moves closer to being the underlying exchange layer for private company liquidity, not just another place to post an order.