Ondo Finance will list its first private-market token referencing an unnamed pre-IPO artificial-intelligence company on its Ondo Perps venue this week, extending a platform that already holds more than $1 billion in total value locked, according to the protocol's Oct. 5 announcement.

The new product, branded Ondo Private Markets, sits on top of an existing tokenized-equity stack that supports more than 450 stocks and ETFs, per the launch release distributed via PR Newswire.

What do buyers actually receive?

Subscribers acquire obligations of the note issuer, not shares in the referenced company, the product FAQ states. They receive no ownership, voting, or other shareholder rights. The instrument functions as an on-chain claim on a future corporate event rather than direct equity exposure.

Holders can keep the tokens in self-custody wallets and transfer them to other eligible holders, according to Ondo. That creates a route to monetize exposure before any payout, though not a guaranteed exit price.

How does the note pay out?

Each note pays the liquidity-event value of one common share, net of tax withholding and settlement fees, per the published summary. The redemption price is fixed at the earliest qualifying event, and the calculation agent decides in good faith whether the trigger has occurred and at what price.

A public listing qualifies only after the referenced company has traded for six months, whether the listing comes through an IPO, a direct listing, or a merger in which shareholders receive listed stock. Other qualifying triggers include:

• Acquisition of majority control
• Bankruptcy or insolvency
• Liquidation of substantially all assets
• Ten years elapsing without an earlier qualifying event

Ordinary funding rounds, employee tender offers, internal liquidity programs, and ordinary secondary sales fall outside the redemption definition.

What does secondary trading look like?

Ondo Perps is named as the secondary trading venue, with around-the-clock trading subject to maintenance windows, risk controls, and issuer-initiated pauses. The Sept. 28 venue update added spot trading for 12 tokenized stocks and ETFs, and Ondo says collateral support for the new private-market notes is "coming soon."

Pricing follows a continuous double-auction model: buyers and sellers set the price themselves, with no public-market benchmark or consensus reference for the private company. Ondo warns that quotes can diverge sharply from both the latest private valuation and the eventual note payout, and that spreads may widen in thin conditions.

Who can subscribe?

The product's eligibility rules bar U.S. persons, anyone placing orders from within the United States, and intermediaries acting on their behalf, the FAQ states. The Ondo Perps terms separately exclude users in Canada, Panama, and other restricted jurisdictions, alongside sanctioned persons.

Primary offerings may route through selected distribution partners and Ondo Private Client. The FAQ does not specify whether issuer obligations are collateralized or identify custody arrangements for any backing assets. Full offering documents, which control the contractual terms, will be supplied to eligible clients before subscription.

What changes operationally next?

The private-market notes plug into the same rail as Ondo's listed-equity products, where 24/7 spot trading and perpetuals collateral functionality went live in late September. With collateral support still listed as "coming soon," the next milestones are the first secondary prints on Ondo Perps and, further out, the calculation agent's designation of any qualifying liquidity event tied to the unnamed AI target.