Rise of Tools for Private Markets

Interview Snapshot

Rohit Yadav: Eric, great to have you. Could you share the origin story of Revere and the mission you're trying to solve?
Eric Woo: Thanks, Rohit. The mission really emerged from my time as an institutional allocator. Despite having staff and analysts, the process was still highly manual, and the data usage was inefficient. My co-founder, Chris Shen, came from the family office world—different LP flavors, same frustrations. So we built Revere with a simple mission: to bring greater transparency through data and to automate the manual. AI now allows us to do this better than ever. Ultimately, it’s about helping investors make faster, better, and smarter decisions in private markets.

"Private markets are by default private, so inefficiencies and opacity are built into the system…. We’re moving from flip phone to Blackberry—and the iPhone moment for software in private markets is just around the corner…. AI is eating very meaningful parts of how workflows are happening today.”

Rohit Yadav: Where do you see Revere in the next three to five years?
Eric Woo: A year ago, I might've had a clearer picture. But AI is evolving so fast, we’re now living through what I’d call the “flip phone to Blackberry” phase of software. Around the corner is iPhone moment for private market tooling—truly transformative. So while I can’t say exactly what Revere will look like, I’m excited because we’re building right at that inflection point.

Rohit Yadav: So you're staying focused on tools and transparency in private markets?
Eric Woo: Absolutely. It starts with pristine data—aggregated, normalized, refreshed. That’s the foundation. Once we have good data, everything else follows: portfolio reallocation, new investment assessments, and ultimately better returns with lower risk. As more capital shifts toward private markets, the demand for that infrastructure only grows.

"There’s a human behind every investment decision—AI can assist, but not replace that…. Portfolio tools need to evolve alongside their users, not remain static…. As AI automates workflows, we need to reintroduce the human and community layer."

Rohit Yadav: Let’s zoom out. Why are private markets becoming such a portfolio priority?
Eric Woo: There’s the math behind diversification and returns, sure. But there’s also human emotion. Private markets used to feel exotic. Now, they’re exciting. Yields from private credit can beat treasuries. Next-gen family offices want a piece of venture—it’s social, strategic, and emotionally engaging. We’re at the tail end of democratizing access, and the mainstream is just getting started.

"The short-term opportunity is defining the data lake—centralized, normalized, connected…. Longer-term, public and private data will converge—and we’ll see the next Bloomberg terminal born…. Friction is the biggest barrier—both front-office and back-office processes are still painful."

Rohit Yadav: How has that access evolved—are we seeing it just at the startup level?
Eric Woo: It’s everywhere now—funds, secondaries, private credit. AngelList made startup and fund investing accessible for as little as $2,000. IRA regulations are opening up illiquid investments. And wealth advisors at firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs now offer alternatives to clients as part of the core portfolio. It’s more institutionalized.

Rohit Yadav: Yet most of these new-age alternative investment technology platforms are still small relative to the asset class. What needs to happen for real growth?
Eric Woo: The keyword is friction. Back-office processes in private markets are painfully manual. In public markets, everything is smooth—you log in, and it's all there. Private markets still lag behind. On the front end, it's death by a thousand paper cuts—so many small deals, each requiring time and effort. Reducing this friction—on both sides—is key.

Rohit Yadav: And how are family offices adapting to this space?
Eric Woo: It comes down to sophistication. Some are very well staffed and capable of managing private portfolios. Others are driven by FOMO—wanting to be in the next SpaceX. The motivation—whether financial returns or strategic exposure—shapes their entire approach to investing, access, and reporting.

Rohit Yadav: That’s a good segue into tools and portfolio solutions. The ecosystem’s booming. Can you map the landscape for us?
Eric Woo: I recently worked on a market landscape exercise that split the space into six or seven categories, each with 10 to 50 companies. Every step of the private investing workflow now has point solutions—from discovery, to diligence, to analytics. It’s healthy, but also chaotic. Many of these companies will need to expand beyond their narrow focus or consolidate.

Rohit Yadav: Where is the most exciting growth?
Eric Woo: Short-term: building the data lake. Everyone’s data lives in silos—normalizing that is step one. Longer-term: merging public and private markets into a unified interface. Think Bloomberg Terminal 2.0—except it’ll be AI-native, with public and private data seamlessly integrated. That’s a massive opportunity.

Rohit Yadav: What’s the investor’s top concern right now—discovery, infrastructure, something else?
Eric Woo: Discovery’s important, but what they really want is reliability. They want tools that work. If the data’s wrong one in a hundred times, that’s catastrophic. LPs need confidence. And they want tools that evolve with them—new dashboards, new needs—they want flexibility, not rigid systems.

Rohit Yadav: How does geography factor in? Are the same tools and needs seen across the U.S., Asia, and beyond?
Eric Woo: Needs are shaped more by sophistication than geography, but geography still matters. For example, in Japan, processes are still highly manual—Excel and pen-and-paper. The threshold for pain is higher. But that’s changing. Adoption curves vary, but the need for efficiency is global.

"GPs are naturally curious—they're great adopters of new tools and technologies…. LPs are more methodical, but once onboarded, they're loyal and willing to expand relationships…. Reliability is the top expectation from LPs. The tool must work—every single time."

Rohit Yadav: Let's talk GPs versus LPs. Where’s the most tool innovation happening?
Eric Woo: GP tooling is moving the fastest. GPs are curious and under-resourced—they love testing new tools. Think AI-driven deal screening, memo creation, scraping pitch decks—it’s all booming. LPs are slower, more process-driven, but when they commit, it’s high-stakes and high-reward. Their contracts are bigger and stickier.

Rohit Yadav: And what’s AI’s top use case for GPs right now?
Eric Woo: It’s replacing analysts for basic tasks—research, summarizing pitch decks, generating memos. It’s great for speed. But it doesn’t replace human judgment, especially in venture, where assessing a founder still needs that human touch.

Rohit Yadav: For LPs, you mentioned reliability. Anything else top-of-mind?
Eric Woo: Reliability comes first. But also, the system has to grow with them. If they want a new dashboard or a new report, they want it in minutes—not months. The product has to evolve alongside their portfolio.

Rohit Yadav: Let’s close on the future. Where is this all going?
Eric Woo: Ironically, as we automate more, we’ll need to reintroduce the human layer. Private markets were always about relationships. Software will scale the data and analytics, but trust and access—those will always be human. The future will blend automation with community and human interaction.

"Every few months, something interesting shifts in this tooling ecosystem…. Private markets require both software scalability and human judgment…. We’re building the infrastructure for what’s coming next—at scale, with intelligence."

Rohit Yadav: Beautifully said. I love the concept of “relationship alpha.” That blend of tech and trust is exactly what makes private markets so unique. Thanks for your time, Eric. This was phenomenal.
Eric Woo: Thank you, Rohit. Great to be here.