An offering of a company’s shares prior to its initial public offering (IPO). Subscribing to shares prior to an initial public offering is usually associated with high risks, particularly the risk that the offering may never be culminated, and the risk that the shares at that stage are not officially registered and holders may not be able to sell them before completion of the initial public offering process. Pre-IPO is a late-stage for a private firm to raise capital ahead of its listing on a public exchange.

In most cases, the shares offered prior to an offering are priced substantially lower than at the post-IPO stage.