Calm Before the IPO Storm

This newsletter was sent to subscribers on April 30th, 2024. Subscribe to receive the next one. 

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Ibotta and Rubrik both had successful IPOs since my last newsletter. Ibotta jumped 17% on its first trading day, and Rubrik up 15.6%.

Meanwhile, Reddit is still 33% above its IPO price and Astera Labs is up 136% since its debut.

These recent IPOs indicate a healthy appetite for new offerings, which should lead to more throughout 2024. Here’s the ongoing list of IPOs completed in 2024.

There is one meaningful IPO this week, Viking Cruises (VIK), on Wednesday.

​StubHub is expected in late summer, and others have indicated they are coming.

But we have few imminent IPO leads right now.

As long as the market holds, we could start to see significant volume in the second half of the year leading into 2025.

I’ll be monitoring the S-1 feed for any changes. Exciting IPO filings can drop any day.

OpenAI Added to Fundrise Innovation Fund

The Fundrise Innovation Fund*​ invested in the hottest pre-IPO startup on the planet: OpenAI.

Fundrise announced the holding after the ARK Venture Fund disclosed its position (mentioned in the last newsletter). Those of us long both funds now own OpenAI two different ways.

Some think OpenAI is the next trillion-dollar company. It recently surpassed $2 billion in annualized revenue, so it has a ways to go.

AI may also be in a bubble right now. Many companies are building similar LLMs. But OpenAI’s first-mover advantage should keep it in the lead for years to come. The big question is whether it will ever become a public company.

I may sound like a broken record about the Innovation Fund but I’m very enthusiastic about owning tomorrow’s IPOs today.

It offers incredible pre-IPO access for a $10 minimum investment. U.S.-based non-accredited investors are welcome. Own OpenAI, Databricks, Anthropic, Canva, ServiceTitan, and Anduril all in one fund.

Read my Fundrise Innovation review for the latest updates. 

Radar

I write one or two of these breakdowns every week and update previous articles when significant news hits the wires.

Here are the latest:

• ​Navan— A corporate travel and expense reporting SaaS that is rapidly taking market share from legacy laggards.
• ​Notion— Pre-IPO marketplace Hiive* suggests the productivity platform is valued at about $6 billion, down from its $10 billion valuation in October 2021.
• ​Perplexity— The AI search alternative to Google is raising funds at a $2.5-$3 billion valuation, 6X higher than January 2024.
• ​xAI— Elon’s OpenAI competitor is closing in on an $18 billion valuation.
• ​Rippling— The HR SaaS company is reportedly raising funds at a $13 billion valuation.
• ​Lacework— Wiz is looking to acquire the cloud security platform for $150-$200 million, down from its $8.3 billion peak valuation in November 2021. Ouch. This fall could be a sign of what’s to come with other overvalued 2021 fundraisers.
• ​11 Fintech Startupsin the IPO Pipeline

I’m using Hiive* now to get bid/ask data for private startups. It’s free to sign up and get access to market data. It’s an active marketplace for many high-profile private companies (e.g., SpaceX, Databricks).

Social Connections

• ​Access IPOs on Google News— Access IPOs is now an official news source on Google News.
• ​Access IPOs on Flipboard— I’m experimenting with this new-to-me content platform. Please give me a follow if you’re on there.
• ​Private Facebook Group— We discuss IPO pricings and allocations as they happen. 77+ strong.
• ​X/Twitter— I tweet venture capital and IPO news and insights.
• ​Facebook Page— Yep, that too.

Conclusion

That’s all for this edition of the April 30th Access IPOs Newsletter. Reply to this email if you have any feedback.

The newsletter is now semimonthly, meaning you’ll receive a new email on the 15th and last day of each month.

Thanks for reading.

Craig Stephens

Founder – Access IPOs

Featured photo via DepositPhotos used under license.