Klarna Confidential Filing + CoreWeave, Netskope, and Vuori
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Here’s the Access IPOs newsletter sent to subscribers on November 15th, 2024. Subscribe to the newsletter for the more significant IPO and venture capital news delivered in your inbox. You’ll also receive exclusive offers for subscribers.
Table of Contents
Klarna Files Confidentially
On November 12th, Klarna announced it has filed confidentially for an IPO with the SEC (F-1 for foreign companies). The Swedish company has chosen the U.S. over Europe for its IPO, following Spotify’s path.
Klarna is a fintech and e-commerce company that provides consumers with a comparison shopping platform and flexible payment options, commonly called a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service.
Klarna is a long-time potential IPO. Its valuation peaked in 2021 at almost $46 million. Down here on Earth, pre-IPO marketplaces like Hiive estimate its value to be closer to $11 billion.
The SEC will provide feedback. Once integrated, we hope to see Klarna launch in Q1 2025.
CoreWeave Hires Banks for 2025 IPO
CoreWeave provides cloud access to Nvidia’s HGX H100 chips, which give superior GPU processing for training AI large language models (LLM) and AI imaging applications.
It provides smaller AI startups with the appropriate level of computing needed for complex modeling, who could otherwise not afford to build their own computing infrastructure.
CoreWeave is near to closing a $23 billion private round (I’ve seen evidence it’s closer to $24 billion).
Bloomberg recently reported that CoreWeave has hired Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan to lead its IPO.
The Information first reported (in May 2024) that CoreWeave planned to IPO in the first half of 2025.
The recent Bloomberg report strengthens that timeline. CoreWeave is one of a handful of pure-play AI darlings poised to cash in on the AI bubble revolution. CoreWeave is listed as “coming soon” on Linqto.
Netskope IPO Expected in the Second Half of 2025
Netskope is a cloud-native security company that offers software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to data-centric enterprises. It’s planning an IPO in the second half of 2025, according to a WSJ report.
A successful 2024 cybersecurity IPO by Rubrik has paved the way for Netskope to move forward. This company conducted its Series H in November 2021 at a $7.5 billion valuation and hasn’t raised since, suggesting profitability.
The Hiive marketplace puts its private valuation at around $4 billion, but the public market frenzy could take it much higher, which would easily pocket profits for VC participants in Series G and earlier.
ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Accel, Sequoia Capital, and Social Capital all stand to gain.
Vuori Tender Offer Means Delayed IPO
Athleisure-wear startup Vuori was on our list of expected Upcoming IPOs in 2024, thanks to a September 2023 Bloomberg tease.
But a different set of Bloomberg scoopers just reported that the company is conducting a $825 million tender offer at a $5.5 billion valuation to bring liquidity to employees and early investors.
Those wanting liquidity are getting it, suggesting there’s no need for an IPO in the near future.
My X/Twitter tweet on the topic prompted @IPODave to respond: “How bout just IPOing the damn company – that’s how you can bring liquidity”.
His point, to which we’ve all been frustrated, is that the VC bros are holding onto these pre-IPO companies to hog all the gains.
When employees speak up in frustration, companies tender shares to shut them up.
The markets are so concentrated at the top (AAPL, NVDA, MSFT, etc.) that it could use some fresh companies to better distribute our collective wealth.
Stripe, Databricks, and many others should just go public for better public market liquidity to the benefit of passive investors.
This trend is what’s driving ordinary investors to invest at the pre-IPO level, to own and gain from the world’s most innovative startups before going public.
IPO Radar
Here are the latest IPO Radar articles. I’m settling into a writing pace of about one per week.
Agility Robotics — Humanoid robots born out of Oregon State University aim to take over physically demanding tasks, freeing people to focus on more meaningful work. The company is on track to raise $150 million, valued at $1 billion.
Quantinuum — This quantum computing company is majority-owned by Honeywell and valued at about $5 billion. In July, Bloomberg reported it plans to IPO in 2025 at a $10 billion valuation. This is the first quantum computing startup I’ve profiled, igniting my interest. Expect more new profiles in the coming month. If you’re looking for the next powerful trends (Crypto, AI), quantum computing may be it. Check out the 60 Minutes video embedded in that post.
Conclusion
That’s all for this edition of the Access IPOs Newsletter. Reply to the newsletter email or comment below if you have any feedback.
Featured photo via DepositPhotos used under license.
Craig Stephens is a former IT professional who left his 19-year consulting career at the IRS to be a full-time finance writer. A DIY investor since 1995, he started Access IPOs in 2016 to provide a resource for ordinary investors pursuing access to IPOs. Craig studied Finance at Michigan State University and lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three children. Learn more about Craig.
