Today’s Disruptors are Tomorrow’s IPOs

This Access IPOs newsletter was sent to subscribers on May 15th, 2024. Subscribe to get the next one in your inbox. 

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IPO filings have been sleepy the past few weeks, so today’s newsletter highlights some interesting venture capital and startup news.

Monitor the ​S-1 feed​ for any changes. Exciting IPO filings can drop any day.

CNBC’s 2025 Disruptor 50 List

Yesterday, CNBC released its 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 List.

Predictably, ​OpenAI​ is at the top of the list for a second year. People just can’t get enough of this startup. Don’t hold your breath about an IPO. You have to own it pre-IPO to benefit from its growth.

CEO Sam Altman said on June 2023:

When we develop superintelligence, we are likely to make some decisions that most investors would look at very strangely. I don’t want to be sued by the public market, Wall Street, etc., so no, not that interested [in an OpenAI IPO]. — Sam Altman

Notably, OpenAI and the bold companies listed below are all investable today via the ​Fundrise Innovation Fund​*​​​ for a $10 minimum investment.

Rounding out the top ten list:

1. OpenAI
2. ​Anduril​
3. ​Stripe​
4. ​Brex​
5. ​Databricks​
6. ​Canva​
7. ​Anthropic​
8. ElevateBio
9. Wiz
10. Exotec

I’ve analyzed and written about seven of the top 10, but only 16 of the 50 disruptors on CNBC’s list. I have my work cut out for me!

Some of the more interesting startups include:

• Carbon Robotics — Laser weed-killing machines for industrial farms
• Gecko Robotics — Robots for assessing critical infrastructure
• Beewise — Tools for saving honeybees as climate changes
• Octopus Energy — Smart grids in the U.K.
• Solugen — Sustainable chemical plant to decarbonize the world.

AI, robotics, climate, food storage and refrigeration, and fintech seem to dominate the list. But nearly every company claims some kind of AI or machine learning is driving its business models. Just a few years ago, everyone claimed to be using blockchain!

Here’s a link to the ​full list​.

Required Reading for Retail VC Investors

The New York Times recently published an article called ​Tensions Rise in Silicon Valley Over Sales of Startup Stocks​ (there’s a paywall, but hopefully you can find a way around it).

The article highlights the Destiny Tech 100 Fund (DXYZ), ​Hiive​*, the Fundrise Innovation Fund, and the ARK Venture Fund and how they make it easier for retail investors to own startups.

But not everyone is happy about it.

One interesting note is that DXYZ claims to own Stripe and Plaid stocks via “forward contracts”. Stripe warns, “Any offer to invest in its shares that does not come from the company is very likely a scam.”

Plaid says it “does not recognize shares acquired in this manner.”

This article is a key piece of reporting to help understand retail investment options as appetite for startup shares continues to grow.

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:

• ​Zapier​ — An “integrations-platform-as-a-service” (iPaaS) startup that helps companies automate repetitive workflows across digital platforms.
• ​Kraken​ — A cryptocurrency exchange catering to sophisticated traders; a Coinbase and Binance competitor.
• ​WHOOP​ — Cristiano Ronaldo has become an investor and global ambassador for the smart watch startup.
• ​Mistral AI​ — The French LLM developer is raising funds again, this time at a $6 billion valuation.
• ​12 Fintech Startups​ in the IPO Pipeline.

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 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

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Featured photo via DepositPhotos used under license.