IPO is an abbreviation for initial public offering, which means the company sells shares for the first time. Investors often use this to look for popular growth stocks. When a company first goes public, it often carries a considerable growth scale and valuation, causing a sensation in the market. What noteworthy IPOs will the world see in 2023? This article comprehensively compares the opinions of consulting and investment companies, and sorts out ten companies with promising development.
1. Stripe: $68 billion
Founded in 2011, Stripe specializes in developing software to integrate bank payment systems and online platforms. The electronic payment business has benefited from the popularity of online shopping. During the epidemic period, related demand has increased significantly. Customers include large companies such as Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Zoom. The valuation in the fall of 2022 is about 68 billion US dollars.
Management consulting firm Accenture predicts that the global payment systems market could reach $2 trillion by 2025.
2. Instacart: $10 billion to $39 billion
Instacart has been a rumored potential IPO for years because it has the potential to be one of the largest IPOs, valued in the tens of billions of dollars. Instacart has done well during the pandemic, as it offers peace of mind and favored consumers by offering grocery delivery to their homes.
The March 2021 funding round is valued at $39 billion. However, with the advent of the post-epidemic era, the number of consumers has dropped sharply. According to “The Information”, as of January 2023, Instacart has cut its internal valuation to US$10 billion.
3. Mobileye: $17 billion
Mobileye manufactures chips and software for autonomous driving and advanced driver-assistance systems. The world is very optimistic about being a subsidiary of Intel (Intel). Because people’s strong demand for chips and semiconductors is unlikely to subside and are ubiquitous, revenue will reach 2021. $1.4 billion.
Intel acquired it for US$15 billion in 2017, and intends to continue to be a major shareholder after Mobileye’s IPO, which is likely to happen in the first half of the year. Mobileye’s IPO filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is valued at $17 billion.
4. Reddit: $10 billion
Reddit is one of the most popular online discussion forums in the United States. It even has a title of “the home page of the whole network”, allowing people with similar interests to find a place to exchange and discuss. Reddit’s last round of financing was valued at US$10 billion, but the social media profit model seems to be in an endless loop. Although Reddit’s daily active users are still considerable, digital advertising has also shrunk significantly, with revenue falling from an estimated US$421 million in 2021 to At $350 million, Fidelity Investments slashed Reddit’s valuation by 36% to reflect the broader market’s decline.
5. Discord: $10 billion
The Discord service includes text and voice messages and video calls. Like-minded users with special interests can use Discord to interact, especially gamers and enthusiasts.
“CNBC” reported that monthly active users have grown at an alarming rate, from 56 million in 2019 to 150 million by the end of 2021. It was rumored that Microsoft (Microsoft) once intended to acquire Discord for tens of billions of dollars.
The financing valuation in 2021 is nearly 15 billion US dollars. However, Fidelity Investments will reduce its valuation by 32% in 2022, returning to $10 billion.
6. Databricks: $31 billion to $38 billion
Databricks is a tech unicorn with top investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), BlackRock, Tiger Global Management, and Fidelity Investments. 2023 is likely to be a multi-billion dollar IPO , so it is noticeable.
Databricks, which specializes in cloud data infrastructure, was valued at $38 billion in 2021 but dropped to $31 billion in October 2022. However, there are many competitors, including the recent IPO Snowflake and Confluent.
7. Chime Financial: $25 billion
Chime offers a bank-like financial app that offers free accounts to customers and is popular with consumers, with more than 12 million active users as of 2021. Chime applied for an IPO in 2022, but financial technology stocks fell by 40% from June of that year. Chime’s IPO plan was therefore shelved, but the situation may improve in 2023.
Chime faces the typical dilemma of many IPO technology companies: when planning an IPO, market conditions may be unfavorable; but on the other hand, if it can withstand the pressure and pre-empt its competitors to go public, it will be able to receive investor support first. Chime’s most recent high valuation is $25 billion by the end of 2021, but investors expect a decline.
8. SpaceX: $143 billion
SpaceX is the most ambitious project of Musk (Elon Musk), developing multi-purpose rockets and spaceships, and the low-orbit satellite “Starlink” (Starlink) provides satellite networks for 45 countries. The 2022 market cap is estimated at $143 billion.
In 2022, the number of Starlink active users will soar by more than 300%, reaching one million, and the revenue may reach US$1 billion. SpaceX is developing a space tourism service.
Launching space rockets is not cheap and requires strong financial resources. Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital are the largest investors. Unlike other IPO companies, SpaceX’s valuation has risen in the latest financing round.
9. VinFast: $60 billion
VinFast is the Singapore subsidiary of Vingroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate worth US$5 billion; VinFast produces electric vehicles, the latest brand in the industry. Hope to use IPO to continue rapid expansion, build factories in the United States, and grasp the American demand for electric vehicles.
VinFast once stated that it intends to raise US$60 billion through an IPO, but the overall environment is not optimistic. In addition to market turmoil and increasingly fierce competition in the field of electric vehicles, VinFast seems to be too ambitious. In addition, VinFast said that the factory will not be able to mass-produce until 2024, and the variables may make investors retreat.
10. Epic Games: $28 billion to $30 billion
Epic Games is the developer of “Fortnite” (Fortnite), a game with about 400 million users; it also makes “Gears of War” (Gears of War) very popular, but Epic Games’ 400 million users only have about 3 million to 4 million million active.
It has raised $4.4 billion since its founding in 1991, with a 2020 valuation of $28 billion. Investors’ favor for video games may bring Epic Games’ IPO price close to $30 billion in 2023, and more than 30 years of hard work should facilitate the IPO.
Spoiler: Ant Financial’s IPO failure revives?
Back in November 2020, China’s Ant Financial Services Group planned to raise US$37 billion to go public. The predecessor of Ant Financial Services Group was Alipay, but the “largest IPO plan since the world’s own capital market” was canceled at the last minute.
Three years later, Ant Group announced on January 7 this year that Ant Financial adjusted its shareholder structure. Chairman Ma Yun’s voting rights changed from more than half of 53.46% to 6.208%. Ant no longer has the surname “Ma”.
Some analysts are optimistic that Jack Ma can pave the way for Ant Group to re-list after it is no longer the actual power holder. It’s just that due to relevant regulations, we need to wait another 1 to 3 years.
