Last year’s optimistic views of a robust 2024 IPO pipeline have waned as we approach the midpoint of the year.
2024 saw four venture-backed tech IPOs—Reddit, Astera Labs, Ibotta, and Rubrik—in March and April, sparking hopes that this year could build on the momentum anticipated in 2023. However, secondary investors and IPO lawyers have indicated that despite these IPOs, macro factors such as the impending presidential election and high interest rates suggest the IPO market won’t completely open up until 2025.
This year is still set to outshine 2023, and we may witness a few more public filings. Companies like Klarna and Shein have been in talks with bankers and appear close, but their IPO timelines remain unclear.
It seems more straightforward to identify which companies won’t go public this year rather than which will. Some late-stage startup CEOs have outrightly stated they don’t plan to IPO in 2024, while other companies have taken financial actions implying a public listing isn’t imminent. Here are some venture-backed tech companies we don’t expect to go public this year:
- Plaid: CEO Zach Perret mentioned at an Axios event in March that the B2B fintech had no plans to IPO in 2024. This echoes what Truth Voices’s Mary Ann Azevedo reported last October following the company’s hiring of a new CFO. Plaid’s latest valuation was $13.4 billion in 2021.
- Figma: While the design unicorn hasn’t directly stated its IPO plans, its actions suggest otherwise. In May, Figma made a tender offer, allowing existing investors and employees to sell shares on the secondary market. This type of liquidity event typically doesn’t precede an IPO. The tender offer valued Figma at $12.5 billion, lower than Adobe’s $20 billion offer but higher than its last primary valuation of $10 billion.
- Stripe: Earlier this year, the fintech unicorn conducted a tender offer for its current and former employees. In February, Stripe announced a secondary sale that valued the company at $65 billion, down from its $95 billion valuation in 2021. Stripe seems poised to build up its valuation more before going public.
- Databricks: The AI cloud platform likely won’t go public this year, despite VC investors predicting it would be the first to do so. Last fall, Databricks raised $500 million in a Series I round, valuing the startup at $43 billion. While raising funds right before an IPO is uncommon, the investors involved, such as T. Rowe Price, are typically supportive of IPOs when market conditions improve. Databricks could be among the first to IPO in 2025 if they choose.
- Canva: It’s unlikely that Canva will go public until at least next year, with a potential wait until 2026. Co-founder Cliff Obrecht mentioned to Startup Daily that an IPO wouldn’t happen for at least 12 months, possibly as late as 2026. When Canva does go public, it will do so in the U.S.
We are closely monitoring the late-stage startup and exit markets and will update this information as needed.
