From Crunchbase Daily
In past years, we’ve mostly covered venture-backed tech and tech-ish IPOs in this perennial list of startups going public. Occasionally, a direct listing here and there would make the list, but the vast majority of companies going public were doing so through a traditional IPO. This year looks like it will be a bit different, with the increasing popularity of SPACs and new rule changes making direct listings more favorable, now that companies can raise capital through that route.
So, we’ve adapted our ever-updated Here’s Who’s Gone Public list to fit more with the times, and are including both traditional IPOs and other methods of going public. So far this year, that means IPOs and SPACs.
While SPACs are going public at a more frequent pace than traditional IPO companies, we’ve included only the ones that have completed a merger with a target company and begun trading as a combined company.
This list will be updated regularly to keep up with the robust IPO and SPAC pipeline coming up this year, so be sure to check back.
Most recently updated: April 8, 2021
IPOs
Affirm
- IPO date: Jan. 13, 2021
- IPO price: $49
- IPO valuation: $11.9 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Positive
In the first venture-backed tech-ish IPO of the year, Affirm saw its stock price jump 100 percent on its first day of trading before closing out at $97.24. Affirm is a big player in the increasingly-popular “buy now, pay later space,” which includes companies like AfterPay and Klarna. Since it went public in mid-January, the company’s stock has moved up and down, but overall its trajectory has been positive. Affirm’s stock closed at $105.55 on Feb. 18.
Poshmark
- IPO date: Jan. 14, 2021
- IPO price: $42
- IPO valuation: $3 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Negative
Poshmark’s stock price doubled pretty much right out of the gate, and ended up closing out its first day of trading up 140 percent. The company, which operates a marketplace for new and second-hand clothing and accessories, reached a valuation of $3 billion with its IPO, one of the first of this year. But since Poshmark’s public market debut, its stock has fallen quite a bit. The company’s stock closed at $68.39 on Feb. 18.
Playtika
- IPO date: Jan. 15, 2021
- IPO price: $27
- IPO valuation: $11 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Positive
Gaming is all the rage as people look to stay entertained at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The market response to Playtika reflects that. Playtika’s stock price since its mid-January debut has been mostly positive. The company’s stock closed at $32.56 on Feb. 18, still above its first day of trading close of $31.62.
Qualtrics
- IPO date: Jan. 28, 2021
- IPO price: $30
- IPO valuation: $15 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Positive
Qualtrics’ IPO was significant for a couple different reasons. It wasn’t a traditional venture-backed tech company going public, but one that had already been acquired. After SAP acquired the company in 2018 before Qualtrics’ planned IPO, SAP ended up spinning it out in 2021. The IPO was also significant because it ended up being the largest IPO of a Utah-based company. Qualtrics’ public debut valued the company at $15 billion, and its stock price arc has been positive since. Qualtrics’ stock closed at $44.63 on Feb.18.
Bumble
- IPO date: Feb. 11, 2021
- IPO price: $43
- IPO valuation: $8.2 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Positive
Bumble’s IPO made founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd a billionaire and the youngest woman to take a company public. It was also a big deal for Texas’ tech scene, as the dating app is a homegrown Austin company. The company raised $2.15 billion through its IPO and its stock closed 64 percent above its IPO price on its first day of trading. Overall, its post-IPO arc since then has been positive, and its stock closed at $74 on Feb. 18.
Oscar Health
- IPO date: March 3, 2021
- IPO price: $39
- IPO valuation: $7.9 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Negative
As of this writing, Oscar Health has been a public company for less than three days. So, its negative post-IPO arc should be taken with a grain of salt — especially because the market in general dipped at the end of its first week of trading. That said, Oscar’s public market debut wasn’t like many of the venture-backed IPOs we’ve seen recently where the stock surges right out of the gate. The company initially set a price range of between $32 and $34 before increasing it to between $36 and $38, and pricing at $39. The company closed its first day of trading at $34.80, and its stock closed at $31 on Friday, March 5.
- IPO date: March 11, 2021
- IPO price: $35
- IPO valuation: $60 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Negative.
While Coupang’s stock popped around 40 percent on its first day of trading, it has trended mostly down since the company went public nearly a month ago. When the company went public in March, it made Coupang the largest IPO of the year so far, according to CNBC. The South Korean e-commerce company’s stock closed at $45.58 on Thursday, April 8.
- IPO date: March 23, 2021
- IPO price: $47
- IPO valuation: $5 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Negative.
DigitalOcean didn’t exactly start its time trading on the public markets on a high note. The company opened and closed its first day of trading below its IPO price, and its stock has pretty much gone down since then. Since DigitalOcean has been a public company, its stock hasn’t reached the IPO price of $47 that the company had set. The company closed its first day of trading at $42.50, and closed at $40.25 on Thursday, April 8.
- IPO date: March 25, 2021
- IPO price: $21
- IPO valuation: $3.9 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Positive.
VIZIO finally made it public this year after filing for an IPO for a second time (it first filed in 2015). The company had a less-than-stellar debut when it began trading at the end of March, with its stock opening nearly 17 percent below its IPO price of $21. Since then, the company’s stock price has increased, reaching a high of $24.72 on March 30. VIZIO’s stock price has tapered off a bit since then, closing at $21.95 on Thursday, April 8.
- IPO date: March 26, 2021
- IPO price: $14
- IPO valuation: $1.3 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Negative.
While ThredUp saw its stock close around 43 percent above its IPO price of $14 on its first day of trading, its stock has trended down since it went public at the end of March. ThredUp closed at $18.39 on Thursday, April 8. The company is one of a handful of clothing and accessories resale companies to go public in recent years, including Poshmark and The RealReal.
- IPO date: March 31, 2021
- IPO price: $33
- IPO valuation: $4.3 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Positive.
Coursera closed its first day of trading at $45, about 36 percent above its IPO price. Since then, the company’s stock price has gone up, closing at $56 on Thursday, April 8. It makes sense given what a big year the edtech space has had. Coursera marks the first major edtech IPO of the year, though it’s possible it won’t be the last. Other edtech companies rumored to be 2021 IPO candidates include Duolingo and Udemy.
- IPO date: April 1, 2021
- IPO price: $18
- IPO valuation: $8 billion
- Initial post-IPO arc: Negative.
Compass’ IPO comes after a busy year for the residential real estate market. The company, which operates like a brokerage but gives agents a suite of digital tools to better market themselves, raised about $450 million through its IPO. However, in the week that Compass has been public, its stock price has fallen slightly, closing at $21.90 on Thursday, April 8, below its IPO price. The company priced its shares at $18, the low end of its IPO range, after lowering its price range from between $23 and $26 to between $18 and 19.
Direct Listings
- First day of trading: March 10, 2021
- Reference price: $45
- Valuation: $30 billion
- Initial arc: Positive.
Roblox marks both the first major direct listing of the year (in terms of tech companies) and one of the most-anticipated public debuts for gaming companies. The company’s stock surged 43 percent above its reference price and has had a generally positive trend since then, though of course there have been dips here and there. Roblox’s stock closed at $70.76 on Thursday, April 8.
SPACs
Clover Health
- First day of trading: Jan. 8, 2021
- SPAC proceeds: Up to $1.2 billion
- SPAC valuation: $7 billion, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal
- Initial stock price arc: Negative
Clover Health was the first VC-backed company to go public via a special purpose acquisition company, with Chamath Palihapitiya’s SPAC, Social Capital Hedosophia V, acquiring the company. The company’s stock since the merger was completed in early January has trended negatively since it started trading, though, with its stock closing at $10.83 on Feb.18.
Billtrust
- First day of trading: Jan. 13, 2021
- SPAC valuation: $1.3 billion
- Initial stock price arc: Positive.
Payment cycle management platform Billtrust went public in mid-January after merging with South Mountain Merger Corp. The company raised $115 million in funding while private and announced plans to go public via a SPAC in the fall. Since the company’s stock started trading, its initial arc has been positive. Billtrust’s stock closed at $18.80 on Feb. 18.
Hims and Hers Health
- First day of trading: Jan. 21, 2021
- SPAC proceeds: $280 million
- SPAC valuation: $1.6 billion, according to Forbes
- Initial stock price arc: Positive
Hims and Hers Health, which initially started out as a company aimed toward men’s health issues, went public after merging with special purpose acquisition company Oaktree Acquisitions Corp. The deal was among the first major VC-backed SPAC mergers to be completed in 2021, and raised proceeds of about $280 million. Since the combined company’s stock started trading, its stock price has been trending up and closed at $19.01 on Feb. 18.
ChargePoint Holdings
- First day of trading: Feb. 26, 2021
- SPAC proceeds: $450 million, according to Inside EVs.
- Initial stock price arc: Negative
Companies in the electric vehicle space are evidently popular targets for SPACs, and ChargePoint is among them. The company, which is based in Campbell, California, went public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp. Since the company completed the merger on Feb. 26 and began trading (closing at $30.83 last week), its stock has fallen a bit, closing at $26.13 on Friday, March 5.
Metromile
- First day of trading: Feb. 9, 2021
- SPAC proceeds: Unclear
- Initial stock price arc: Negative
Digital insurance platform Metromile went public by merging with blank-check company INSU Acquisition Corp. II. The company, which is backed by investors including Index Ventures and Future Fund, follows other insurtech companies like Lemonade and Root to the public market, though through a SPAC rather than a traditional IPO. The company’s stock has mostly trended down since then, closing at $10.45 on Friday, March 5.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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