Investor dreams last year of a robust 2024 IPO pipeline are fading, if not disappearing entirely, as we move into the second half of the year.
This year, four venture-backed tech IPOs in March and April — Reddit, Astera Labs, Ibotta and Rubrik — looked like they might finally generate the momentum investors were hoping for in 2023. But secondary investors and IPO lawyers recently told TechCrunch that despite the success of these four deals, the IPO market won't fully reopen until 2025 or later, given macro conditions such as the looming presidential election and rising interest rates.
This year is expected to be a better one than 2023, with several more IPO filings expected to occur this year. Companies like Klarna and Shein are in talks with banks and the deadline appears to be approaching, but the IPO timeline remains unclear.
In most cases, it may be easier to determine which companies won't go public this year than those that will. Some late-stage startup CEOs have stated that they won't go public in 2024, while others have made financial moves that suggest a public listing is not imminent. Here are some venture-backed tech companies we expect won't go public this year.
Skims
Kim Kardashian's lingerie and loungewear brand Skims is planning to hit the IPO market, but not this year. The five-year-old company, valued at nearly $4 billion, is still being touted by many investors as a likely IPO candidate this year, despite its young age. However, The Information reports that Skims won't make the IPO push until early 2025 at the earliest.
chime
Chime, a 12-year-old challenger bank and fintech startup, has been on many investors' IPO wish lists ever since it withdrew its 2022 IPO plans, citing market conditions. The company appears to be moving toward an IPO, having approached banks, according to The Information, but it's not due to go public in 2024. It's worth noting that Chime's mutual fund backers have increased the fintech's valuation by 25% in the past six months, according to secondary data platform Capright, a positive reversal after nearly two years of steep declines.
Core Weave
New Jersey-based AI company CoreWeave closed a $1.1 billion Series C round in May, raising one of the largest late-stage venture funding rounds so far this year. The startup announced another $7.5 billion in debt capital a few weeks later. Such funding rounds hint that CoreWeave won't IPO this year, but The Information has also heard from sources that the company is pursuing plans for a 2025 IPO. The seven-year-old startup's valuation has increased 42% since its Series C, according to Caplight data, suggesting it's in no rush to go public and has room to grow while remaining private.
Sword Health
AI-powered virtual physical therapy startup Sword Health is planning an IPO, but not until at least 2025, Sword founder and CEO Virgílio Bento recently told TechCrunch. The startup just raised $30 million in new stock at a $3 billion valuation, as well as a $100 million employee tender offer, further evidence that it's in no rush to go public.
Plaid
At an Axios event in March, Plaid CEO Zach Perret said the B2B fintech doesn't plan to IPO in 2024. This is in line with what TechCrunch's Mary Ann Azevedo reported last October after the company hired a new CFO. Plaid's most recent valuation was $13.4 billion in 2021.
Figma
Design unicorn Figma hasn't said it won't IPO this year, but its actions suggest it will. The company made a tender offer in May, allowing existing investors and employees to sell Figma shares on the secondary market if they wanted to. This type of liquidity event doesn't typically happen right before a larger IPO. The tender offer valued the startup at $12.5 billion, lower than the $20 billion Adobe was willing to pay but higher than the $10 billion valuation Figma received in its last primary round.
stripe
Stripe also made a tender offer to current and former employees earlier this year. In February, the fintech unicorn announced it would go public at a massive $65 billion valuation. While that's lower than the $95 billion valuation the company received in 2021, the company is building up its valuation again. This is a sign that Stripe is looking to build up a bit more valuation before going public.
Databricks
AI cloud platform Databricks is also likely not on the 2024 calendar. That may be disappointing for venture capital investors who expected it to be the first to go public last year. The company raised $500 million in new capital in a Series I round last fall, valuing it at $43 billion. While companies don't usually raise money right before going public (after all, that's part of the IPO process), the investors who raised money in this round were crossover investors like T. Rowe Price. They're not the type of investors who tend to be against IPOs. If market conditions improve, Databricks is well-positioned to be one of the first public companies in 2025 if they want to.
Canva
Canva likely won't go public until at least next year, with the design startup likely waiting until 2026. Cliff Obrecht, co-founder and husband of Canva CEO Melanie Perkins, told Australian and New Zealand tech publication Startup Daily in March that an IPO is at least 12 months away, or maybe even 2026. But fortunately for U.S. investors, Obrecht made it clear that if the startup were to consider going public, it would do so in the United States.
TechCrunch is monitoring the late-stage startup and exit market and will continue to update this article. If you have any tips or suggestions you'd like to share with us, please reach out to us at rebecca.szkutak@techcrunch.com.
This post was originally published on May 24. It was subsequently updated on June 11 and Aug. 7 to include additional companies.