Finance
Companies Gone Public in 2021: Visualizing IPO Valuations
Companies Gone Public in 2021: Visualizing Valuations
Despite its many tumultuous turns, last year was a productive year for global markets, and companies going public in 2021 benefited.
From much-hyped tech initial public offerings (IPOs) to food and healthcare services, many companies with already large followings have gone public this year. Some were supposed to go public in 2020 but got delayed due to the pandemic, and others saw the opportunity to take advantage of a strong current market.
This graphic measures 68 companies that have gone public in 2021 — including IPOs, SPACs, and Direct Listings—as well as their subsequent valuations after listing.
Who’s Gone Public in 2021?
Historically, companies that wanted to go public employed one main method above others: the initial public offering (IPO).
But companies going public today readily choose from one of three different options, depending on market situations, associated costs, and shareholder preference:
- Initial Public Offering (IPO): A private company creates new shares which are underwritten by a financial organization and sold to the public.
- Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC): A separate company with no operations is created strictly to raise capital to acquire the company going public. SPACs are the fastest method of going public, and have become popular in recent years.
- Direct Listing: A private company enters a market with only existing, outstanding shares being traded and no new shares created. The cost is lower than that of an IPO, since no fees need to be paid for underwriting.
The majority of companies going public in 2021 chose the IPO route, but some of the biggest valuations resulted from direct listings.
Listing Date | Company | Valuation ($B) | Listing Type |
---|---|---|---|
08-Jan-21 | Clover Health | $7.0 | SPAC |
13-Jan-21 | Affirm | $11.9 | IPO |
13-Jan-21 | Billtrust | $1.3 | SPAC |
14-Jan-21 | Poshmark | $3.0 | IPO |
15-Jan-21 | Playtika | $11.0 | IPO |
21-Jan-21 | Hims and Hers Health | $1.6 | SPAC |
28-Jan-21 | Qualtrics | $15.0 | IPO |
09-Feb-21 | Metromile | - | SPAC |
11-Feb-21 | Bumble | $8.2 | IPO |
26-Feb-21 | ChargePoint Holdings | - | SPAC |
03-Mar-21 | Oscar Health | $7.9 | IPO |
10-Mar-21 | Roblox | $30.0 | Direct Listing |
11-Mar-21 | Coupang | $60.0 | IPO |
23-Mar-21 | DigitalOcean | $5.0 | IPO |
25-Mar-21 | VIZIO | $3.9 | IPO |
26-Mar-21 | ThredUp | $1.3 | IPO |
31-Mar-21 | Coursera | $4.3 | IPO |
01-Apr-21 | Compass | $8.0 | IPO |
14-Apr-21 | Coinbase | $86.0 | Direct Listing |
15-Apr-21 | AppLovin | $28.6 | IPO |
21-Apr-21 | UiPath | $35.0 | IPO |
21-Apr-21 | DoubleVerify | $4.2 | IPO |
05-May-21 | The Honest Company | $1.4 | IPO |
07-May-21 | Lightning eMotors | $0.82 | SPAC |
07-May-21 | Blade Air Mobility | $0.83 | SPAC |
19-May-21 | Squarespace | $7.4 | Direct Listing |
19-May-21 | Procore | $9.6 | IPO |
19-May-21 | Oatly | $10.0 | IPO |
26-May-21 | ZipRecruiter | $2.4 | Direct Listing |
26-May-21 | FIGS | $4.4 | IPO |
01-Jun-21 | SoFi | $8.7 | SPAC |
02-Jun-21 | BarkBox | $1.6 | SPAC |
08-Jun-21 | Marqueta | $15.0 | IPO |
10-Jun-21 | Monday.com | $7.5 | IPO |
16-Jun-21 | WalkMe | $2.5 | IPO |
22-Jun-21 | Sprinklr | $3.7 | IPO |
24-Jun-21 | Confluent | $9.1 | IPO |
29-Jun-21 | Clear | $4.5 | IPO |
30-Jun-21 | SentinelOne | $10.0 | IPO |
30-Jun-21 | LegalZoom | $7.0 | IPO |
30-Jun-21 | Didi Chuxing | $73.0 | IPO |
16-Jul-21 | Blend | $4 | IPO |
21-Jul-21 | Kaltura | $1.24 | IPO |
21-Jul-21 | DISCO | $2.5 | IPO |
21-Jul-21 | Couchbase | $1.4 | IPO |
23-Jul-21 | Vtex | $3.5 | IPO |
23-Jul-21 | Outbrain | $1.1 | IPO |
28-Jul-21 | Duolingo | $3.7 | IPO |
28-Jul-21 | Riskified | $3.3 | IPO |
29-Jul-21 | Robinhood | $32.0 | IPO |
22-Sep-21 | Toast | $22.0 | IPO |
22-Sep-21 | Freshworks | $10.1 | IPO |
23-Sep-21 | Remitly | $6.9 | IPO |
28-Sep-21 | Amplitude | $6.4 | Direct Listing |
29-Sep-21 | Warby Parker | $6.0 | Direct Listing |
14-Oct-21 | GitLab | $11.0 | IPO |
27-Oct-21 | Rent the Runway | $1.7 | IPO |
29-Oct-21 | Udemy | $4.0 | IPO |
03-Nov-21 | Allbirds | $2.2 | IPO |
04-Nov-21 | NerdWallet | $1.2 | IPO |
10-Nov-21 | Rivian | $66.5 | IPO |
10-Nov-21 | Expensify | $2.2 | IPO |
11-Nov-21 | Winc | - | IPO |
11-Nov-21 | Weave | - | IPO |
17-Nov-21 | UserTesting | - | IPO |
17-Nov-21 | Braze | $6.0 | IPO |
18-Nov-21 | Sweetgreen | $3.0 | IPO |
09-Dec-21 | Nubank | $41.0 | IPO |
Though there are many well-known names in the list, one of the biggest through lines continues to be the importance of tech.
A majority of 2021’s newly public companies have been in tech, including multiple mobile apps, websites, and online services. The two biggest IPOs so far were South Korea’s Coupang, an online marketplace valued at $60 billion after going public, and China’s ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, the year’s largest post-IPO valuation at $73 billion.
And there were many apps and services going public through other means as well. Gaming company Roblox went public through a direct listing, earning a valuation of $30 billion, and cryptocurrency platform Coinbase has earned the year’s largest valuation so far, with an $86 billion valuation following its direct listing.
Big Companies Going Public in 2022
As with every year, some of the biggest companies going public were lined up for the later half.
Tech will continue to be the talk of the markets. Payment processing firm Stripe was setting up to be the year’s biggest IPO with an estimated valuation of $95 billion, but got delayed. Likewise, online grocery delivery platform InstaCart, which saw a big upswing in traction due to the pandemic, has been looking to go public at a valuation of at least $39 billion.
Of course, it’s common that potential public listings and offerings fall through. Whether they get delayed due to weak market conditions or cancelled at the last minute, anything can happen when it comes to public markets.
This post has been updated as of January 1, 2022.
Finance
Charted: How Long Does it Take Unicorns to Exit?
There are roughly 1,400 unicorns—startups worth $1 billion or more. How many years does it take these giants to get acquired or go public?
How Long Does it Take For Unicorns to Exit?
For most unicorns—startups with a $1 billion valuation or more—it can take years to see a liquidity event.
Take Twitter, which went public seven years after its 2006 founding. Or Uber, which had an IPO after a decade of operation in 2019. After all, companies first have to succeed and build up their valuation in order to not go bankrupt or dissolve. Few are able to succeed and capitalize in a quick and tidy manner.
So when do unicorns exit, either successfully through an IPO or acquisition, or unsuccessfully through bankruptcy or liquidation? The above visualization from Ilya Strebulaev breaks down the time it took for 595 unicorns to exit from 1997 to 2022.
Unicorns: From Founding to Exit
Here’s how unicorn exits broke down over the last 25 years. Data was collected by Strebulaev at the Venture Capital Initiative in Stanford and covers exits up to October 2022:
Years (Founding to Exit) | Unicorn Example | Number of Unicorns 1997‒2022 |
---|---|---|
1 | YouTube | 10 |
2 | 31 | |
3 | Groupon | 41 |
4 | Zynga | 43 |
5 | Salesforce | 36 |
6 | Alphabet (Google) | 51 |
7 | Tesla | 35 |
8 | Zoom | 59 |
9 | Coursera | 44 |
10 | Uber Technologies | 45 |
11 | WeWork | 46 |
12 | Airbnb | 35 |
13 | Credit Karma | 18 |
14 | SimilarWeb | 19 |
15 | 23andMe | 15 |
16 | Sonos | 11 |
17 | Roblox | 12 |
18 | Squarespace | 6 |
19 | Vizio | 9 |
>20 | Cytek | 17 |
Overall, unicorns exited after a median of eight years in business.
Companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Indeed are among the unicorns that exited in exactly eight years, which in total made up 10% of tracked exits. Another major example is Zoom, which launched in 2011 and went public in 2019 at a $9.2 billion valuation.
There were also many earlier exits, such as YouTube’s one-year turnaround from 2005 founding to 2006 acquisition by Google. Groupon also had an early exit just three years after its founding in 2008, after turning down an even earlier acquisition exit (also through Google).
In total, unicorn exits within 11 years or less accounted for just over three-quarters of tracked exits from 1997 to 2022. Many of the companies that took longer to exit also took longer to reach unicorn status, including website company Squarespace, which was founded in 2003 but didn’t reach a billion-dollar valuation until 2017 (and listed on the NYSE in 2021).
Unicorns, by Exit Strategy
Broadly speaking, there are three main types of exits: going public through an IPO, SPAC, or direct listing, being acquired, or liquidation/bankruptcy.
The most well-known are IPOs, or initial public offerings. These are the most common types of unicorn exits in strong market conditions, with 2021 seeing 79 unicorn IPOs globally, with $83 billion in proceeds.
2021 | 2022 | % Change | |
---|---|---|---|
# Unicorn IPOs | 79 | 13 | -84% |
Proceeds | $82.9B | $5.3B | -94% |
But the number of IPOs drops drastically given weaker market performance, as seen above. At the end of 2022, an estimated 91% of unicorn IPOs listed since 2021 had share prices fall below their IPO price.
A less common unicorn exit is an SPAC (special purpose acquisition company), although they’ve been gaining momentum and were used by WeWork and BuzzFeed. With an SPAC, a shell company raises money in an IPO and merges with a private company to take it public.
Finally, while an IPO lists new shares to the public with an underwriter, a direct listing sells existing shares without an underwriter. Though it was historically seen as a cheaper IPO alternative, some well-known unicorns have used direct listings including Roblox and Coinbase.
And as valuations for unicorns (and their public listings) have grown, acquisitions have become less frequent. Additionally, many major firms have been buying back shares since 2022 to shore up investor confidence instead of engaging in acquisitions.
Slower Exit Activity
While the growth of unicorns has been exponential over the last decade, exit activity has virtually ground to a halt in 2023.
Investor caution and increased conservation of capital have contributed to the lack of unicorn exits. As of the second quarter of 2023, just eight unicorns in the U.S. exited. These include Mosaic ML, an artificial intelligence startup, and carbon recycling firm LanzaTech.
As exit activity declines, companies may halt listing plans and eventually slow expansion and cut costs. What’s uncertain is whether or not this lull in unicorn exits—and declining influx of private capital influx—is temporary or part of a long-term readjustment.
-
Money7 days ago
Visualizing All of the U.S. Currency in Circulation
-
Stocks2 weeks ago
Ranked: South Korea’s Largest Companies by Market Capitalization
-
VC+2 weeks ago
What’s New on VC+ in March?
-
Markets2 weeks ago
Confidence in the Global Economy, by Country
-
Wealth2 weeks ago
Mapped: Where Do the Wealthiest People in the World Live?
-
Misc1 week ago
Ranked: Global Airlines with the Most Plane Crashes
-
Technology1 week ago
Visualizing iPhone 15 Production by Manufacturer in 2023
-
Automotive1 week ago
Visualizing Global Electric Vehicle Sales in 2023, by Market Share