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IPO Watch 2020

In 2019, an influx of high-profile unicorns made their long-anticipated public market debuts. Although the number of unicorns to go public was up this year versus 2018, the total number of IPOs was down 17.4%, and the total proceeds raised were down 1.3% from last year. That said, market performance has trended upward year-to-date.

Source: https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/Stats

As we move into 2020, we expect to see several unicorns hit the public market, and we expect more to shirk the traditional IPO for a direct listing route.

Here are some companies who have expressed plans to IPO in 2020, as well as a few that are speculated to be amping up for a public offering.

* = MV Portfolio Company

IPO Update: 2019

Airbnb*

Industry: Consumer Services

Last Round: $1B (9/5/2018)

Estimated Valuation: $35B (3/2019)

Airbnb offers a peer-to-peer market for booking travel accommodations around the world, as well as curated experiences. Since we last discussed Airbnb’s IPO prospects, the company has announced plans to go public in 2020, with many speculating that the company is preparing for a direct listing.

Asana

Industry: Enterprise Software

Last Round: $50M (11/29/2018)

Estimated Valuation: $900M (11/2018)

Asana is an enterprise platform that helps companies manage their workload and project timelines. Earlier this month, it was reported that the company is also considering a direct listing in 2020. Founded by a Facebook co-founder, the task management platform has reportedly crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, growing more than 90% in 2018.

Casper

Industry: Consumer Goods

Last Round: $100M (3/27/2019)

Estimated Valuation: $1.1B (3/2019)

Casper, a Direct-to-consumer mattress company, is reportedly working with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to prepare for a 2020 IPO. Although the company is relatively young, (founded in 2014), it has already raised more than $340 million in total funding to date.

DoorDash

Industry: Consumer Services

Last Round: $100M (11/13/2019)

Estimated Valuation: $12.6B (11/2019)

DoorDash, an on-demand food delivery service, is reportedly pursuing a 2020 direct listing. Between UberEats, Postmates, and GrubHub the food delivery landscape is crowded, but recent data shows that the company saw 114% year-over-year growth as of October.

DraftKings

Industry: Sports Betting

Last Round: Undisclosed Series F (10/14/2018)

Estimated Valuation: $1B-$10B (9/19/2018)

Founded in 2012, Draft Kings offers online fantasy sports contests and sports betting. Recently, the company announced plans to go public in a deal that will merge DraftKings with Diamond Eagle Acquisition (NASDAQ:DEAC), a special purpose acquisition company, and SBTech, a technology and trading services provider that specializes in gaming companies. Once finalized, it’s expected that this merger will bring DraftKings valuation up to an estimated $3.3 billion.

GitLab

Industry: Information Technology

Last Round: $268M (9/12/2019)

Estimated Valuation: $2.75B (9/2019)

GitLab is an open-source code collaboration platform where developers can store, create, review, and deploy code. Ahead of their anticipated late 2020 IPO, the company’s most recent round of funding doubled its valuation from the previous round. Whether the company hits its target IPO date remains to be seen.

S-1 101: How to Read an S-1 Filing

Instacart*

Industry: Consumer Services

Last Round: $271M

Estimated Valuation: $7.6

Founded in 2012, Instacart is an on-demand grocery delivery service boasting partnerships with Kroger, ALDI, Sam’s Club, and more. While no IPO date has been set, CNN has quoted Instacart CEO, Apoorva Mehta, as saying that an IPO is “on the horizon. Since inception, the company has expanded to 15,000 stores across 4,000 cities in the U.S.

Palantir*

Industry: Information Technology

Last Round: ~$900M (7/1/2019)

Estimated Valuation: $20.53B (7/2019)

Palantir, the highly secretive data-mining company, has had investors speculating about a possible IPO for the last few years. While some speculate the public debut could happen in 2020, others estimate that it will be a few years yet. Either way, when Palantir does take the plunge, it will be a big moment for investors who have been chomping at the bit.

Postmates*

Industry: Consumer Services

Last Round: $225M (9/19/2019)

Estimated Valuation: $2.4B (9/2019)

Another food delivery service, Postmates, which had plans to IPO in 2019, has delayed its public debut, citing unstable market conditions. When the company goes public in 2020 likely depends on how the market shakes out. If and when the company does list, it is expected to IPO.

Robinhood*

Industry: FinTech

Last Round: $50M (10/29/2019)

Estimated Valuation: $7.6B (10/2019)

Robinhood, the zero-fee stock trading app that is highly popular with millennials, has taken steps to ready itself for an IPO, including hiring a CFO. Starting out as just a stock trading app, the company has since expanded into other services, including crypto trading.

Snowflake

Industry: SaaS

Last Round: $450M (10/11/2018)

Estimated Valuation: $3.9B (10/2018)

Snowflake provides data warehousing designed for the cloud. From August 2018 to August 2019, the company’s revenues were up 237%, employee count doubled, and new customers quadrupled. While there isn’t a hard indication that the company will go public in 2020, CEO Frank Slootman, has said that the company is in “scaling mode” and that they are “preparing our systems, compliance, and processes for going public.”

Topgolf*

Industry: Media & Entertainment

Last Round: Undisclosed Series F (11/2017

Estimated Valuation: $2.1B (11/2017)

Topgolf is a high tech driving range that offers patrons interactive golf-based games as well as food and drink. The company operates 56 locations around the world and plans to open 14 new locations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, which could be due to upcoming IPO plans. According to an October 2019 report by Reuters, the company is in talks with investment banks to hire underwriters for a speculated 2020 IPO.

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