CoreWeave Upcoming IPO: Looking to secure a public debut in 2025
While some startups pivot due to their initial business models not working, others find that their first ventures naturally lead toward a more lucrative adjustment. The latter is what CoreWeave says happened, after starting as a crypto mining company in 2017 before shifting to serving as a cloud computing infrastructure provider, especially for AI workloads, due to customer demand. After buying up graphical processing units (GPUs) and data centers in its first couple years, CoreWeave found itself in position to offer advanced computing power to other businesses, and it's been rapidly growing ever since.3
For a while, CoreWeave flew under the radar. The company came "out of nowhere," as co-founder and chief strategy officer Brannin McBee told VentureBeat in 2023.4 Now, CoreWeave is one of the hottest AI-related startups and it's gearing up for a potential IPO in 2025.
Already, CoreWeave has tapped Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan to lead its IPO that's being planned for next year, according to Bloomberg.5
CoreWeave: Company background
CoreWeave is a cloud computing company that provides large-scale computing power, such as for companies that want to run AI applications or do visual effects (VFX) rendering.
CoreWeave was founded in 2017 by Michael Intrator, Brian Venturo, and Brannin McBee, whose backgrounds are in commodities trading. The company was originally called Atlantic Crypto, as it was formed to mine Ethereum.6 Since then, the company has shifted to offering cloud infrastructure, including via a partnership with Nvidia where it buys up Nvidia GPUs to help offer computing power to other businesses.7
Feeding the AI frenzy
As companies across sectors increasingly incorporate AI into their businesses, they need more computing power, much like the shift toward cloud computing caused businesses to tap providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Today, CoreWeave competes in some ways with these giant cloud providers, but CoreWeave specializes in areas like AI and VFX computing infrastructure. So, in many ways, CoreWeave competes more with other GPU cloud providers like Lambda Labs, Tencent, or Together AI other AI-related startups.8
CoreWeave has a strong partnership with Nvidia, using the chipmaker's GPUs to offer high-powered computing capabilities to other businesses.9 Nvidia is also an investor in CoreWeave.10
Amidst the AI frenzy, CoreWeave has seen its revenue grow from $30 million in 2022 to $500 million in 2023, with almost $2 billion reportedly booked for 2024, according to VentureBeat.11 CoreWeave also reportedly signed an agreement with Microsoft last year that could be worth several billion over multiple years, according to CNBC.12 So, while CoreWeave in some ways competes with cloud providers like Microsoft, it can also be a client of these types of diversified tech companies that need additional computing power.
Meanwhile, CoreWeave is quickly building out more data centers to feed demand, with an expectation to open 28 globally by the end of 2024 and 10 more in 2025. Yet it has taken on substantial debt as part of its build-out. In the 18 months prior to October 2024, CoreWeave said it raised $12.7 billion from both equity and debt investors, including a $7.5 billion debt financing facility in May 2024 led by Blackstone and Magnetar.13
CoreWeave stock price history
CoreWeave's funding round price per share has grown exponentially amidst the AI boom, climbing 601% from its Series B in May 2023 to its Series C in May 202414
In comparison, the Forge Private Market Index — a broad measurement that reflects the up-to-date performance and pricing activity of venture-backed, late-stage companies that are actively traded in the private market — has only gained 3.9% so far this year, and the enterprise software category tracked by Forge is down -8.8% year to date.15
CoreWeave funding history and private market valuation
CoreWeave's equity funding history started with a seed round in 2019, raising $3 million at a $20 million valuation. It also raised almost $3 million more later that year in a Series A that brought its valuation to nearly $33 million.16
In 2023, its funding and valuation took off, raising well over $400 million in a Series B that valued the company at $2.4 billion. This round included investment from Magnetar Capital and Nvidia, along with entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross.17
CoreWeave's last primary equity funding round was announced in May 2024, with $1.1 billion raised for its Series C at a $19 billion valuation from investors including Coatue, Magnetar, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, and Lykos Global Management.18
In November 2024, CoreWeave also announced that it closed a $650 million secondary share sale that brought its valuation up to $23 billion. Investors in this round included a wide range of notable names such as Jane Street, Cisco Investments, and BlackRock, among others.19
Plus, CoreWeave has raised funding through significant debt, such as nearly $10 billion in debt financing facilities led by Blackstone and Magnetar, along with a $650 million credit facility announced in October 2024, led by JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.20
Looking ahead
While CoreWeave has not publicly announced an IPO timeline, it does appear to be heading in that direction, especially with Bloomberg reporting that CoreWeave has engaged investment banks to go public.21
Check back here or take a look at Forge’s upcoming IPO calendar to stay in the loop about a possible CoreWeave IPO and other pending public offerings.
If you’re interested in investing in private companies like CoreWeave before they go public, read more about pre-IPO investing or register on Forge Markets today to get started.
FAQs about the CoreWeave upcoming IPO
What is CoreWeave?
CoreWeave is a cloud computing infrastructure provider that allows other organizations to essentially rent capacity in its data centers, particularly through the use of Nvidia GPUs.
Is CoreWeave going public?
CoreWeave has reportedly been preparing for an IPO in 2025, including by selecting investment banks to lead the public offering.22 However, no definitive plans have been announced.
Who are CoreWeave's key investors?
Can anyone invest in CoreWeave?
For now, CoreWeave remains a private company. Thus, investment is generally limited to accredited investors who are either invited to participate in primary funding rounds or those who can access pre-IPO shares of CoreWeave on a secondary marketplace such as Forge, subject to availability.
