Startup Trends: Some companies still signal IPO interest amid market uncertainty

By Chris Cannon

Updated on May 5, 2025

At the start of the second quarter, the IPO pipeline seemed destined to burst with many new entrants and investor excitement. As the U.S. enacted tariffs that took hold in early April, the investor optimism and market potential seemed to have dwindled as the market volatility came on strong. Buy-now-pay-later fintech platform Klarna reportedly put its IPO plans on hold.¹ Online ticket marketplace StubHub ² and fintech Chime ³ followed suit, withholding their anticipated public debuts.

But even with these wait-and-see decisions among some private companies, there remain a few still signaling their intent to go public in the not-too-distant future. Here are some such companies listed on Forge Global.

Kodiak Robotics, self-driving commercial trucks

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Kodiak Robotics is an autonomous technology company that is focused on developing innovative solutions for the long-haul trucking industry.

Amid the tariffs and volatility, Kodiak announced in April that it had entered into a business combination agreement with Ares Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: AACT) through which Kodiak would become a publicly listed company in 2025.⁴

Since its founding in 2018, Kodiak has logged over 2.6 million autonomous miles of its commercial fleets in real-world conditions through its pilot projects, according to its website. In January of 2025, the company announced that energy firm Atlas Energy Solutions, Inc. was the first customer to take ownership of two Kodiak self-driving RoboTrucks to make its deliveries. It was also announced that Atlas intended to purchase 100 trucks this year.⁵

Kodiak Robotics’ Forge Price™ is $2.00 as of April 30, 2025, which implies a valuation of $432.78 million. The firm’s notable investors include Bridgestone Americas, BMW Ventures, Triple Point Capital and Tusk Venture Partners.

Figma, co-creation design platform

Figma is a developer of a co-creation platform that helps teams create, share, and test designs. The platform consolidates tools, simplifies workflows, and enables teams to collaborate in real-time, aiming to make the design process faster and more efficient.

On April 15, it was reported that Figma had initiated a confidential filing for an initial public offering in the United States.⁶ The filing comes more than a year after software firm Adobe offered to buy the company in a deal worth nearly $20 billion. The deal was never finalized due to regulatory roadblocks.

The company has recently focused on new products that aid developers with their coding and design tasks. The tech company is reportedly making plans to double its New York City office’s headcount by 2034 to focus on these initiatives.⁷

Founded in 2011, the San Francisco, California- based private company’s Forge Price™ is $37.99 as of April 30, 2025, implying a valuation of $17.84 billion. Figma’s notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Iconiq Capital and Kaplan Group Investments.

eToro, social investment platform

eToro, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, is a multi-asset, social investment platform that offers both stocks and digital assets, as well as trading CFDs (Contracts for Differences). Founded in 2007, eToro’s global community allows users to exchange investment strategies and market thoughts across social feeds.

The social investment platform reportedly filed for a U.S. initial public offering in late March. According to the filing, the private company brought in $931 million in 2024, with net income arriving at $192 million and up $15.3 million from the prior year.⁸ While the reported filing happened just prior to the volatility following tariffs in early April, there were no reports found that the private company is changing its IPO plans.

eToro's Forge Price™ is $75.00 as of April 30, 2025. The firm’s notable investors include Spark Capital, Susquehanna Growth Equity, Softbank Investment Advisors and 10t Holdings.