Startup Trends: Latest companies to prepare for 2025 IPO
In 2024, the number of private U.S. companies that went public increased modestly over the previous year. The year saw a few notable IPOs from Rubrik, Reddit, Astera Labs, and more recently, ServiceTitan, whose shares gained 42% on its first day of trading on December 15, 2024.
With the stock market surging in recent months, startup investors hope that 2025 could finally be the year when IPO activity begins to return to levels not seen since 2021. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, a senior-level Goldman Sachs investment banker said the number of technology-oriented IPOs will likely more than double in 2025 versus that of the previous year.
Among the companies that have signaled intentions of going public in 2025 are Klarna, MNTN, Netskope, Skims and Omada Health.
Klarna
On November 12, 2024, Klarna, a Stockholm, Sweden-based digital lending firm founded in 2005, announced that it had confidentially submitted a registration statement with the SEC tied to a proposed IPO. The number of shares to be offered and the price range of those shares is yet to be determined.
Bloomberg reported in late November that the fintech firm is moving closer to becoming a more profitable company. The company’s pretax loss lessened to 2 million kronor or $180,000 in the first three quarters of 2024, compared to 1.77 billion kronor a year ago. Total revenue in 2024 rose 23% to 20.3 billion kronor.
Klarna’s Forge Price™ as of December 19, 2024, was $370 a share, giving the company an implied valuation of $11.73 billion, a 75% premium over its last-known post-money valuation of $6.7 billion. Among Klarna’s major investors are Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, Vista Equity Partners, and Arctic Ventures.
MNTN
Culver City, Calif.-based MNTN has developed software that helps its clients measure metrics including conversions, revenue, and site visits generated by television advertising. Ryan Reynolds, a movie star and high-tech venture capitalist, is the firm’s chief creative officer.
In September 2024, Bloomberg reported that MNTN, which was founded in 2009, had tapped investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it move towards an initial public offering. The firm was targeting an IPO by the first half of 2025.
The company’s latest price per share was $22.97 based on its latest valuation of $2.2 billion from a funding round in February 2022. Among its main investors are Daher Capital, Greycroft Partners, Staley Capital, and Rincon Venture Partners.
Netskope
Founded in 2012, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Netskope provides network security software to corporate clients. In June 2024, the company’s CEO, Sanjay Beri, told Reuters that he was in no rush to take the company public. But in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Beri said that he plans to move forward with an IPO in 2025 if market conditions are favorable.
Netskope’s Forge Price™ as of December 19, 2024, was $10.75 a share, giving the company an implied valuation of $3.94 billion, a discount to the company’s post-money valuation of $7.5 billion based on its last funding round in July 2021, according to Forge Global. Among the company’s major investors are Sequoia Capital, the Alaska Permanent Fund, Sapphire Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Skims
Skims has come a long way in a short time. Launched in 2019, the purveyor of underwear, loungewear, and shapewear, has a price per share of $345.90 based on a post-money valuation of $4 billion from a funding round in July of 2023.
Much of that success can be attributed to the marketing muscle of one of its co-founders, reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Among the Culver City, Calif.-based company’s major investors are Imaginary Ventures, Greenoaks Capital Partners, and Wellington Management.
According to The Information (July 2024), the company is considering an IPO as early as 2025.
Omada Health
San Francisco-based Omada Health has gained traction by taking a novel approach to addressing healthcare. The company offers virtual care programs for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and arthritis.
In the summer of 2024, the company reportedly filed an S-1 document to go public.
Omada Health’s Forge Price™ as of December 19, 2024, was $3.30 a share, giving the firm an implied valuation of $563 million, a sharp discount to the $1.02 billion post-money valuation tied to its last funding round in February 2022. Among its major investors are Andreessen Horowitz, U.S. Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and Rock Health.
