The Top Tech IPOs of the Year

Although it’s not over yet, the technology sector has had a banner day.

Rivian, a startup in Chicago, filed for an initial public offering valued at almost $70 billion dollars late last week. That’s the biggest equity crowdfunding company so far, even though it is just one of several startups led by billionaire Chief Executive Officer Bill Gross.

Gross’ company, Terrafugia, went public last week on the over-the-counter market, but investors are very excited about what is happening with Rivian. That’s because Rivian is transitioning from automotive development to creating its own electric vehicle at a roughly 7,000 acre facility in Chicago, where it will also manufacture electric trucks. The company doesn’t expect to make profit for the foreseeable future and so is exploring an IPO.

Like many other new car technology startups, Rivian has never logged a profit. Gross, who founded the Total Recall franchise in the 1980s and also invested in Apple and HP, has a net worth of about $6.8 billion, according to Forbes.

At a March 3 wild-eyed congress of Rivian, Gross pledged to turn the company into an established global player as well as continue making small sums of money.

A similar reception followed Tesla’s first public offering in 2010. Five years later, the stock is up more than 900 percent.

But Gross has been fundraising $100 million from at least a dozen companies in the last year, according to PitchBook data. An earlier round of raise brings the total fundraise so far to about $76 million.

Here’s a look at the market cap of other notable tech IPOs.

Company: Navient

Business: Lender to student loan borrowers

Launched IPO: November 2017

Market Cap: $17.5 billion

Company: Terrafugia

Business: Embodied vehicle tech

Launched IPO: March 3, 2019

Market Cap: $7.1 billion

Company: CoolPlanet Energy

Business: Organic waste-to-energy

Launched IPO: July 2017

Market Cap: $4.3 billion

Company: Corente

Business: Customizable mobile productivity tool

Launched IPO: April 2018

Market Cap: $3.2 billion

Company: Instacart

Business: A meal-delivery service

Launched IPO: November 2015

Market Cap: $2.6 billion

Leave a Comment