These Companies Had the Biggest Tech Exits of 2021
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More than 50 tech companies went public this year by either IPO, direct listing or SPAC merger. We rounded up the biggest ones here and added the org charts for each newly-minted public company.
For private companies, the lure of going public can either be a dream come true for early employees looking to cash out or a chance for a business to receive a new influx of cash.
But going public doesn’t always mean sunshine and roses. Of the more than 50 tech companies to go public in 2021, only one (GlobalFoundries) is less than 20% below its stock price, according to CNBC. More than 20 of those companies have lost at least half their value from their highs.
While going through an initial public offering has been the most traditional way to go public, direct listings and going public through a special acquisition group (SPAC) has become an increasingly popular alternative for venture-backed startups.
2020 was a record year for SPAC mergers across every industry, with over $36.2 billion in SPAC proceeds, but things exploded in 2021. More than 851 SPAC mergers were completed this year so far, compared to last year’s record-breaking 251.
However, IPOs still trump any other public offering for tech companies. There are 8 SPAC mergers on this year’s list compared to 47 IPOs. Check out the org charts for all the tech companies that went public so far in 2021 in our roundup below.
IPO
- Date: January 13
- Price: $49
- Valuation: $11.9 billion
Buy now, pay later startup Affirm was the first venture-backed IPO of the year, and its stock rose 100% on its first day of trading before closing at $97.24. Since going public, its stock prices have been a bit all over the place. It closed high on December 8 at $122.73.
- Date: January 14
- Price: $42
- Valuation: $3 billion
Poshmark saw an exciting jump in its shares when it debuted on the Nasdaq as its stock more than doubled. But its stock has steadily fallen since the debut and closed on December 8 at $19.67.
- Date: January 15
- Price: $27
- Valuation: $11 billion
Playtika reaped the results of the booming video game market after a year spent indoors in its initial public offering. Starting out the day trading at its reference price of $27, Playtika’s stock held pretty steadily until around March. It closed at $20.46 on December 8.
- Date: January 28
- Price: $30
- Valuation: $15 billion
- Date: February 11
- Price: $43
- Valuation: $8.2 billion
Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd made history at Bumble’s public debut by being the youngest woman to take a company public. The billion-dollar IPO also marked a victory for Austin’s budding tech scene. Bumble raised $2.15 billion through its IPO and was trading 64% above its trading price at the end of the day. It’s stock has dropped however, closing at $36.48 on December 8.
- Date: March 11
- Reference price: $35
- Valuation: $60 billion
- Date: March 29
- Price: $39
- Valuation: $7.9 billion
Oscar Health stumbled in its public debut compared to other venture-backed tech IPOs. Starting its price at $39, the company closed its first day of trading at $34.80 and its stock has continued to plummet throughout the year. It closed the day of December 8 at $9.95 a share.
Read: Health Insurer Oscar is Going Public this Month, Here’s the Team that Made it Happen
- Date: March 23
- Price: $47
- Valuation: $5 billion
- Date: March 25
- Price: $21
- $3.9 billion
- Date: March 26
- Price: $14
- Valuation: $1.3 billion
- Date: March 31, 2021
- Price: $33
- Valuation: $4.3 billion
- Date: April 1
- Price: $18
- Valuation: $8 billion
- Date: April 15
- Price: $80
- Valuation: $28.6 billion
- Date: April 21
- Price: $69
- Valuation: $35.8 billion
- Date: April 21
- Price: $27
- Valuation: $4.2 billion
- Date: May 19
- Price: $67
- Valuation: $9.6 billion
- Date: June 8
- Price: $27
- Valuation: $15 billion
- Date: June 10
- Price: $155
- Valuation: $7.6 billion
- Date: June 16
- Price: $31
- Valuation: $2.5 billion
- Date: June 22
- Price: $15
- Valuation: $3.7 billion
- Date: June 24
- Price: $35
- Valuation: $9 billion
- Date: June 29
- Price: $31
- Valuation: $4.5 billion
- Date: June 30
- Price: $35
- Valuation: $10 billion
- Date: June 30
- Price: $28
- Valuation: $7 billion
- Date: June 30
- Price: $14
- Valuation: $73 billion
- Date: July 16
- Price: $18
- Valuation: $4 billion
- Date: July 21
- Price: $10
- Valuation: $1.24 billion
- Date: July 21
- Price: $32
- Valuation: $2.5 billion
- Date: July 21
- Price: $24
- Valuation: $1.4 billion
- Date: July 23
- Price: $19
- Valuation: $3.5 billion
- Date: July 23
- Price: $20
- Valuation: $1.1 billion
- Date: July 28
- Price: $102
- Valuation: $3.7 billion
- Date: July 29
- Price: $38
- Valuation: $32 billion
In one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year, Robinhood started the day of trading strong at $38, but ended the day trading 8% down. While the GameStop saga boosted Robinhood’s publicity for much of the year, it hasn’t been a help to much else. The consumer trading app has lost more than half its value since its August IPO and closed at $22.73 on December 8.
- Date: July 28
- Price: $21
- Valuation: $3.3 billion
- Date: September 22
- Price: $40
- Valuation: $20 billion
- Date: September 22
- Price: $36
- Valuation: $10.1 billion
- Date: October 27
- Price: $29
- Valuation: $7.5 billion
This is the second time software data management company Informatica tried for an initial public offering. The Redwood, California-based company firm was founded in 1993 and helps automate tasks for the U.S. Air Force, Nissan and Kroger. It went private six years ago by a consortium that included private equity firm Permira Advisers and Canada Pension Plan Investment Firm. It sold 29 million shares for a total raise of $841 million in its second IPO.
- Date: September 23
- Price: $43
- Valuation: $6.9 billion
- Date: October 27
- Starting Price: $47
- Valuation: $26 billion
GlobalFoundries sold shares in its IPO on October 27 at the higher end of its price listing, $47 a pop. The semiconductor chip maker ended up raising $2.6 billion through its public offering. But despite a tough year for tech IPOs and supply chain issues, GlobalFoundries is the only company that went public this year that is trading less than 20% off from its original price.
- Date: October 14
- Price: $77
- Valuation: $11 billion
- Date: October 29
- Price: $29
- Valuation: $4 billion
- Date: November 4
- Price: $18
- Valuation: $1.2 billion
- Date: November 10
- Price: $78
- Valuation: $66.5 billion
- Date: November 10
- Price: $27
- Valuation: $2.18 billion
- Date: November 11
- Price: $24
- Valuation: $950 million
- Date: November 17
- Price: $14
- Date: November 11
- Valuation: $650 million
- Date: November 17
- Price: $65
- Valuation: $6 billion
Direct listings
- Date: March 10
- Price: $45
- Valuation: $30 billion
- Date: April 14
- Price: $250
- Valuation: $86 billion
Read: Meet the Team Behind Coinbase, the Crypto Unicorn Bringing Bitcoin to the Masses
- Date: May 19
- Price: $43.65
- Valuation: $6.4 billion
- Date: May 26
- Price: $18
- Valuation: $2.4 billion
- Date: September 28
- Price: $35
- Valuation: $6.4 billion
Amplitude co-founder and CEO Spenser Skates was adamant about going public through a direct listing, calling traditional IPOs “financial arbitrage.” His company was the latest in a string of billion-dollar direct listings, and came a day before Warby Parker’s. It’s strategy has succeeded, it started trading at $50 a share, high above its $35 reference price. It closed at $60.35 on December 8.
SPACs
- Date: January 8
- Proceeds: Up to $1.2 billion
- Valuation: $7 billion
- Date: January 13
- Valuation: $1.3 billion
- Date: January 21
- Proceeds: $280 million
- Valuation: $1.6 billion
- Date: February 26
- Proceeds: $450 million
- Date: February 9
- SPAC proceeds: N/A
Digital car insurance platform Metromile merged with blank check company INSU Acquisition Corp. II and started trading on February 9, 2021. It follows other insurtechs to go public like Lemonade and Root, but trails them both in stock prices. The company’s stock closed at $2.46 on December 8.
- Date: May 7
- Proceeds: $268 million
- Valuation: $823 million
- Date: June 2
- Proceeds: $400 million
- Valuation: $1.6 billion
- Date: June 1
- Proceeds: $2.4 billion
- Valuation: $8.65 billion
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