The initial public offering (IPO) market has come to a virtual standstill after a boffo 2021. But we might start to see signs of life again in the coming months, with investors preparing for some of the most anticipated upcoming IPOs of 2023 to hit the market.
In 2021, the activity was the highest since the dot-com boom. Nearly 400 companies raised a whopping $142.4 billion. But in 2022, the environment went cold – and fast. There were a mere 70 IPOs and $7.7 billion raised, according to Renaissance Capital.
There were a host of reasons for the plunge, such as the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates and inflation, and the uncertainty about economic growth. The result was that investors fled high-risk investments, which are common for IPOs.
No doubt, the market will come back – but it could take some time. “Private equity firms and venture capitalists need to shut down bad companies and double down on the good ones,” said Muddu Sudhakar, the CEO and cofounder of Aisera, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that recently raised $90 million. “Also, public companies need to restructure and re-align their investment and focus. All this will take at least 6 months or more to start the recovery.”
But this will be a good thing. It will mean that there will be high-quality growth companies for next year’s crop of IPOs.
Indeed, we’re starting to see a few more companies testing the waters, making now the best time to explore the most anticipated upcoming IPOs for 2023. Our list of nine is a smaller number than we typically expect at this time of year because of recent market weakness – but many of them are large, established names that should generate plenty of excitement on Wall Street and Main Street alike.
Data is as of Nov. 28. Where possible, we have provided reported expectations for timelines and/or valuations for the upcoming IPOs.