The Startups Inching Toward an IPO in a Volatile Market

Startups hoping to go public this year will need plenty of grit to get their shares listed.

A rout in software stocks over fears AI will make their businesses irrelevant had already poured cold water on many startups’ initial public offering plans. Then the Middle East war made companies even more nervous about testing a volatile stock market. What’s more, a looming SpaceX and possibly OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs threaten to suck up demand and attention from public investors.

Despite these headwinds, a handful of startups besides SpaceX are proceeding with their IPO plans in the belief that their businesses will benefit from rising AI demand or can at least thrive alongside it. They’re hiring bankers and talking to investors that buy public stocks. For instance, AI chip startup Cerebras, valued at $23 billion in a private fundraising last month, is going to hold an investor day in the next few days for a listing that could take place as soon as this April, according to people familiar with its plans.