The U.S. market of initial public offerings (IPOs) is slowly waking up from an 18-month pause. While major stock indexes have yet to shake off the impact of inflation and interest rate hikes, more and more companies are feeling ready to raise money again in the public market.
In September alone, four companies went public at valuations greater than $2 billion. That included the listing of chip designer Arm, which debuted shares on Nasdaq at a colossal valuation of $54.5 billion.
All told, there have been 117 IPOs in the U.S. this year so far, according to Stock Analysis. The total number of listings is still down 27 percent from the same period last year, but the pace is steadily picking up each month, suggesting an upward trend.
Here is a running list of the largest IPOs on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in 2023 so far:
10/11: Birkenstock went public on NYSE at $7.5 billion
Founded in: 1774
Main product: footwear
Share price gain since IPO: -10%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: The fabled German shoemaker Birkenstock has been producing iconic footwear for more than 200 years. In 2021, the Birkenstock family sold a majority stake to the U.S. private equity firm L Catterton. Christian Birkenstock, one of the heirs to the family business, maintained a minority stake. L Catterton currently owns 83 percent of the company. L Catterton is in part backed by billionaire Bernard Arnault, the chairman of luxury conglomerate LVMH. Arnault’s son, Alexandre, joined Birkenstock’s board in October of this year.
9/20: Klaviyo went public on NYSE at $9 billion
Founded in: 2012
Main product: marketing enterprise software
Share price gain since IPO: +5%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Klaviyo was founded by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen. Bialecki, the company’s CEO, owns a 33 percent stake in Klaviyo, making him the largest shareholder. Hallen, the chief product officer, owns the second largest stake at 14 percent. The software maker is also backed by the online shopping platform Shopify, which is also a major client.
9/19: Instacart went public on Nasdaq at $10 billion
Founded in: 2012
Main product: grocery-shopping app
Share price gain since IPO: -6%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Instacart (CART) was founded by Apoorva Mehta, Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo. Mehta served as the company’s CEO and board chairman for nearly a decade and stepped down in 2021 to pursue other endeavors. Both of his roles have been filled by Fidji Simo, a former executive at Meta, leading the Facebook app.
Instacart’s largest shareholders are Sequoia and D1 Capital Partners, a hedge fund. Sequoia partner Ravi Gupta, who was Instacart’s financial and operating chief from 2015 to 2019, and D1 Capital founder Daniel Sundheim both sit on Instacart’s board.
9/15: Neumora Therapeutics went public on Nasdaq at $2.7 billion
Founded in: 2019
Main product: treatment for brain diseases
Share price gain since IPO: -33%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Neumora Therapeutics was founded by Paul Berns and Carol Suh, both investors of venture capital firm Arch Venture Partners. Berns served as Neumora’s CEO until July. He has been replaced with Henry Gosebruch, a former executive at drugmaker AbbVie. Suh currently serves as Neumora’s chief operating officer.
Neumora’s largest investors include Amgen, SoftBank (SFTBF), and Arch Venture Partners.
9/14: Arm went public on Nasdaq at $54.5 billion
Founded in: 1990
Main product: semiconductor design
Share price gain since IPO: +7%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Arm was founded as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple and VLSI Technology in 1990. Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank acquired Arm in 2016 for $32 billion and still owns 90 percent of the company following the IPO. Arm’s other notable backers include Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, AMD and Samsung.
Arm is currently led by CEO Rene Haas, who has held various management roles within the company since 2013.
8/15: Vinfast went public on Nasdaq at $23 billion
Founded in: 2017
Main product: electric vehicles
Share price gain since IPO: -40%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: VinFast was as a subsidiary of Vingroup, a major Vietnamese conglomerate. Both businesses are owned by Pham Nhat Vuong, Vietnam’s richest person. Vuong, 55, controls 99 percent of VinFast through shares held by Vingroup and other business entities. The day-to-day operation of VinFast is headed by CEO Thuy Le, who is also a vice chairwoman of the Vingroup.
6/30: Vesta Real Estate Corporation went public on NYSE at $2.6 billion
Founded in: 1998
Main product: Commercial real estate development services in Mexico
Share price gain since IPO: -8%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Vesta was founded by real estate veterans Lorenzo Manuel Berho Corona and Stephen Williams. Corona served as Vesta’s CEO for 20 years before stepping down in 2018. He was replaced by Lorenzo Dominique Berho Carranza.
Vesta raised the most money ($400 million) in its IPO than any other Mexican company in U.S. markets in 11 years. Citigroup is the current largest shareholder of Vesta.
6/19: Savers Value Village went public on NYSE at $2.7 billion
Founded in: 1954
Main product: thrift shops
Share price gain since IPO: -14%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Saver Value Village opened its first store in 1954 and expanded to more than 220 locations in North America and Australia under the leadership of founder Bill Ellison, who retired in 2000. The company has been led by CEO Mark Walsh since 2019.
Private equity firms Ares Management and Crescent Capital Group own nearly 90 percent of Savers Value Village.
6/12: Cava went public on NYSE at $2.5 billion
Founded in: 2011
Main product: restaurant chain
Share price gain since IPO: -7%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Cava was founded by Theodore Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Moshovitis and Brett Schulman. Schulman has served as Cava’s CEO since 2010.
Cava’s largest shareholder is European holding company Artal Group, which owns a 29 percent stake. T. Rowe Price holds the second-largest stake at 11 percent. T. Rowe Price led a series F funding round in 2021, at the time valuing the company at $1.3 billion.
5/4: Kenvue went public on NYSE at $41 billion
Founded in: 2022
Main product: consumer health products
Share price gain since IPO: -26%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Originally the consumer healthcare division of Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue was spun off from the pharma giant in 2021. Kenvue, which owns brands like Band-Aid, Neutrogena and Tylenol, is led by CEO Thibaut Mongon, a seasoned executive at J&J. J&J remains the largest shareholder of Kenvue following the IPO with a 9.5 percent stake.
2/9: Hesai went public on Nasdaq at $2.2 billion
Founded in: 2014
Main product: Lidar sensors
Share price gain since IPO: -46%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Hesai was founded by the company’s CEO Yifan Li, alongside Kai Sun and Shaoqing Xiang. Li was previously an engineer at hardware maker Western Digital. Hesai’s largest shareholder is FIL Investment Advisors.
2/9: Nextracker went public on Nasdaq at $3.5 billion
Founded in: 2013
Main product: solar tracking software
Share price gain since IPO: +26%
Key executives, investors and other individuals: Nextracker was founded by Dan Shugar, a veteran executive in the solar energy industry. The company is led by Shugar, who serves as CEO, and president Howard Wagner.
Private equity firm TPG is the largest shareholder owning a 28 percent stake.