IPO Success Stories in 2024 and Upcoming 2025

As the year wraps up, the pre-New Year season often feels like a sprint to the finish line to me. Too many deadlines, too little time. If you’re like me, you probably don’t have the bandwidth to dig through countless “year in review” reports and next-year forecasts.

That’s why we’ve done the legwork for you. We’ve distilled the most insightful 2024 wrap-ups and 2025 predictions into one concise, approachable guide. Consider it a “summary of summaries”.

Here’s what I’ll do next:

1. Refresh your memory on the major IPO milestones we saw in 2024. 📆
2. Get you ready for the IPO pipeline shaping up in 2025. 🚀
3. Walk through what analysts are saying about the top industries to watch. 🧭

1. IPO Market in 2024: A Year of Recovery

For many investors, 2024 was a rewarding year. Broad market gains, coupled with the resurgence of speculative and technology-oriented assets, helped lift investor sentiment. The Nasdaq 100 surged 29%, reflecting renewed interest in tech, while the S&P 500 climbed 24%, demonstrating overall market resilience. Bitcoin, a barometer for speculative investments, skyrocketed 129% year-to-date, showcasing the appetite for riskier opportunities.

While IPO volume in 2024 has jumped over 60% compared to 2023, U.S. offerings are still shaking off the lingering effects of earlier rate hikes that stifled the pandemic-era boom. Now, with the Federal Reserve having cut interest rates for the third consecutive time, analysts are growing increasingly bullish about a more robust IPO landscape in 2025.

Anyway. While the total number of IPOs in 2024 was modest, several standout companies captured investor attention. The technology sector delivered strong performances.

What Unites Successful IPOs?

All of these companies operate at the intersection of digital innovation and real-world utility. They tackle complex challenges—scalable data security, AI-driven infrastructure, community engagement, supply-chain logistics, digital finance—while meeting tangible customer needs. This blend of cutting-edge technology and everyday relevance allowed them to attract investor confidence, sustain growth momentum, and achieve standout IPO performances in 2024.

Below you will find a list of interesting IPOs expected in 2025. 😉

What’s driving this upward trend?

1. Macroeconomic Stability: Although inflationary pressures persisted, economic growth remained robust, and the Federal Reserve signaled a more cautious approach to interest rate hikes.
2. Sectoral Shifts: AI and cloud infrastructure remained key drivers, as investors sought exposure to transformative technologies. Companies like Nvidia and Palantir boosted enthusiasm for related IPOs.
3. Optimism for 2025: Anticipation of interest rate cuts and policy changes under President-elect Donald Trump has created a sense of pent-up demand for deals.

Despite some headwinds, optimism is running high for 2025. The Nasdaq IPO Pulse Index, a key predictor of future IPO activity, reached a three-year high in October, signaling a potential surge in public offerings in early 2025. Analysts suggest that pent-up demand from companies holding off during 2024 could make 2025 a blockbuster year for IPOs, particularly if U.S. interest rates fall further.

IPO Market Outlook for 2025: Growth Ahead?

As I promised at the very beginning, here is a summary of the anticipated upcoming IPOs, carefully gathered from reliable press sources. Estimated IPO valuations are also based on these reports. Sky Cliff does not provide investment advice, but acts as an aggregator of news and data sources. 😉

Companies That Officially Announced Their Plans to Go Public

More data is available on the Sky Cliff Platform's IPO calendar page. Here’s your promo link to get free access: Xmas Gift Link.

Companies That Are Rumoured to Go Public

I wouldn't expect Stripe to go public in 2025. The company recently conducted another tender offer to allow employees to cash out their stock, and the CEO has reiterated that there’s no rush to go public. The same applies to OpenAI and SpaceX. For companies that are highly liquid on the private secondary market, going public isn’t a necessity. They continue to receive ample financial support from investors, while early investors and employees can cash out through the secondary market.

Key Trends Driving the 2025 IPO Market

The IPO market in 2025 is expected to move closer to pre-pandemic normalcy, with conditions becoming more favourable for companies to go public. After years of suppressed activity, declining interest rates, recovering tech valuations, and shifting investor interest are setting the stage for a more vibrant IPO environment.

1. Tech Sector Recovery: The pandemic-fueled surge in tech IPOs peaked in 2021 but sharply declined in subsequent years. However, tech valuations began rebounding in 2024, making IPOs a more viable exit option for venture capital and private equity investors.
2. Investor Shift to Mid-Caps: With large-cap tech stocks dominating in recent years, investors are now turning their attention to midsized companies, which are more affected by declining interest rates. This shift broadens the pool of companies likely to succeed in the public markets.
3. Regulatory Environment: The election of President-elect Donald Trump has raised expectations for deregulation, which could lower compliance costs for smaller companies, freeing up resources for growth and fuelling IPO activity.

Some hurdles remain, including the lingering valuation gaps for certain sectors, which may discourage companies from pursuing IPOs at lower valuations than previous private funding rounds. However, this gap is closing, making IPOs more attractive.

Example: Kraken, one of the top IPO candidates for 2025. Its share value has increased 4.5x since the start of 2024, but it remains well below the $50 per share price from its investment round in June 2021.

The 2025 World at a Glance: Main Predictions

Below is a comprehensive synthesis of all insights for 2025. The aim is to present a balanced, forward-looking snapshot of 2025 and beyond.

1. Generative AI and Emerging Technologies

Contrasting Growth Forecasts:

• Leaders are split: Sundar Pichai (Google) foresees a slowdown in generative AI breakthroughs, while Sam Altman (OpenAI) envisions rapid acceleration, potentially achieving AGI by 2025.
• Reality Check: Despite fervor, generative AI lacks a definitive “killer app.” Most companies use it to cut costs or enhance productivity rather than generate significant new revenue streams. Achieving sustained, top-line growth from generative AI remains elusive.

Infrastructure Winners and the Race for Talent:

• Nvidia and key chipmakers dominate the hardware supply chain (“picks and shovels”), enjoying steady profits as model training and deployment remain GPU-intensive.
• The departure of top AI researchers from Google and concentration of talent in a handful of Big Tech firms highlight the competitive struggle to secure the skills needed for AI innovation.

Long-Term Outlook:

• Generative AI must ultimately meet real societal needs, produce substantial productivity gains, and create new markets—not just optimise existing workflows—to live up to its hype.
• Uncertainty persists. The evolutionary path of AI—like that of the World Wide Web—may yield enormous dividends over time, but hype cycles require patience, stable regulation, and concrete value propositions.

Companies to keep an eye on:

1. Lambda Labs: Specialises in hardware and software solutions for AI and ML training workloads.

2. Groq: Focused on fast AI inference with cutting-edge accelerator hardware that improves performance and efficiency.

3. Databricks: Offers a comprehensive, unified platform for data storage, engineering, streaming, analytics, data science, and supports generative AI models at scale.

2. Crypto Ecosystem Maturation

From Speculation to Utility:

• Crypto’s overall market cap has doubled since early 2024, surpassing $3.4T, without major shocks. This stability suggests that the ecosystem, once driven heavily by speculation, now stands on more mature foundations.
• Key verticals—DeFi, stablecoins, gaming, NFTs, RWAs, DAG-based chains, and L2 infrastructures—are no longer niche experiments but integrated, evolving ecosystems with their own funding, incentives, and user bases.

Stablecoins and Payment Rails:

• Stablecoins increasingly overshadow legacy systems like SWIFT for cross-border B2B transactions. By 2025, stablecoin market cap could hit $300B, reflecting global demand for USD-pegged digital currencies that offer low-cost, frictionless settlement.
• This trend aligns with broadening acceptance of tokenized USD as a store of value in emerging markets and a payment solution in developed nations.

RWAs and Real-World Integration:

• Tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs)—from T-Bills and private credit to more complex instruments—expands DeFi’s reach into traditional finance.
• As infrastructure matures, more products (stocks, bonds, ETFs) can be credibly issued on-chain, reinforcing the narrative that blockchain isn’t just for speculative tokens but also for real-world financial plumbing.

DEXs and Restaking:

• Decentralised exchanges (DEXs) and protocols offering true utility gain traction.
• DAG-based projects promise enhanced scalability and transaction parallelization, attracting both users and developers.
• Restaking protocols are set to launch, potentially unlocking multi-billion-dollar markets by reusing staked assets for securing additional services.

Regulatory Progress and U.S. Leadership:

• A more crypto-friendly U.S. administration, potential tax incentives, and clearer legal frameworks may position America as the global capital of crypto.
• With stablecoin legislation and data privacy rules advancing, the U.S. could differentiate itself by offering legal certainty and encouraging innovation.
• The Trump administration’s rumored pro-crypto stance, featuring notable appointments and favorable policies, sets the stage for a capital shift onshore, attracting top talent and global liquidity.

Companies to keep an eye on:

1. Kraken: The first US cryptocurrency bank and the oldest crypto exchange.

2. Cirle: Circle helps businesses and developers harness the power of stablecoins for payments and internet commerce worldwide.

3. Public.com: Investing platform that allows people to invest in stocks, ETFs, treasuries, crypto, art, collectibles, and more – all in one place.

4. Blockdaemon: Blockdaemon creates out-of-the-box solutions to help enterprises join blockchain universe, launch applications and work with cryptocurrencies. Its core focus is staking.

5. Blockchain.com: One of the oldest and biggest corporations in crypto and blockchain industries.

3. NFTs and Beyond

NFTs: From Speculation to Functionality:

• NFTs evolve into digital infrastructure rather than standalone collectibles. They represent identities, memberships, IP rights, artistic movements, and consumer loyalty programs.
• Established brands (Nike, Sony) and new cultural phenomena (on-chain gaming, AI model ownership) legitimise NFTs as a medium for authentic community-building and creative exploration, rather than just trading in speculative “floor prices.”

Companies to keep an eye on:

1. OpenSea: One of the largest NFT marketplaces. OpenSea is labelled as the «Amazon for digital assets»

2. Kraken: The first US cryptocurrency bank and the oldest crypto exchange

3. ConsenSys: Blockchain software

4. Beyond Crypto and AI: Traditional Energy Infrastructure

Energy Transfer and MLP Momentum:

• Not all growth stories are digital. Midstream giants like Energy Transfer (ET) leverage acquisitions (WTG Midstream) and organic projects (processing plants, pipeline expansions) to boost EBITDA and cash flow.
• High distributions (near 7%) and steady volume growth create a stable, income-generating counterweight to the speculative nature of emerging tech.
• Potential M&A opportunities, new projects (Hugh Brinson Pipeline, Lake Charles LNG), and incremental capacity expansions position energy MLPs to maintain reliable returns even as digital sectors evolve rapidly.

Broader Lessons from Traditional Sectors:

• Just as AI and crypto require robust infrastructure (data centers, stablecoins, secure ledgers), energy systems need pipelines, processing plants, and regulated frameworks.
• Diversification across both digital and physical infrastructure offers investors resilience and balance, hedging the volatility of nascent technologies with steady, yield-bearing assets.

Battery Supply Chain Innovations:

• Emerging players like Redwood Materials—focused on recycling lithium-ion batteries—and StoreDot—developing ultra-fast charging solutions—underscore how advancements in energy storage and materials technology can complement traditional infrastructure. These companies bridge the gap between established energy sectors and the next generation of sustainable, efficient power solutions, aligning with broader themes of resilience and forward-looking growth.

Companies to keep an eye on:

1. Redwood Materials: Recycling of batteries for the production of electric vehicles

2. StoreDot: Extreme fast charging (XFC) EV batteries

5. Quantum Computing — New Buzzword

Incremental Technological Advancements

• Improved qubit stability and error correction—still short of fully fault-tolerant quantum computers
• More reliable small-scale systems enabling experimental, proof-of-concept use cases

Ecosystem and Applications

• Expanded quantum-as-a-service platforms from major tech firms and specialised startups
• Early, niche use cases in finance, pharmaceuticals, and materials science offering modest yet tangible benefits

Strategic Positioning for the Future

• Shift from hype to pragmatic integration of quantum and classical resources
• Organizations investing in quantum readiness now gain a competitive edge for greater breakthroughs ahead

Companies to keep an eye on:

PsyQuantum: PsiQuantum is building the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer

SandboxAQ: SandboxAQ helps companies to fortify the encryption and sells its powerful simulation software to boost product development

Concluding Outlook for 2025

A Convergence of Trends:

• 2025 emerges as a year of convergence, where once-speculative domains (generative AI, NFTs, crypto) strive to produce tangible value and meaningful utility.
• Regulatory clarity and policy shifts unlock innovation, while improved capital market conditions (both for IPOs and tokenised assets) broaden participation and reduce concentration risks.

Balanced Opportunity Set:

• Investors have a wide array of choices: embrace cutting-edge AI or stablecoin projects, bet on no-code software platforms and DeFi protocols, diversify via energy MLPs and RWAs, or capitalise on a reinvigorated IPO pipeline.
• The interplay of these sectors—digital versus physical, speculative versus stable yield, private versus public—creates a richer, more layered investment environment than in past cycles.

Strategic Imperatives:

• Success in 2025 and beyond requires discernment, long-term vision, and an appreciation for both the transformative potential of emerging tech and the anchoring effect of reliable infrastructure and strong governance.
• Ultimately, the winners will be those who build sustainable, user-focused ecosystems; deliver genuine productivity and revenue growth; navigate regulatory landscapes wisely; and maintain a flexible, well-balanced investment strategy.

As the saying goes, “Whoever owns information owns the world.” If you’re looking to uncover the best opportunities, it’s time to take matters into your own hands.

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The Sky Cliff Platform serves as a comprehensive portfolio monitoring solution for the Late-Stage Private Equity Market (pre-IPO), offering independent informational services. Please note that Sky Cliff Professionals does not provide investment or tax advice. Potential investors are advised to seek specialized independent tax and financial advice before investing in any alternative investment. Past performance does not guarantee future returns, and investments involve risks to your capital.