The IPO market is hosting a rare event this week: a listing from a VC-backed tech company with less than $100 million in revenue.
Since 2022, only four other VC-backed tech startups have IPO’d with less than $100 million in sales, including just one US-based company (Credo Technology, 2022).
Ambiq Micro (AMBQ) plans to raise $80 million at a $435 million market cap, and begin trading on the NYSE on Wednesday. Ambiq is a fabless semiconductor company developing ultra-low power systems-on-chip (SoCs) for use in edge computing, including AI. Its products are currently used primarily in wearables and other devices, and the company estimates that over 40% of the 42 million units shipped in 2024 were used to run basic AI algorithms (>80% ex-China). With $77 million in LTM revenue, Ambiq is relatively small compared to competitors like Infineon and Microchip Technology.
Small VC-backed tech IPOs had once been common but dropped off over the past decade, coinciding with record venture funding and the ability to stay private for longer under the 2012 JOBS Act. During the past 15 years, VCs and crossover investors...
To read the rest of the article, sign up for a free trial of IPO Pro, the platform that gives you all of the IPO information you need, all in one place.
