US IPO Weekly Winners & Losers

In just one week, 2026 IPO proceeds leapt by 55%, from $18 billion to $28 billion.

AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems (Nasdaq: CBRS) led the charge, raising $5.6 billion at a $55 billion market cap. It’s the largest AI IPO of all time, and the largest US tech IPO since Uber (2019). Cerebras was one of three billion-dollar IPOs this week with an AI angle. It's fair to say AI just became the dominant force in the IPO market.

Our analyst called Cerebras “a giant IPO of giant AI chips.” It also generated some giant returns for investors lucky enough to get an allocation: After pricing $60 above the range at $185, it finished day one at $311 for a +68% pop. The hype ebbed on day two, off -10% from there.

At a valuation of more than 100x forward sales, the phrase “priced to perfection” comes to mind. Yes, the bull case is supplanting $5+ trillion competitor Nvidia. But even then, achieving that scale is no easy feat. And in the near term, more shares will hit the market due to a steady stream of lock-up releases.

The week’s other big winner: Next-gen geothermal play Fervo Energy (Nasdaq: FRVO), up more than +50% by end of week. Investors want to own companies taking big swings, even if they come with big price tags. The IPO market has always had its share of “lottery tickets” but rarely have so many received such large valuations. (See: CBRS, FRVO, XE, BETA, and upcoming QNT).

The week’s bottom performer GMR Solutions (NYSE: GMRS) makes it clear there's less appetite for slower-growth, highly leveraged defensive plays right now. The KKR-backed emergency medical company slashed its offer price and dropped more than -10%.

SpaceX, no doubt thrilled by Cerebras' trading, could flip its S-1 as soon as next week, ahead of a June listing. In other “mega-IPO” news, Anthropic is raising another $30 billion at a $900 billion valuation, surpassing OpenAI as one of the world's most valuable startups.

Not much on the IPO calendar over the next 2 weeks, as companies turn in Q1 financials with Memorial Day around the corner. Investment bank Lincoln International (NYSE: LCLN) is the only sizable deal immediately on deck, raising $400 million mid-week.

The IPO Index backpedaled -0.8% for the week, compared to +0.1% for the S&P 500. AI infrastructure won the week for the IPO Index, led by data center builder Fermi up +24.5%. Meanwhile, sandal maker Birkenstock missed earnings and fell -20.7%.