Tech Unicorns Flirt with 2019 IPOs, Creating a Potentially Record-Breaking Year

​Last week, the lone company to go public, TuanChe, a Chinese automotive e-commerce company, raised $20 million. While last week was slow for IPOs, 2019 is anticipated to be the exact opposite. A handful of Silicon Valley’s largest constituents are slated for public offerings, with a few aiming for valuations in the twelve-figure range. Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and WeWork are headlining the group of Unicorns expected to go public.

• Chinese automotive e-commerce firm TuanChe made its Wall Street debut, raising $20 million, far below the company’s prior $150 million proposal. The firm ranks third in China by volume of new cars sold. The firm also organizes a number of auto shows across China each year, hosting 315 shows in the first half of 2018 alone.
  

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• 2019 is shaping up to be a very exciting year for IPOs, as four of the largest and most well-known unicorns have announced expectations of going public next year. According to CB Insights, headliners Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and WeWork are listed within the top 13 highest valued private companies, representing $133.8 billion in current market value. The potentially blockbuster year of tech IPOs could also include Palantir, Instacart, Slack Technologies, Pinterest, Postmates, and Zoom. The Wall Street Journal reports that, if expected candidates follow through, 2019 will be a record-breaking year for capital raised through IPOs.