Government Shutdown Delays Highly Anticipated 2019 Tech Unicorn IPOs
The ongoing government shutdown forces major tech companies like Uber and Lyft to postpone their planned public debuts. Meanwhile, startups like Postmates and N26 continue to secure massive private funding rounds.
The lengthy government shutdown severely disrupts the 2019 tech IPO pipeline, preventing major companies like Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, and Slack from going public until politicians resolve the federal budget dispute. Private market investors who eagerly await these blockbuster floats face unexpected delays, as the SEC remains unable to process the necessary regulatory paperwork during the federal freeze.
While public market debuts stall, late-stage private funding continues to flow into the startup ecosystem. Postmates secures a $100 million pre-IPO investment led by BlackRock that boosts its valuation to $1.85 billion, and German fintech startup N26 raises a massive $300 million round at a $2.7 billion valuation to fuel its global expansion.
Not all sectors experience smooth sailing, as e-scooter giant Bird attempts to raise $300 million on a flat $2 billion valuation amid growing investor skepticism about poor unit economics and hardware reliability. Meanwhile, all eyes remain on Uber, whose highly anticipated S-1 filing sits in limbo while Wall Street analysts adjust their expectations from a $120 billion debut down to a more grounded $90 billion market cap.