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What is the US IPO outlook for 2026?
US public markets are set for another big year in 2026, driven by moderating inflation, anticipated interest rate cuts, and a significantly expanded backlog of IPO-ready companies. After three years of intermittent issuance windows, hundreds of late-stage private companies—including more than 800 unicorns—enter 2026 with stronger balance sheets, improved operating discipline, and clearer paths to profitability.
Traditional IPOs raised $33.6 billion in 2025, their best year since 2021. Momentum that had been building through the year was interrupted when the government shutdown halted SEC operations. Many issuers considering an offering shifted their plans into 2026, which is expected to meaningfully increase activity—particularly in the first half of the year.
Despite the disruptions, 2025 demonstrated that investors have a healthy appetite for high-quality IPOs. Many traditional IPOs priced within or above their revised ranges, with several technology, fintech, and digital infrastructure issuers delivering strong first-day and post-pricing performance. Sponsor-backed companies also experienced solid demand. That’s encouraging news for private equity firms that need to return capital after an extended slowdown in exits.
The macro environment is increasingly supportive. Inflation continues to ease and markets expect the Federal Reserve to continue its measured rate-cutting cycle. A more predictable tariff policy environment could further strengthen risk sentiment.
Looking at which sectors will lead IPO activity in 2026, interest is strongest in AI infrastructure, where continued investment in chips, data centers, and power capacity is driving a robust pipeline. Insurance and specialty risk companies also remain well positioned after strong 2025 debuts and software—particularly AI-enabled platforms—continues to be a top investor preference.
Momentum is building in industrials and the manufacturing sector, including reshoring, aerospace and defense, supported by policy and supply-chain realignment. Energy transition and grid and storage infrastructure are attracting increased attention as well due to the predictability of their cash flows. Healthcare remains more selective, with improving interest in AI-enabled healthtech and medtech, while biotech activity is expected to center on later-stage companies with less perceived risk.
Still, selectivity will remain a defining feature of the market. IPO candidates that are already prepared to operate as public companies and that have credible paths to profitability are likely to attract the strongest investor support. By contrast, issuers with high debt, unclear cash-flow trends, or undifferentiated business models may continue to face valuation pressure. To stand out in a crowded field, issuers will want to showcase a history of disciplined growth and cash generation. IPO candidates should try to use their equity story to explain how AI enhances their business model in efficiency, product innovation, or customer value.
Activity in 2026 may unfold more steadily than in prior “open window” periods. Companies are increasingly thoughtful about timing and market conditions, especially since many are supported by deep pools of private capital that allow them to be patient. We see the IPO market as open for companies with the right fundamentals—appropriate scale, strong growth prospects, profitability (or a clear path to it), and the operational maturity to function as a public company from Day One.
Even so, market windows can open and close quickly, making readiness and flexibility essential. Companies that have completed their governance upgrades, strengthened their financial reporting, and refined their equity stories will be best positioned to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.
“2026’s IPO window is open—but selective. A shutdown-driven backlog and easing rates are bringing supply, yet investors are paying a premium for scaled, cash-generative stories with clear profitability paths—especially in AI infrastructure, software, and specialty risk.”
Mike Bellin,IPO Services Leader, PwC USIPO momentum surges to the strongest levels since 2021
- Through November 30, 72 traditional IPOs have raised more than $33.6 billion—surpassing the full-year totals of 2024 (62 IPOs; $27 billion), 2023 (35 IPOs; $17.7 billion), and 2022 (28 IPOs; $7.1 billion). Momentum accelerated meaningfully in late summer and early fall, with September becoming the busiest month for new listings in years. The month marked a clear turning point, with 13 IPOs raising more than $8 billion—the busiest single month for new listings since November 2021. Investor demand strengthened meaningfully, with most Q3 deals pricing at or above their ranges and delivering solid first-day gains.
- Notably, eight companies were still able to price their IPOs during the October-early November government shutdown, underscoring the depth of investor appetite and the resilience of the issuance window. The shutdown did, however, pause SEC operations and delay several in-process offerings, ultimately pushing many issuers into 2026.
- Several notable issuers were also active on the road late in the year, including a large automated investing and wealth-management platform, a national outpatient imaging and diagnostics platform, and a full-service turnkey infrastructure service provider. Also, a large private equity–backed medical supplies company was preparing to launch what could be the largest IPO since November 2021, signaling continued depth in investor demand for scaled, cash-generative businesses beyond the technology sector.
- Earlier in the year, a leading design software platform completed one of the most notable IPOs in recent memory. The deal priced above its revised range and finished its first day up more than 250%, marking the strongest debut ever for a billion-dollar US IPO. The transaction underscored the pent-up demand for scaled technology leaders with strong growth profiles, profitability potential and clear operational maturity, even as the magnitude of the first-day move highlighted the challenges issuers face in balancing pricing between institutional and retail investors. Additional momentum came from offerings by a global consumer finance and payments platform and multiple crypto and digital-asset infrastructure companies.
- AI-driven business models continued to dominate investor interest. High-scale AI infrastructure and cybersecurity companies consistently priced at the top of their ranges, reflecting strong demand for platforms tied to data-center build-out, training compute and security. Early in the year, a scaled AI cloud infrastructure provider raised roughly $1.5 billion and has traded up around 100% since its offering, highlighting the strength of investor appetite for foundational compute platforms. This momentum continued with a large-scale cloud cybersecurity platform that raised more than $900 million in September, priced at the top of its revised range and finished its first day up nearly 20%. A pre-revenue AI datacenter infrastructure and power provider also priced a sizable offering—raising roughly $700 million at a valuation above $12 billion—and surged more than 55% on its debut, underscoring investor conviction in next-generation infrastructure. AI enablement extended beyond core infrastructure. An AI-enabled medtech platform and a precision-diagnostics company leveraging AI both priced successfully, demonstrating that investor interest spans multiple categories of AI adoption.
- Sponsor-backed IPO activity strengthened further in 2025, marking the busiest year for sponsor-backed issuance since 2021. Year to November 30, 17 sponsor-backed companies have raised more than $8.9 billion, already surpassing the full-year total for 2024, when 13 deals raised $8.8 billion. The 2025 cohort has delivered an average return of approximately 22% since debut, reflecting solid investor demand for scaled, cash-generative businesses with clear deleveraging paths. By contrast, the year also highlighted continued investor selectivity. A large consumer data and analytics provider priced at the lower end of its range and has traded down 25% as investors focused on leverage and margin pressure, while an educational content and publishing platform priced below range and similarly struggled, trading flat post-listing.
- VC-backed IPOs also strengthened in 2025. Year to November 30, 34 VC-backed companies have raised approximately $16.4 billion, compared to 29 issuers raising more than $8.6 billion in all of 2024. Although fewer in number than in earlier cycles, the 2025 cohort has been larger, more profitable and more operationally mature than their 2021 counterparts. Average revenue among tech IPOs exceeded $800 million, with several companies debuting at billion-dollar-plus scale. On average, the 2025 VC-backed cohort has returned roughly 30% since pricing, underscoring solid investor demand for high-quality growth businesses.
- SPAC issuance posted its most active stretch since 2021. Year to November 30, 122 SPACs have raised approximately $22.2 billion, far surpassing the 57 SPAC IPOs that raised $8.7 billion in 2024. Despite the sharp rebound in issuance, de-SPAC activity remained subdued, with only 38 de-SPAC mergers completed so far in 2025 compared to 70 for the full year in 2024. Execution challenges, tighter regulatory scrutiny and more demanding private investment in public equity (PIPE) markets continued to weigh on the de-SPAC path.
Venture capital in 2025: Liquidity pressures and AI dominance reshape the landscape
After a decade of expansion, the venture market in 2025 stands at an inflection point. The rebound in exit activity and megadeal volume suggests a return of confidence, but liquidity pressures and concentration risk continue to define the market. Investors remain selective, with capital consolidating around AI leaders and proven later-stage companies while early-stage fundraising faces headwinds amid constrained distributions.
- Venture timelines continue to extend: For companies that went public in 2025 through November 30, the median time to IPO for those valued at $500 million or more has reached over 11 years—the longest in a decade, according to PitchBook. Nearly half of US unicorns raised their first institutional round nine or more years ago, underscoring how extended holding periods have become the norm.
- Private capital remains deep but selective: Ample private capital provides flexibility but also delays price discovery, widening the gap between well-funded category leaders and startups still working to reach scale.
- Exit activity looks robust on the surface: 2025 is on track for the second-highest number of completed VC exits ever, with exit value through November 30, already exceeding full-year totals for 2022–2024. VC-backed M&A over $500 million has reached its highest level since 2021, according to PitchBook, and investors are averaging more than 115 megadeals per quarter—representing about 70% of deal value, a level last seen in 2021–2022.
- But the picture is more nuanced underneath: A handful of large and AI-focused transactions continue to drive much of the year’s deal value, with AI representing roughly 65% of total exit activity, according to PitchBook. At the same time, a meaningful share of M&A is occurring at earlier stages, including many acquisitions at or before Series A, reflecting how liquidity pressures and strategic consolidation are shaping different parts of the market.
- VC liquidity is at an inflection point: Fundraising is on track for the lowest annual total since 2017, with $45.7 billion committed through Q3, even as dry powder reached a record $311.2 billion as of September 30, according to PitchBook. The result is a market where capital availability appears high but remains constrained in practice, extending fundraising challenges into 2026.
- Secondaries continue to expand: With distribution pressure rising, GPs are increasingly turning to secondary transactions. Nearly four years after the 2021 liquidity peak, the effects of the continuing liquidity squeeze are now being felt across the broader VC ecosystem.
- Valuation recovery is selective but emerging: Median pre-money valuations have begun to rise for the first time since 2021. The rebound is concentrated in AI and in later-stage companies with clear profitability paths, but it signals an early normalization in venture pricing and sentiment.
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