Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Lyft's initial public offering this week was the first of several expected from some of Silicon Valley’s hottest tech companies in the next quarter (or two).
Why it matters: These companies are among the Silicon Valley tech startups that remained private for years, but they're finally making their public market debuts — and letting employees and early investors cash out.
- Uber is rumored to be planning to go public in April, and could fetch an astronomical valuation of more than $100 billion.
- Pinterest is likely to debut on the public market next month.
- Slack, after confidentially filing to go public, is rumored to be the first business software company to opt for a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO.
- Airbnb's listing could come as soon as June of this year, but it’s still unclear exactly when it will pull the trigger.
What to watch: 2018 was a solid year for tech IPOs, but many companies listed in Asia, in large part thanks to changes to Hong Kong’s listing rules. However, bankers predict listings will swing back to the U.S. this year.