Instacart’s IPO storms out the gate, showing that unicorns can, in fact, go public and survive
Instacart shot up high this morning after the American grocery delivery giant priced its IPO at the top of its recently-raised range yesterday. For startups dying of thirst in this desert devoid of capital, Instacart could not have offered up a more satisfying glass of cool water.
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Instacart was worth $42 per share out the gate, and has since moderated slightly to $39.89 per share. Still, it’s up 33% from its IPO price, which is a pretty darn good first day for any public company.
I am writing this to you backstage at Disrupt 2023 after wrapping up an Equity taping — shoutout Kirsten and Becca for being excellent as always — so we will be brief this morning. Here’s what I am taking away from the Instacart debut:
- Strong late-stage startups can go public today and do it at a price higher than their minimum needs. Both Klaviyo and Instacart raised their IPO price ranges following Arm’s strong debut. Any upside is good in this climate, and while the companies may have done some modest sandbagging with those initial price ranges, Instacart’s performance today is enough to indicate that IPO pricing won’t be in the basement. That’s good.
