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Over the past year, the markets have been faced with a global shipping crisis, the ongoing pandemic and rampant inflation. Despite these risks, a large number of companies made their public debut in 2021.
We’re talking about Coinbase (COIN), Rent the Runway (RENT), Robinhood (HOOD) and, of course, electric vehicle makers Lucid (LCID) and Rivian (RVIN). However, not all of the companies that went public have performed well. While 399 initial public offerings raised $ 142.5 billion in 2021, the majority of IPOs ended the year below their initial returns.
And while the 2022 market gets off to a slow start thanks to the lingering pandemic and chip shortage, there are plenty of big name companies poised to hit the public markets this year.
Think of Reddit, Flipkart, and Mobileye to name a few. And it does not stop there. Yahoo Finance spoke to Renaissance Capital’s Avery Spear, who gave us an overview of the hottest initial public offerings to hit the markets in 2022.
Vinfast
At the top of the 2022 IPO list is Vietnamese automaker Vinfast. A spin-off of Vingroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate specializing in everything from real estate to healthcare, Vinfast is turning to the manufacture of electric vehicles with its eyes riveted on the US and European markets.
“As you saw with Rivian, [electric vehicles are] a very hot space right now, â€Renaissance’s Spear told Yahoo Finance. “They’ve already started taking pre-orders, which is pretty much where Rivian was when he hit the market.”
The company launched two electric vehicles, the VF e35 and VF e36, at the Los Angeles auto show in November and plans to open 60 showrooms in the United States in 2022. The company plans to start taking preorders for its vehicles in the first half of next year and have them on the road by the end of 2022.
With a projected valuation of $ 60 billion, Vinfast will enter a US market that is riding a wave of investment in electric vehicles – whether Tesla (TSLA), which saw its valuation skyrocket in 2021 to 1,000. billion, or Rivian, whose IPO took place in November, rising to nearly $ 12 billion.
Mobileye
Loyal to the automotive industry, Intel (INTC) plans to sell its Mobileye business in 2022. Acquired by Intel in 2018 for $ 15 billion, Mobileye focuses on the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in to develop the technology needed to power self-driving cars. The IPO could be valued at $ 50 billion and prove to be a godsend for chip giant Intel.
In December, the company launched a robotaxi pilot program testing its autonomous capabilities on the streets of Paris. The move will allow Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann employees to request a trip to work via the robotaxis four days a week. A safety driver will be behind the wheel.
If you didn’t know what Reddit was until 2021, the same stock craze fueled by the popular WallStreetBets subreddit has changed that. The sprawling bulletin board has over 50 million daily active users, 100,000 subreddits, and 50 billion monthly views. Yeah, that’s a big deal. It is no wonder that the site is often referred to as the first page of the Internet.
Reddit has been around since 2005 and gives users the ability to discuss everything from small town events to the best strategies for beating their favorite video games. But WallStreetBets has drawn even more attention to the service and has played a major role in the retail investor boom.
No wonder the company, which has confidentially filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission, either aim for a valuation of 15 billion dollars when it will be made public next year.
Flipkart
Flipkart, backed by Walmart (WMT), is expected to hit public markets in 2022 with a valuation of $ 38 billion. The India-based company, which competes directly with India’s Amazon site, offers everything from clothing to home appliances, with 100,000 sellers and 100 million registered users.
This month alone, Flipkart and Walmart invested $ 145 million in Indian company Ninjacart to bolster its grocery delivery service, a category that has grown dramatically in India.
Automation anywhere
Finally, there is the software robot company Automation Anywhere. The SoftBank-backed company helps companies develop software, also known as robots, that automate tasks such as data entry for everything from HR departments to sales and marketing.
“It’s robotic process automation, which, again, is kind of a hot area,†Spear said.
The idea is to speed up operations by reducing the time required to perform traditionally manual tasks. According to Spear, the company is valued at just under $ 7 billion.
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