All the tech startups that have taken steps toward going public in 2019 - and those rumored to be eyeing an IPO

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All the tech startups that have taken steps toward going public in 2019 - and those rumored to be eyeing an IPO

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 7, 2019.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

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  • 2019 was supposed to be the "year of unicorns," but market volatility and the 35-day government shutdown have caused some companies looking to go public to slow down or delay their filing processes.
  • Some companies, including dueling ride-hailing competitors Uber and Lyft, have been taking their first official steps toward IPOs despite an uncertain economic environment.
  • Here are all the tech startups who have taken steps toward going public in 2019, as well as companies that are rumored to be gearing up for an IPO later this year.

Although the market for tech IPO offerings is being called a "s---show" in 2019, that hasn't stopped some startups from taking steps toward going public anyway.

But thanks to market volatility at the end of 2018, as well as the government shutdown in January that put public filings on hold, 2019's "banner year" has started out slow. The down market has left many highly-anticipated tech IPOs to be delayed, and bankers are now anticipating an inundation of IPOs in the second quarter of 2019, beginning in March.

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Through the first two months of 2019, there have only been a handful of tech startups that have taken official steps toward going public. Some of the most highly-anticipated startups have made their first moves already - Uber and Lyft are dueling it out to be the first of the two multi-billion dollar ride-hailing platforms to go public.

Here are the tech startups that have taken steps toward going public, and those that are rumored to make their first moves in 2019:

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(Valuations and funding raised courtesy of PitchBook.)

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Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat

Company role: Animal-free meat products

Year founded: 2009

Headquarters location: El Segundo, California

Valuation: $1.35 billion

Total funding raised: $192.8 million

Reported revenue: $56.4 million in first nine months of 2018 (MarketWatch)

IPO status: Beyond Meat filed to go public under the ticker BYND in November 2018. However, the company has yet to list due to delays and inabilities to get paperwork approved resulting from the 35-day federal government shutdown that went through January.

Lyft

Lyft

Company role: Ride-hailing app

Year founded: 2007

Headquarters location: San Francisco, California

Valuation: $15.1 billion

Total funding raised: $4.91 billion

Reported revenue: $909 million in first half of 2018 (The Information)

IPO status: Lyft confidentially filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in December. Multiple news outlets have reported Lyft is readying to make its filing public as soon as the end of February, with a roadshow beginning the week of March 18.

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PagerDuty

PagerDuty

Company role: IT incident management platform

Year founded: 2009

Headquarters location: San Francisco, California

Valuation: $1.3 billion

Total funding raised: $173.7 million

Reported revenue: $100 million in "annual recurring revenue" as of September 2018 (Forbes)

IPO status: PagerDuty reportedly confidentially filed to go public with the SEC in January, but has faced delays due to the government shutdown.

Pinterest

Pinterest

Company role: Social content-sharing platform

Year founded: 2008

Headquarters location: San Francisco, California

Valuation: $12.3 billion

Total funding raised: $1.47 billion

Reported revenue: On track to hit nearly $1 billion in ad revenue anticipated in 2019 (Cheddar)

IPO status: Pinterest reportedly confidentially filed go to public in February, and has its eye on a June IPO.

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Postmates

Postmates

Company role: On-demand food delivery app

Year founded: 2011

Headquarters location: San Francisco, California

Valuation: $1.85 billion

Total funding raised: $680 million

Reported revenue: $250 million in 2017 (Recode)

IPO status: Postmates announced in early February that it had filed paperwork with the SEC to go public.

Slack

Slack

Company role: Workplace messaging and communication platform

Year founded: 2009

Headquarters location: San Francisco, California

Valuation: $7.13 billion

Total funding raised: $1.22 billion

Reported revenue: $221 million in 2017 fiscal year (CNBC)

IPO status: Slack announced in early February that it had confidentially filed to go public with the SEC. Slack is reportedly planning to go public through a direct listing rather than an IPO, following in the footsteps of Spotify. Its public debut is expected for the second quarter in 2019.

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Uber

Uber

Company role: Ride-hailing service

Year founded: 2009

Headquarters location: San Francisco, California

Valuation: $72 billion

Total funding raised: $19.94 billion

Reported revenue: $11.4 billion in net revenue in 2018 (Bloomberg)

IPO status: Uber reportedly confidentially filed to go public in December. But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company is in no rush to go public, and will "do it when we're ready."

Zoom

Zoom

Company role: Video conferencing software

Year founded: 2011

Headquarters location: San Jose, California

Valuation: $1 billion

Total funding raised: $160.8 million

Reported revenue: Does not report financials, but reported 150% growth in revenue for 2017 (Zoom press release)

IPO status: Zoom is aiming to file to go public by the end of March, and could go public as soon as April, Business Insider first reported. Zoom filed confidentially with the SEC during the government shutdown in early 2019, which delayed its listing process.

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Airbnb

Airbnb

Company role: Short-term property rental marketplace

Source: Business Insider

Bumble

Bumble

Company role: Dating app and networking app known for its feature where women make the first move to message matches.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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CloudFlare

CloudFlare

Company role: Content delivery network services provider

Source: Business Insider

CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike

Company role: Cloud-based cybersecurity platform

Source: Reuters

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Grail

Grail

Company role: Cancer detection testing

Source: Bloomberg

Medallia

Medallia

Company role: Enterprise customer experience software

Source: Forbes

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Palantir

Palantir

Company role: Data analytics platform

Source: Business Insider

Peloton

Peloton

Company role: At-home fitness equipment and programming

Source: Wall Street Journal

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Robinhood

Robinhood

Company role: Stock investment platform

Source: Business Insider

The We Company (WeWork)

The We Company (WeWork)

Company role: Co-working space provider

Source: CNBC

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