Rubrik’s (RBRK) roadshow pitch before its IPO on Thursday: In the fast-moving world of AI, we can protect data – and ultimately make a lot of money doing it.
Said pitch worked.
Rubrik shares rose 17% to $37 at the end of a turbulent day on Wall Street, a strong reaction to another AI ecosystem similar to the appetite for Reddit’s (RDDT) newly issued shares just a few weeks ago before.
“We have been preparing for this moment for several years and the market has been receptive,” Bipul Sinha, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Rubrik, told Yahoo Finance (video above).
The cybersecurity company’s share price was $32 late Wednesday, above the high end of its expected range. The stock opened trading at $38.60.
The massive IPO raised $752 million for Rubrik’s expansion plans and initially valued the company at $5.6 billion.
Just in January of this year, Rubrik – in which Microsoft (MSFT) has been investing since 2021 – launched a Series E round that valued the company at $3.3 billion. This round was led by Bain, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Greylock and Khosla Ventures. A previous raise in 2017 valued the company at around $1.8 billion.
“The company is one to watch,” an early Rubrik investor told Yahoo Finance.
A key selling point of Rubrik is its respected tech executive Sinha.
The former engineer has spent a lot of time in the venture capital industry. As a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sinha put money into names like Nutanix (NTNX) and Pulse News. (Lightspeed is now a major shareholder in Rubrik with approximately 24.9% of shares outstanding).
He has also held technical positions at Oracle (ORCL) and IBM (IBM).
Sinha founded Rubrik in 2014, working in coffee shops next to the offices of Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and YouTube to hire top developers.
He makes no secret of his humble upbringing, which inspired him to build his company. “Through maximum thinking, I lifted myself out of poverty,” Sinha wrote in a letter in the company’s IPO prospectus.
“It’s the American dream come true,” Ravi Mhatre, co-founder and partner at Lightspeed Venture Partner, told Yahoo Finance.
Sinha said he remains as hungry as ever, despite the newfound attention surrounding Rubrik and his future.
As the cybersecurity market continues in growth mode, Rubrik must prove its value to Wall Street. The company reported a loss of $354 million for the 12 months ended January 31, 2024, even as subscription revenue rose 40% to $537.9 million. For the twelve months ended January 31, 2023, the company posted a loss of $278 million.
The company noted in its prospectus that it had suffered losses in every period since its inception.
“Profits come first,” Sinha acknowledged, but declined to give an exact timeline for when those profits would appear on the balance sheet.
Brian Sozzi is Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance. He also hosts the “Opening bid‘Podcast. Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X @BrianSozzi and further LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email [email protected]. Are you a CEO and want to join Yahoo Finance Live? Email Brian Sozzi.
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