Liquidity is back on the menu - lets see how this will that affect the VC/LP markets?
After two years of drought, the IPO and M&A markets are finally heating up — and not just with hype, but real deals, real numbers, and real momentum. From Klarna’s public debut to Google’s record-breaking acquisition of Wiz, 2025 is shaping up to be the year the market got back to business.
📈 According toS&P Global, tech IPOs in 2025 are poised to return to pre-pandemic levels, with pent-up demand, improving macroeconomic conditions, and a backlog of private tech companies ready to list. The IPO window is cracking open — and these four headline deals are leading the charge.
Klarna is finally going public — and it's carrying the hopes of the European fintech sector on its shoulders.
🌍 Presence: 25 countries, 675,000 merchants
📈 Turned a$21M profitin 2024 — a major swing from losses in 2022–2023
🇺🇸 U.S. expansion contributed to rapid growth but also past losses
Klarna’s IPO represents amaturity momentfor BNPL. After massive growth in the 2020-2021 pandemic era and a painful correction, Klarna is proving BNPL can be profitable at scale.
Originally a crypto miner, CoreWeave has pivoted andexplodedinto one of the most important AI cloud providers in the world.
🧱 Infrastructure: 32 data centers, 250,000+ GPUs (mainly Nvidia)
📈 Projected IPO raise: $4B at a ~$35B valuation
🤝 Nvidia owns ~6% of the company
CoreWeave isthe infrastructure behind the AI boom. As vertical AI becomes real business, investors are betting heavily on the foundational layers — and CoreWeave is capitalizing at the perfect moment.
StubHub is back with a bang — and this time, they’re riding the post-COVID wave of live events and global ticketing demand.
🌐 Reach: Tickets sold in 200+ countries
💸 2024 Revenue: $1.77B (+30% YoY)
🧾 Net Loss 2024: $2.8M (vs. $405M profit in 2023)
Even with a slight dip in profits, revenue growth is robust. StubHub is proof that live entertainment isnot just back— it’s booming. Investors are eager to reprice companies like this for the long term.
Israel’s cloud security rocketship Wiz is getting acquired by Google for a whopping$32 billionin cash — thelargest cybersecurity acquisition in history.
📈 ARR: $500M in 2024, aiming for $1B+ in 2025
🛡️ Clients: Hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies
☁️ Platform-agnostic: Works across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud
🇮🇱 Based in Tel Aviv — another massive Israeli tech win
This is more than an M&A. It’s a signal that security, AI, and cloud are converging — andBig Tech is willing to pay anythingfor best-in-class startups. This is also a historic win for the Israeli ecosystem.
After nearly two years of stalled liquidity, the public markets are waking up — and 2025 might be the reset we’ve been waiting for.
https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/billion-dollar-exits-ipo-2025-cyber-ai/
Tech IPO activity could return topre-pandemic normsin 2025
Many companies held off on IPOs during 2022–2024 due to volatility
The current wave is being led byAI, cybersecurity, and fintechfirms
Investors are now favoringsustainable revenue growth, profitability, and infrastructure over hype
This isn’t just a blip. This is arealignment— and the strongest companies from the last cycle are ready for primetime.
Big Desk Energy | Subscribe
startup insights, stories, and vibes sent to your inbox every Tuesday
mail.bigdeskenergy.com/subscribe?_bhba=a912eba6-7a35-4c1b-a9cb-9721b5c72389
beehiiv — The newsletter platform built for growth
Access the best tools available in email, helping your newsletter scale and monetize like never before.
Business news explained in plain English
Straight facts, zero fluff, & plenty of puns
Or copy and paste this link to others:{{rp_refer_url_no_params}}
© 2026 Trace Cohen's Vertical Ai Investor Newsletter
1 Unicorn Ranch
Port Washington, New York 11050, United States