Analysis
This fall's IPO pipeline is showing a genuine split between companies that have filed and are still waiting, and companies that have actually priced and started trading -- a distinction that matters more than the raw count of active filings Pulse tracks each week.
Filed, And Still Waiting
Nscale, the London-based AI infrastructure company with data center deals tied to Nvidia, Microsoft and Anthropic, filed its S-1 on September 18 with no price range or share count disclosed, reportedly targeting a valuation as high as $35 billion despite a $1.02 billion net loss in the first half of 2026. Four days later, terms still have not been set. Wella, the KKR-backed beauty and hair-care company spun out of Coty, has been in an even longer holding pattern -- it filed for its NYSE listing on August 31 with an underwriting syndicate of 18 banks led by Goldman Sachs, BofA and J.P. Morgan, and still has not disclosed pricing terms more than three weeks later. TRex Bio and Retension Pharmaceuticals, which Pulse covered filing the same week, remain in a similar pre-pricing state.
“From the outside, both look identical -- a filed S-1 with no price range -- which is exactly why the gap itself, not just the eventual outcome, is worth tracking.”
Priced, Trading, Done
Set against that backlog, three companies completed the full cycle from filing to live trading stock inside essentially the same week: newcleo closed its SPAC merger and began Nasdaq trading, Electra Therapeutics priced and closed its first trading day, and Bamboo Insurance is on track for a similarly fast roadshow-to-listing timeline. Iambic Therapeutics filed fresh this week as well, joining the backlog rather than the completed group -- for now.
Why The Gap Matters
A company that prices quickly after filing typically has strong, well-understood demand locked in during the roadshow, letting bankers set a confident price range without extended back-and-forth. A company sitting in filed-but-unpriced limbo for weeks can reflect one of two very different situations: deliberately careful bookbuilding to maximize eventual pricing, or softer-than-hoped investor interest that requires more marketing before underwriters are comfortable setting terms. From the outside, both look identical -- a filed S-1 with no price range -- which is exactly why the gap itself, not just the eventual outcome, is worth tracking.
The Numbers In Context
Nscale's implied $35 billion target against a $1.02 billion first-half loss, and Wella's 18-bank underwriting syndicate sitting idle for three-plus weeks, both represent significant capital and banking resources committed to deals that have not yet cleared the market's actual pricing test. That is a meaningfully different risk profile than companies like newcleo and Electra that have already found out, in real time, what public investors will actually pay.
What Founders And GPs Should Watch
Whether Nscale and Wella price within the next two to three weeks, or whether their filed-but-unpriced status extends further, will be a better read on actual fall IPO market appetite than any single company's debut performance. A pipeline with several large names stuck in pre-pricing limbo for a month or more, while smaller and mid-sized deals like Electra and Bamboo move through quickly, would suggest underwriters have real confidence in smaller, more straightforward stories but are still working to build demand for the largest, most complex offerings.