Rubrik prices IPO at $32 per share, above the expected range

Rubrik, a data-management software startup sponsored by Microsoft, priced its IPO at $32 per share. That is above the projected range.

The 10-year-old company sold 23.5 million shares ahead of its New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday, trading under the ticker symbol “RBRK.” Rubrik raised $752 million in its initial public offering, valuing the firm at $5.6 billion.

The company stated in a filing last week that it expected the offering to be priced between $28 and $31 per share.

Rubrik is entering the public market during a historically slow time for venture-backed software IPOs, particularly those that sell to enterprises. Since late 2021, the IPO market has been mostly shut down, with investors fleeing risky assets due to concerns about a deteriorating economy and rising interest rates.

Startups have remained private for extended periods of time, rebalancing their finances and waiting for better opportunities. Even as interest rates have stabilized and the overall tech sector has recovered in recent months, private tech companies have been sluggish to quit.

Instacart
Klaviyo, a software vendor, went public in September, marking the first venture-backed technology deal in the United States since 2021. Reddit
went public last month, a day after Astera Labs had its Nasdaq debut.
, which sells data centre networking chips.

Rubrik initially sold perpetual licenses and established maintenance contracts for hardware capable of handling data storage functions such as backup and compression. In recent years, the company has moved its focus to subscriptions for cloud-based cybersecurity products. Businesses can use the program to safeguard data in cloud applications and public clouds, as well as to avoid data loss due to ransomware attacks.

Rubrik currently generates 91% of its revenue through subscriptions, up from 59% two years ago. Revenue rose less than 5% in the fiscal year that ended on January 31, but annual recurring revenue from subscriptions soared by 47%.

At the end of the fiscal year, the company reported that almost 100 clients contributed more than $1 million in subscription ARR. Clients include Carhartt, Barclays, and Home Depot.

“Our key top-line metric is subscription ARR,” Rubrik finance head Kiran Choudary stated in a videotaped presentation for the company’s IPO roadshow.

However, Rubrik’s losses are increasing. The corporation reported a $354 million net loss in the most recent fiscal year, compared to about $278 million the previous year.

In 2021, Microsoft invested in Rubrik at an estimated $4 billion valuation. Following the IPO, Lightspeed Venture Partners, where CEO Bipul Sinha formerly worked, will own more than 25% of the voting power. Sinha will have 8% control.