Rubrik files to go public as tech companies see thawing of IPO market

Rubrik, a 9-year-old data security software maker, filed for an IPO Monday, the latest venture-backed company to move toward the public market after a long lull dating back to late 2021.

The Silicon Valley company began selling hardware that businesses could use to back up their data in a modernized way compared to traditional players in the industry. Rubrik then had to move to the cloud, where the bulk of its revenue now comes from software that “detects, analyzes and remediates data security risks and unauthorized user activities,” according to its IPO prospectus .

Competitors include Dell, IBMVeeam and Cohesity.

Rubrik plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RRBRK.” Revenue for the year ended January rose about 5% to $627.9 million. The company’s net loss widened to $354.2 million from $277.7 million a year earlier. More than three-quarters of Rubrik’s revenue was spent on sales and marketing in the last fiscal year.

After a drought that lasted more than two years, the IPO market has shown signs of life in recent weeks. In March, a social media company Reddit and data center technology provider Astera Laboratories became public on consecutive days. Both took the plunge, boosting optimism that more companies could line up to test the market.

Before that, the last two venture-backed tech IPOs in the United States had been Instacart And Klaviyo in September 2023, but these deals received lukewarm responses on Wall Street and failed to open the window. After a record IPO year in 2021, soaring inflation and rising interest rates have caused investors to shy away from technology and other risky assets, leading to a drying up of technology investments on public and private markets.

Rubrik is led by CEO Bipul Sinha, who invested in a cloud management software provider Nutanix before that company’s IPO in 2016. Sinha co-founded Rubrik in 2014 with Arvind Jain, Soham Mazumdar and Arvind Nithrakashyap. Jain is now co-founder and CEO of Glean, which creates software that helps business employees find internal insights from various data sources.

Rubrik said in its prospectus that since April 2021, it has paid Glean $356,000 for software. Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Ravi Mhatre, a Rubrik director, also serves on Glean’s board. Rubrik is supported by Microsoft and said it had committed to spending $220 million over up to 10 years on Microsoft’s Azure public cloud.

Lightspeed, Sinha’s former employer and the company that led Rubrik’s first funding round in 2015, is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 24% stake, according to the filing. Greylock Partners comes second with a 12% stake, followed by Sinha, which holds 7.6%. Jain and Nithrakashyap hold 7% and 6.7% respectively.

Like Reddit, Rubrik will run a directed share program to offer IPO shares to select partners, friends, and family members.

Rubrik had 3,100 employees and 6,100 customers in January. The company relied on three channel partners – Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions, Exclusive Networks and Promark Technology – for 76% of its revenue last fiscal year.

— CNBC’s Ari Levy contributed to this report.

WATCH: Whether the IPO window opens remains to be seen