The roadshow pitch from Rubrik (RBRK) ahead of its Thursday IPO: In the fast-paced world of AI, we can protect data — and eventually make a load of money doing it.
Said pitch worked.
Rubrik stock surged 17% to $37 by the close of a rocky day on Wall Street, a sizzling response to another AI ecosystem play, similar to the appetite for Reddit’s (RDDT) newly issued shares just a few weeks earlier.
“We were preparing for this moment for several years, and the market was receptive,” Rubrik co-founder, chairman, and CEO Bipul Sinha told Yahoo Finance (video above).
Shares of the cybersecurity firm were priced late Wednesday at $32, above the high-end of their expected range. The stock opened for trading at $38.60.
The upsized IPO hauled in $752 million for Rubrik’s expansion plans, initially valuing the company at $5.6 billion.
It was just this January when Rubrik — which Microsoft (MSFT) has invested in since 2021 — raised a Series E round that valued the company at $3.3 billion. That round was led by Bain, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Greylock, and Khosla Ventures. The firm was valued at around $1.8 billion in a prior 2017 raise.
“The company is one to watch,” an early Rubrik investor told Yahoo Finance.
A key part of Rubrik’s selling point is its well-regarded tech exec, Sinha.
The former engineer has spent extensive time in the venture capital industry. As a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sinha put dollars behind names such as Nutanix (NTNX) and Pulse News. (Lightspeed is now a major shareholder in Rubrik, with about 24.9% of shares outstanding).
He has also held engineering positions at Oracle (ORCL) and IBM (IBM).
Sinha founded Rubrik in 2014, working in coffee shops by the offices of Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and YouTube in an effort to hire top developer talent.
He doesn’t hide his modest upbringing, which has fueled his business building. “Maximal thinking is how I lifted myself out of poverty,” Sinha wrote in a letter in the company’s IPO prospectus.
“He is the American Dream come true.” Lightspeed Venture Partner’s co-founder and partner Ravi Mhatre told Yahoo Finance.
Sinha said he remains as hungry as ever, despite the newfound attention around Rubrik and its future.
While the cybersecurity market remains in growth mode, Rubrik does have to prove its worth to Wall Street. The company disclosed a loss of $354 million for the twelve months ending Jan. 31, 2024, despite subscription revenue rising 40% to $537.9 million. It posted a loss of $278 million for the twelve months ending Jan. 31, 2023.
The company noted in its prospectus that it has had losses in each period since its inception.
“Profits are paramount,” Sinha acknowledged, though he declined to share a precise timeline on when those profits would appear on the balance sheet.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor. He is also the host of the ‘Opening Bid‘ podcast. Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com. Are you a CEO and want to come on Yahoo Finance Live? Email Brian Sozzi.
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