Nov 19 7:45 PM

The next big tech IPOs

Twitter, the popular microblogging site, went public on Nov. 7, 2013.
LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

As the hype over Twitter’s IPO fades, analysts are turning to the next crop of tech companies making their way down the pipeline. And according to industry experts, the number of mature private companies ready to go public is at an all-time high.

A few signs that a company is on the verge of going public include: bringing on a chief financial officer with public company experience, raising a sizable final round of funding (primarily from institutional investors not venture capitalists) and showing there’s a clear business model with revenue growth in place.

Real Money takes a look at 5 companies who could take the leap in late 2013, or 2014. 
 



COMPANY:
Seamless

FOUNDED: Launched in 1999 as SeamlessWeb for companies and in 2005 became available for individuals.

WHAT DO THEY DO: A website and mobile app that allows its consumers nationwide to order food from local restaurants online. Seamless merged with Grubhub earlier this year. Combined – the company processes around 130,000 orders a day.

VALUE: Expected revenue for 2013, $200 Million (VentureBeat.com)



COMPANY:
Square

FOUNDED: Released in May 2010

WHAT DO THEY DO: Mobile payment company founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. It allows business owners to use their smartphones to accept payment.

VALUE: $3.5 billion as of September 2012 (Wealthdaily.com)



COMPANY:
Box

FOUNDED: Launched in 2005

WHAT DO THEY DO: A cloud storage company that helps everyone from individuals to Fortune 500 store and access their files securely. The company received an angel investment from billionaire Mark Cuban in 2005.

VALUE: $1.5 Billion (Wealthdaily.com)



COMPANY:
Palantir

FOUNDED: 2004

WHAT DO THEY DO: A software and services company, Palantir claims to “solve the world’s hardest problems.” Their software applications has helped to lower healthcare costs, and by unifying dozens of different real estate databases, allowed banks to more accurately determine the value of a home. Palantir has more than 200 corporate clients, including the NSA and JP Morgan Chase.

VALUE: $8 Billion (Palantir)



COMPANY:
King

FOUNDED: 2003

WHAT DO THEY DO: A social games company, King is the largest game developer on Facebook. It's also the company behind “Candy Crush” - the top-grossing mobile app game on Apple and Android smartphones. More than 225 million people use Candy Crush every month. King rakes in more than $300 Million a year from sales of Candy Crush alone.

VALUE: $5 Billion (Bloomberg)

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