Crunchbase News reported that the 2026 IPO class “already has a record-setting headliner in SpaceX,” and said the public-market window is narrowing as the post-Labor Day filing sprint approaches, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said its predictive intelligence tools flag “a handful of well-funded private companies” with “at least a 40% probability of going public within the next six months,” and it published a watchlist spanning artificial intelligence, fintech, crypto, consumer health and climate technology, according to Crunchbase News.
IPO market counts and proceeds cited by Crunchbase
Crunchbase News said that in the first half of 2026, 58 venture-backed companies listed at $1 billion or above, compared with 27 in the first half of 2025 and 69 in all of last year, per Crunchbase data, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said 2026 “has also far surpassed recent IPO years” on a dollar basis because of SpaceX’s IPO in June, which it said “launched it onto the Nasdaq and raised $86 billion in the process,” according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said that through the first half of 2026, venture-backed startups globally raised $110.8 billion collectively via IPO listings, compared with $12.6 billion raised in the first half of 2025, per Crunchbase data, according to Crunchbase News.
Crunchbase News said that with the year’s end now in sight, “a small window remains for other startups to launch 2026 IPOs,” and it framed its list as notable venture-backed startups that its predictive intelligence suggests are potential IPO candidates within the next six months, according to Crunchbase News.
Anthropic: “very likely” listing, model points to a longer timeline
Crunchbase News wrote that Anthropic is “arguably the most closely watched IPO prospect,” but it “sits just outside that near-term screen,” with Crunchbase considering an eventual listing “very likely” while its model favors a six- to 12-month timeline, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said Anthropic “has indicated it plans to beat rival OpenAI to the public markets,” and cited a Wall Street Journal report stating the company could debut as soon as September or October and “raise up to $100 billion via the offering,” according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said Anthropic has raised $125 billion from private-market investors since its founding in 2021, according to Crunchbase News.
Crunchbase News also said OpenAI is deemed “a very likely IPO candidate by Crunchbase, but not within the next six months,” and said the Wall Street Journal report noted OpenAI is considering pushing its listing to 2027, according to Crunchbase News.
Oura, Notion, and Kraken: consumer health, productivity software, and crypto
Crunchbase News said smart-ring maker Oura is a likely IPO candidate in the next six months, and identified the company as Finland-based with $1.5 billion raised from investors, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News cited a Wall Street Journal report stating Oura is mulling an offering as soon as September or October that could fetch a valuation above the $11 billion it achieved in its most recent funding, according to Crunchbase News.
Crunchbase News said San Francisco-based Notion is a strong candidate for a near-term IPO based on both Crunchbase’s predictive tools and independent reporting, and said the productivity-software maker has raised more than $343 million from investors over time, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News reported that Notion has “reportedly posted strong revenue growth from its enterprise AI offerings,” and said startup reporter Alex Konrad reported the company appointed a new board of directors with significant public-company experience “in ‘a big step towards an IPO,’” according to Crunchbase News.
Crunchbase News said cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is “another probable public-market entrant,” and said that if it makes the IPO leap it is “highly likely” to do so within the next six months, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said Kraken is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, filed a confidential IPO registration statement with the SEC almost a year ago, and later paused its going-public plans amid market volatility, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said that in May, CEO Arjun Sethi said the company was “~80% ready” for a 2026 listing, while also reporting that Kraken has weighed delaying again until 2027, according to Crunchbase News.
SambaNova and Stegra: AI chips and green steel
Crunchbase News said that following Cerebras Systems’ $6.4 billion Nasdaq IPO in May, attention has turned to SambaNova, “a fellow developer of specialized AI chips and infrastructure,” according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said its model predicts the San Jose, California-based company is a probable IPO candidate with “a slightly less than even chance of going public within the next six months,” and said the prediction aligns with comments from co-founder and CEO Rodrigo Liang to CNBC in July that the company was strongly considering a U.S. IPO next year, according to Crunchbase News. Crunchbase News said those comments followed SambaNova’s $1 billion Series F raise this summer at an $11 billion post-money valuation, according to Crunchbase News.
Crunchbase News said Sweden-based green-steel maker Stegra has raised approximately $12.6 billion across equity and debt financing, according to Crunchbase News.
