Ukraine-founded tech startup GitLab went public on the U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq, on Oct. 14, issuing over 143 million shares.
The startup is already valued at $14.9 billion.
On the first day, the company’s shares jumped about 35%, to $104 each, compared with the initial public offering price of $77 per share. GitLab had said it would probably sell shares at $66 to $69 each.
“The company’s IPO is a success from a fundraising and valuation perspective,” wrote Alex Wilhelm, a senior editor at TechCrunch, a popular American media source about startups. The current valuation of the company shows a strong investor appetite for fast-growing software companies, Reuters said.
GitLab develops online services that help tech specialists to work faster and more efficiently: it automates the process of writing code, detects bugs, and connects specialists that work on different parts of the project — from development to operation. The company’s big-name clients include Nvidia, Siemens, Goldman Sachs, Zip Recruiter, Pearson and Radio France.
GitLab had long had its goal to be listed on the initial public offering – IPO. It will help it to compete with its powerful rival — GitHub, owned by Microsoft.
GitLab was founded in 2014 by Ukrainian tech entrepreneur Dmytro Zaporozhets and the Dutch-born Sid Sijbrandij. After the IPO, Sijbrandij will own nearly two million shares for $152 million, while Zaporozhets will own less than 5% of shares, according to Lyubomyr Ostapiv, the financial expert.
Although Zaporozhets is the main brain behind GitLab, he likes to be “a good programmer,” rather than a CEO, he said in an interview with the Kyiv Post in 2018. He produced the idea of GitLab in 2011 and, at first, it was just his hobby. Then Zaporozhets met Sijbrandij who suggested building a business out of it.
All 1,350 of GitLab’s employees are working remotely in 65 countries, making it one of the world’s largest public company that doesn’t have a head office.
Financial results
In the first half of 2021, GitLab generated $108 million in revenue — a 69% increase from $64 million during the same period last year. The company’s net loss, on the other hand, grew from $43.5 million in the first half of 2020 to $69 million in the first six months of 2021.
GitLab expects that its expenses will keep growing as it continues to invest in its growth. During the last 10 years, GitLab has attracted nearly $414 million of investment. It’s backed by the American Goldman Sachs, Iconiq Capital and Alkeon Capital.
In 2018, the company raised $100 million and became a ‘unicorn’ for the first time, that is, surpassed $1 billion in value, being valued at $1.1 billion. In 2019, GitLab attracted $268 million and achieved a $2.7 billion valuation.
“The GitLab story shows the multiple paths to winning in software that 10 years ago few believed in,” said Aaron Levie, CEO of public company Box, based in the U.S.
