Rubrik, a data security software vendor founded nine years ago, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RBRK”. The company initially started by selling hardware for data backup but has since transitioned to cloud-based software that detects, analyzes, and remediates data security risks and unauthorized user activities. Rubrik faces competition from established players such as Dell, IBM, Veeam, and Cohesity. In the fiscal year that ended in January, Rubrik’s revenue increased by 5% to $627.9 million, but its net loss also widened, reaching $354.2 million.
The IPO filing by Rubrik comes amidst a resurgence in the market for initial public offerings after a dry spell that began in late 2021. Recent IPOs of companies like Reddit and Astera Labs have been successful, providing optimism for more companies to go public. The tech IPO market had slowed down due to factors like inflation and rising interest rates, which led to investors moving away from risky assets like tech companies. Rubrik’s CEO, Bipul Sinha, a former investor in cloud management software vendor Nutanix, along with his co-founders Arvind Jain, Soham Mazumdar, and Arvind Nithrakashyap, have positioned the company to take advantage of this renewed interest in tech IPOs.
Rubrik’s largest shareholder is Lightspeed Venture Partners, which led the company’s first round of funding in 2015, holding a 24% stake. Other major investors include Greylock Partners and CEO Bipul Sinha, who owns a 7.6% stake in the company. Microsoft is also backing Rubrik, committing to spending $220 million over up to 10 years on Microsoft’s Azure public cloud services. The company has also engaged with Glean, a software vendor co-founded by Arvind Jain, to provide internal information and data searching technology to corporate workers, further diversifying its technology partnerships.
As of January, Rubrik had 3,100 employees and 6,100 clients. The company relies heavily on three main channel partners – Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions, Exclusive Networks, and Promark Technology – which accounted for 76% of its revenue in the latest fiscal year. By participating in a directed share program, Rubrik will offer IPO shares to certain partners, friends, and family members, similar to the approach taken by Reddit. Despite facing competition in the data security and backup market, Rubrik’s strong revenue growth and strategic partnerships position it well for a successful IPO and continued growth in the future.
