Lyft’s public debut today kicks off what is shaping up to be the biggest year for tech IPOs since Alibaba went public in 2014. But it’s unlikely to surpass that bumper year, the biggest since the dot-com boom of 1999–2000.
Tech and internet firms raised a total of $20.1 billion in 55 IPOs last year, according to Dealogic, up sharply from the previous two years (see above chart). That total should be exceeded this year. IPOs already completed or in the works, including Lyft, Uber, Pinterest, Zoom and Postmates, could raise $15 billion between them. That number could rise to around $19 billion if other companies reportedly considering IPOs this year, such as Palantir and Peloton, make it.
