After a prolonged slowdown, the IPO market is showing clearer signs of life, driven by improving public-market conditions, stabilizing interest rates, and a renewed investor appetite for growth, collectively setting the stage for a wider reopening of the listing window, as detailed in Crunchbase’s comprehensive 2026 IPO outlook, alongside related forecasts covering startup M&A and venture investment. Against this backdrop, a growing cohort of late-stage private companies now appears increasingly prepared to make the leap to public markets, and leveraging Crunchbase’s sophisticated predictive intelligence tools—which meticulously evaluate factors including funding history, growth signals, investor mix, and optimal market timing—we have curated a list of 15 standout companies spanning critical sectors such as AI, enterprise software, fintech, space, defense, healthcare, and consumer tech, all of which could realistically go public in 2026, assuming the current market momentum continues to build.

AI and Enterprise Tech

Crusoe Energy Systems: Operating at the crucial intersection of energy and computing, Crusoe Energy Systems, an AI infrastructure unicorn based in Denver, has developed an innovative solution to mitigate natural gas flaring by converting wasted energy into power for data centers, including those running intensive AI workloads, a business model that not only addresses environmental concerns but also capitalizes on the unprecedented demand for compute capacity driven by generative AI platforms, making its scaling trajectory highly attractive for a public debut, a likelihood that Crunchbase predictions affirm with a "probable" rating for a listing, especially after the company closed a substantial $1.4 billion Series E in October at a valuation exceeding $10 billion, signaling robust investor confidence and a clear path to significant growth metrics that IPO investors highly value.

Databricks: A perennial fixture on IPO watchlists since missing the initial window at the end of 2021, Databricks, the 12-year-old San Francisco-based company renowned for its unified Lakehouse platform that combines data warehousing and data lakes, is labeled a "very likely" IPO candidate by Crunchbase’s predictive tools, a designation underpinned by its impressive financial performance; as of Q3, the company announced year-over-year growth exceeding 55%, with an over $4.8 billion revenue run rate, as revealed in its December funding announcement, where $1 billion was specifically attributed to its rapidly expanding AI products, alongside a net retention rate above 140% and over 12 months of positive free cash flow, all contributing to its soaring valuation, which reached $100 billion in September and then $134 billion in December, in a round notably led by Insight Partners and public market investors Fidelity and J.P. Morgan Asset Management, underscoring its readiness for public scrutiny.

Cohere: With intense competition among AI model developers, as evidenced by reports of Anthropic exploring an IPO, Cohere, a less-known but rapidly ascendant AI lab co-headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, is emerging as a strong contender for a public-market debut, potentially even ahead of some rivals, particularly given its strategic focus on supporting sovereign and secure AI solutions for enterprise and government clients across North America, APAC, and EMEA, including major customers like Oracle, Dell, and Royal Bank of Canada; CEO Aidan Gomez has publicly expressed interest in a near-future listing for the 6-year-old company, which recently achieved a $7 billion valuation with $150 million in annual recurring revenue, and Crunchbase predicts it as a "probable" IPO candidate, recognizing its specialized niche and strong enterprise traction.

Canva: The design platform Canva, a 13-year-old company based in Sydney, Australia, stands out as another strong contender for an IPO in 2026, having demonstrated remarkable growth and market penetration with its user-friendly graphic design tools, which boast 240 million monthly active users, a figure that continues to expand across both individual and enterprise segments; the company was most recently valued at $42 billion in an August 2025 share sale for employees led by public market investor Fidelity, at which point its annualized revenue had reached an impressive $3.3 billion, further validating its public-market readiness, especially following competitor Figma’s IPO in July 2024 at a $16.1 billion valuation, despite Figma’s stock experiencing post-IPO fluctuations; Crunchbase bills Canva as a "probable" IPO candidate, recognizing its robust user base, strong revenue, and established market position.

Quantinuum: Before the current AI boom, quantum computing captivated VCs and technologists as the next frontier in capital-intensive tech, and while AI has momentarily overshadowed it, the quantum sector continues to attract significant investment due to its immense potential to drive breakthroughs in drug discovery, cybersecurity, and defense; Quantinuum, formed in 2021 through the merger of Honeywell Quantum Solutions and Cambridge Quantum, and a "probable" IPO candidate according to Crunchbase, is actively contemplating an IPO, a sentiment echoed by a March 2025 Barron’s report citing a source with direct knowledge that parent company Honeywell aims for a 2026 or 2027 listing, following the Broomfield, Colorado-based startup’s accumulation of $925 million from venture investors to date, including a monumental $600 million Nvidia-backed Series B in August at a $10 billion pre-money valuation, cementing its position as a quantum leader.

Space and Defense Tech

K2 Space: Space tech has recently experienced robust venture investment, and with the anticipated SpaceX IPO in 2026, it’s becoming an increasingly buzzy sector for public markets; among the recently funded startups, Torrance, California-based K2 Space distinguishes itself as a fundraising powerhouse, securing over $400 million across three rounds since 2024, culminating in a $250 million Series C led by Redpoint last month at a $3 billion valuation; founded in 2022, the company specializes in developing large, high-power satellite platforms and has already amassed $500 million in signed contracts from both commercial and U.S. government customers, indicating strong market demand and operational success, leading Crunchbase to predict a "probable" IPO for this rapidly scaling startup.

SpaceX: This one is almost a certainty: Elon Musk-led SpaceX was reported late last year to be eyeing an IPO that, at a target valuation of $1.5 trillion, would shatter records as the largest VC-backed listing of all time, dwarfing previous records by an estimated tenfold, solidifying its status as one of the world’s most valuable private businesses; its ambitious IPO plans are well-founded given the capital-intensive nature of space exploration, the burgeoning investor appetite for space tech, and its impressive revenue, estimated at $15 billion in 2025, largely propelled by its fast-growing Starlink satellite internet business; founded in 2002, SpaceX has raised nearly $12 billion from a roster of prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Craft Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and Founders Fund, among others, and Crunchbase pegs a "very likely" IPO probability on the Hawthorne, California-based company.

Anduril Industries: Venture investment into defense tech reached an all-time high last year, with Anduril receiving the lion’s share, securing roughly a third of the more than $7.7 billion that flowed into defense-related startups in 2025 through its $2.5 billion Series G round at a $30.5 billion valuation; founded in 2017 by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, the startup has strategically positioned itself to benefit from the U.S. military’s modernization efforts, supplying advanced AI-powered defense and war technologies, including a significant contract with the DoD to provide VR/AR headsets to the U.S. Army; having raised $6.3 billion to date from key investors like Founders Fund, the U.S. Department of Defense, Andreessen Horowitz, and General Catalyst, the Costa Mesa, California-based company is deemed a "very likely" IPO candidate, reflecting its substantial funding, strategic government contracts, and disruptive impact on defense technology.

Health and Consumer Tech

Innovaccer: Innovaccer, a provider of an AI-enabled data and intelligence platform specifically designed for healthcare providers, checks many boxes typically associated with pre-IPO startups, boasting a decade of operation (founded in 2014), considerable capital raised, a significant Series F round early this year, and high-profile strategic backers such as Kaiser Permanente, indicating strong industry validation; with 1,200 employees across five global offices, the San Francisco-based company has scaled into a substantial operation, appearing well-prepared for a public market debut, with all these factors contributing to its "probable" IPO prediction from Crunchbase, as it continues to drive value-based care and improve interoperability within the complex healthcare ecosystem.

Nothing: Hardware-maker Nothing is pursuing a somewhat unconventional path to a potential IPO, with CEO and co-founder Carl Pei declaring the London-based startup’s aim to be "IPO-ready" in three years, as he told TechCrunch last month, while concurrently engaging its community by offering fans of its smartphones and other gadgets a chance to invest at a $1.3 billion Series C valuation through platforms like Wefunder and Crowdcube; Pei emphasized that the actual timing would depend on market conditions and business sense, but Crunchbase assigns a "probable" IPO prediction to Nothing, which has reportedly demonstrated rapid growth, particularly in key markets like India, the U.K., and Japan, having achieved over $1 billion in lifetime sales last year and sold more than 7 million devices, supplementing its crowdfunding campaigns with over $446 million raised from venture investors including Tiger Global Management and GV.

Cybersecurity

Huntress: Cybersecurity remains one of the most robust and predictable sectors for venture investment, and Huntress, a rapidly growing startup in this sphere, offers crucial cybersecurity products tailored for small and medium-sized businesses that often lack the resources for a fully staffed 24/7 security team; Crunchbase pins a "probable" IPO prediction on the company, a sentiment echoed by CEO Kyle Hanslovan, who indicated a Huntress listing is a strong possibility in coming years, noting in an interview from the New York Stock Exchange in late October that the Columbia, Maryland-based company has posted 60% year-over-year growth and is on track to hit $185 million to $190 million in revenue this year, fueled by increasing demand as generative AI has enabled more sophisticated phishing and cyber attacks; the company has raised nearly $310 million from investors, including a June 2024 Series D led by Kleiner Perkins, Meritech Capital Partners, and Sapphire Ventures, highlighting significant institutional backing.

Ledger: Crunchbase forecasts a "probable" IPO for crypto wallet startup Ledger, a slight adjustment from last year’s "very likely" prediction, but other indicators continue to point toward a public offering for the Paris-based startup, which provides a hardware wallet to secure crypto private keys, positioning it uniquely at the intersection of two currently hot industries: cybersecurity and blockchain; founded in 2014, Ledger has raised approximately $577 million from venture investors, including Molten Ventures and Samsung Ventures, and CEO Pascal Gauthier has consistently indicated that a U.S. stock market debut is actively under consideration, likely within the next three years, reiterating in a Financial Times interview last year that the company’s revenue had reached triple-digit millions in 2025 amid soaring demand for secure crypto storage devices spurred by rising hacks, and proudly stating that Ledger secures about $100 billion worth of bitcoin for its customers and an estimated 20% of the world’s crypto assets.

Fintech

Plaid: With a "very likely" IPO prediction from Crunchbase, 2026 could finally be the year that Plaid, the fintech company facilitating secure connections between bank accounts and financial applications, decides to go public, especially after an April transaction where the company sold about $575 million worth of common stock at a $6.1 billion post-money valuation; while Plaid explicitly stated to TechCrunch at the time that it would not go public in 2025, it confirmed that an IPO remained a milestone the company was "tracking towards," backed by undisclosed but record-setting revenue growth of over 25% in 2025; having raised approximately $1.3 billion from a distinguished group of investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Franklin Templeton, BoxGroup, Index Ventures, and BlackRock, Plaid’s foundational role in the open banking ecosystem and its strong financial health make it a prime candidate for a significant public offering.

Revolut: Revolut, the London-based digital bank, is identified as a "very likely" candidate for an initial public offering by Crunchbase predictions, especially following its impressive secondary share sale in November, which propelled its valuation to $75 billion—a remarkable 67% increase from its $45 billion valuation in August 2024, when it initiated a separate secondary share sale to provide liquidity for employees; its investor base includes prominent names such as Coatue, Greenoaks, Dragoneer Investment Group, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Nvidia’s venture capital arm NVentures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Franklin Templeton; since its 2015 inception, Revolut has experienced explosive growth, achieving $1 billion in annualized revenue and surpassing a 65 million customer base across 100 countries in 2025, though its IPO is likely contingent on securing its full U.K. banking license, for which it is still awaiting approval, a critical regulatory hurdle.

Monzo: Another U.K.-based challenger banking platform, Monzo, is also reportedly eyeing an IPO in 2026, with Crunchbase assigning a "very likely" prediction for its offering, despite the sensitivity surrounding its IPO timing, which reportedly led to CEO TS Anil’s departure due to differing views with some directors regarding an earlier listing; in June, Monzo reported over $1.35 billion in revenue and a "sharp rise" in annual profit, alongside a 25% increase in its customer base to 12.2 million in its last fiscal year, showcasing strong operational performance and market adoption; the company was valued at $5.9 billion in October 2024 after selling shares to existing investors, including General Catalyst, HSG, Accel, Stripe, and Thrive Capital, underscoring continued investor confidence in its growth trajectory and potential for a successful public market debut.

While an IPO prediction is never a promise, as market conditions continue to shift and investor appetite broadens, these companies are increasingly exhibiting the robust financial health, strategic positioning, and growth signals that typically precede a successful public offering. Crunchbase’s IPO predictions, utilizing extensive Crunchbase data encompassing funding, valuation, financial growth, key leadership hires, market share expansion, and headcount growth, forecast the likelihood of a private company launching an IPO, providing a probability score and supporting evidence, as detailed in its methodology for Predictions & Insights.