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Shares of labor software company UiPath rose on Wednesday to its Wall Street debut following one of the sector’s largest initial public offerings.
He Company founded in Romania, based in New York, a leader in the rapid growth of the task automation business, closed its first trading day at $ 69, up 23%, giving the company a market capitalization of $ 35.8 billion.
The IPO contributed $ 530 million in new capital, but UiPath settled for a lower initial valuation than its last round of funding two months ago. It sold shares at $ 56 per piece, above the company’s marketed range of $ 52 to $ 54, but below the $ 62.28 set in February.
The company then said February funding valued it at $ 35 billion, a number that likely included options and other forms of stock-based compensation.
“The company has the right cash balance, currency and strategy to win the market,” said Richard Wong, a member of UiPath’s board of directors and partner at venture capital firm Accel. “Long-term valuation will be ordered in many future quarters.”
UiPath had set a price for its IPO between signals that investors had they curbed their enthusiasm for fast-growing software as a service sector.
The BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index fell 16% from its peak in mid-February. The index includes Snow flake, the data analysis group whose IPO has been the largest in the software sector. Snowflake stocks doubled in their debut, but are now no higher.
Some recent public offerings have had lukewarm receptions, in contrast to box office offers late last year, titled by Airbnb i Per Dash in December. Compass, the real estate broker with SoftBank support, cut the size of his offer last month.
UiPath sells artificial intelligence-based software that companies often use automate routine tasks such as reading documents and updating databases. This sector, known as automated robotic processes, has grown as companies in fields ranging from healthcare to insurance seek to replace or recycle white-collar administrative workers.
Founded in Bucharest in 2005, UiPath spent 10 years developing its technology before achieving its first round of venture capital. Its February funding round made it the second most enterprise-supported private enterprise software group, behind Stripe.
“We have shown our European fellows that they do not need to sell their businesses too soon on the trip,” said Daniel Dines, executive director of UiPath. “If they believe in building a big business, it’s actually a good place to start.”
UiPath said it had revenue of $ 608 million for the year ending Jan. 31, up 81 percent from the previous year. Its net losses were reduced from $ 520 million to $ 92 million.
As part of the offering, public investors also bought more than $ 810 million in shares of existing sponsors, including Accel and Coatue Management. Accel had the largest stake in UiPath before the IPO, with shares worth about $ 6 billion at bid price.
Dines will retain more than 88% of the company’s voting power after its debut in the public market through a dual-class shareholding structure. Its stake in the business was worth $ 6.2 billion at the IPO. *
Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan were the main subscribers to the deal.
* An earlier version of this article dismissed the value of Dines’ participation. The headline has also been corrected to reflect that UiPath is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
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