Klaviyo makes IPO debut, valuing the marketing automation startup at $9.2 billion

Marketing automation startup Klaviyo finally made its US market debut on Wednesday. The Boston, MA-based startup successfully completed its initial public offering (IPO) with a valuation of $9.2 billion, surpassing its originally indicated price range.

The company announced the pricing of 19.2 million shares at $30 each, having previously raised its IPO price range from $25-$27 per share to $27-$29 per share.

The IPO debut comes just four months after Klaviyo confidentially submitted its IPO paperwork in New York to U.S. regulators. At the time, Klaviyo was planning to raise at least $750 million in the listing but the company was only able to raise $576 million in proceeds, despite pricing its shares above range on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock, and AllianceBernstein have also agreed to buy up to $100 million worth of shares each, accounting for a significant portion of the total IPO proceeds.

This IPO marks a notable resurgence in the U.S. IPO market, which had been relatively subdued for much of the year until SoftBank Group’s chip designer, Arm, debuted on Nasdaq last week with a fully diluted valuation of $54.5 billion.

Klaviyo’s shares are scheduled to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “KVYO” on Wednesday. The underwriters for this offering include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Barclays, Mizuho Financial Group, and William Blair, among others.

Klaviyo was founded in 2012 by software engineers Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen. The company specializes in assisting e-commerce brands by storing and analyzing data to facilitate personalized marketing communications with potential customers. The company boasts a global clientele, with over 130,000 businesses spanning more than 80 countries.

Klaviyo also provides a unified customer platform for e-commerce businesses to manage their marketing campaigns, email communications, customer data, SMS, and more. Its platform is designed to help businesses automate their marketing efforts and improve customer engagement.

Klaviyo uses data from customer interactions to create personalized marketing campaigns, such as email newsletters, abandoned cart reminders, and product recommendations. The platform also integrates with other e-commerce tools, such as Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce.

Since its inception over a decade ago, Klaviyo has experienced significant growth in recent years, with more than 70,000 businesses using its platform. The company has also raised over $600 million in funding from investors, including Summit Partners, Accel, and Battery Ventures.

In May 2021, Klaviyo was valued at $9.15 billion after raising $320 million in a funding round led by investors including Sands Capital Ventures, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), and Whale Rock. With its recent IPO filing, the company is now preparing to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.