Cloud data specialty firm Snowflake files to go public

[SAN FRANCISCO] Cloud data warehouse startup Snowflake on Monday filed with US regulators for an initial public offering of shares in a keenly anticipated stock market debut.

Snowflake has grown quickly since its start seven years ago in Silicon Valley, and was valued at some US$12.4 billion in a private funding round early this year despite not being profitable.

Snowflake revenue jumped to US$264.7 million last year from US$97 million the year before, while its net loss grew to US$348.5 million from US$178 million in that same comparison, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Snowflake planned to raise a maxim of US$100 million in when it debuts on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "Snow." The date of the initial public offering and opening share price have yet to be determined.

"Beginning with our first customers in 2014, the response was beyond our expectations as we addressed major shortcomings of existing solutions and expanded from a data warehouse into an integrated cloud data platform," the startup said in the filing.

"What began as a journey to the cloud has evolved into a much more powerful vision of the Data Cloud." Snowflake provides online data storage, analytics and management, essentially providing infrastructure as a service to businesses seeking to operate online.

The startup relies on data centers hosted by Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, according to the filing.

While the pandemic is taking a toll on the economy, it is also accelerating a trend toward businesses connecting with customers online instead of in person.

Secretive data analysis specialist Palantir last month said it confidentially filed for a stock listing, while home-sharing startup Airbnb last week said it confidentially filed with US regulators for an initial public offering.

Chances that the US stock market could crater later this year due to unemployment and ebbing stimulus money provide impetus to go public sooner rather than later, according to tecnology analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group.

AFP