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| (Adriana Hansen/PitchBook News) |
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Among many of the excesses of 2021's market frenzy, few loomed larger than SPACs.
In a zero-interest-rate era, special purpose acquisition companies took off, with everyone from General Catalyst to Martha Stewart taking companies public with relatively little oversight compared to traditional IPOs. But when the winds changed, and the stock market fell, blank-check companies plunged into disfavor.
After their epic rise and subsequent fall, few could have predicted that SPACs would come back with a vengeance. SPACInsider data shows 144 IPOs last year, the highest level since 2021. Q1 isn't even over yet, and the count is approaching 60.
Hundreds of blank-check companies are now in the market, hunting for their target companies, and there is one area of particular interest: deep tech and, more specifically, quantum computing.
I'm Leah Hodgson, and this is The Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at leah.hodgson@pitchbook.com or on X @LeahFHodgson.
In just a few weeks, two European quantum computing startups, Finland's IQM and France-based Pasqal, announced SPAC mergers. Colorado-headquartered Infleqtion jumped in its February debut, while Canada's Xanadu is set to go public later this month; both received VC backing.
"SPACs are the standard for quantum companies," Alex Doll, Ten Eleven Ventures GP and IQM board member, said. "There's very high confidence in the future growth prospects, so it's an opportunistic time to choose this route. It's where the market is and where the growth investors that understand and are already trained on quantum are." |
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| Why leading private firms are rethinking the build vs. buy decision |
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As modern investment operations grow increasingly complex, today’s private market firms need to invest in technology that keeps up. But it’s not simply a matter of whether to buy a new system or to build one from the ground up. In this toolkit from the financial data experts at Arcesium, discover the key reasons why leading firms are embracing a hybrid strategy, and how firms can evaluate an approach that drives scale, transparency, and long-term agility.
Dive in to discover how to:
• Determine what to build vs. what to buy
• Unlock flexibility across operations and systems through centralized data
• Reduce integration complexity for illiquid, evolving asset classes
• Make future-ready decisions with a scalable, governed data platform
Access the Toolkit |
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If any one of Space X, OpenAI or Anthropic complete IPOs this year at their expected valuations, they will set a new record for the largest VC-backed tech listing in history. Which company currently holds the record for the largest VC-backed tech IPO?
A) Robinhood
B) DoorDash
C) Snowflake
D) Rivian
Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch! |
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A selection from our most-read articles of the past few days.
- Why did a stablecoin issuer invest in a mattress startup? Tether has so much money, the company is now acting as a VC and making investments in multiple different sectors. Read more
- Private credit concerns are prompting a flight to safety, but fund managers are divided on lifting the redemption request limit. See why
- Why a tender offer can never be an IPO replacement. Aging unicorns are falling short of traditional exit paths, dragging out liquidity for investors. Get the story
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| (Angela Weiss/Getty Images) |
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“Founders could view [the] proposed change as directionally positive for the IPO pipeline, and it addresses a potential friction point. However, it is unlikely to be the decisive variable that unlocks a wave of unicorn IPOs.”
—Mike Bellin, PwC’s US head of IPOs, speaking about the Securities and Exchange Commission's consideration of letting public companies report their earnings just twice a year. Read more about the SEC's proposal and why experts don't see it triggering an IPO boom here. |
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Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week:
- Analyst Note: Defense Electronics
- 2025 Annual Global Private Debt Report
- Q4 2025 Enterprise SaaS M&A Review
- Analyst Note: When Access Becomes a Liability
- 2025 South Korea Private Capital Breakdown
- Q1 2026 US Evergreen Fund Landscape
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Answer: D
EV maker Rivian Automotive currently holds the top spot for VC-backed tech IPOs, having raised $11.9 billion at a $55.2 billion valuation in its stock market listing. Read more about 2026's potential mega IPOs here. |
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This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Leah Hodgson and Nadine Manske. It was edited by Andrew Woodman and Michael Bruning.
Were you forwarded The Weekend Pitch? Sign up at pitchbook.com/subscribe. |
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