Plaid Considers IPO with $8 Billion Valuation

Plaid is reportedly considering an initial public offering and has held early discussions with banks after securing an $8B valuation earlier this year, while Minted is said to be exploring a sale that could value the design platform at about $1B as it works with JPMorgan following inbound interest.This week's private company news:Plaid, the technology company whose network helps fintech apps connect to customer accounts, is considering an initial public offering, Bloomberg's Bailey Lipschultz and Paige Smith, citing people familiar with the matter. The company has held preliminary discussions with banks about a potential IPO, the people said. Plaid secured an $8B valuation in a funding round earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported.Minted is exploring a sale that could value the stationery, art and home decor design platform at around $1B after receiving inbound interest, according to sources familiar with the matter, Reuters' Abigail Summerville, Milana Vinn and Sabrina Valle. The company, which is backed by investment firm Permira, has been working with JPMorgan on the process, the sources said, requesting anonymity to discuss a private matter. The sources cautioned that a sale is not guaranteed and Minted could decide to remain independent.Before directing employees to develop a standalone prediction market app, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explored acquiring Kalshi and met with CEO Tarek Mansour, but discussions did not progress despite growing interest in prediction markets, NPR's Bobby Allyn. According to some people with knowledge of the discussions, Mansour would not move forward with a sale and others have indicated Meta considered the legal and ethical questions surrounding Kalshi too messy.Erebor Bank is in talks to raise funds at a valuation of at least $8B, as deposits grow rapidly at the politically connected startup that received its bank charter only five months ago, Bloomberg's Todd Gillespie and Natasha Mascarenhas report. The bank, launched by Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and backed by investor Peter Thiel, has had conversations with potential investors about a valuation that could roughly double the $4.35B level it secured at the end of last year, according to people familiar with the matter.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Reed Semiconductor– The company announced the completion of an upsized, oversubscribed $100M funding round with participation from several leading global semiconductor companies. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Intel, AMD, and Nvidia.Higharc– The homebuilding AI company for the full design-to-construction lifecycle, announced it has raised a $95M Series C led by global software investor Insight Partners. The round brings Higharc's total funding to more than $170M. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Autodesk, Trimble, and Procore.Straiker– The Agentic Security company announced a $64M Series A, bringing its total funding to $85M. The round was led by Marathon Management Partners, Citi Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and Workday Ventures, with continued support from Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Palo Alto Networks.Patronus AI– The company announced a $50M Series B led by Greenfield Partners and unveiled its Digital World Models, a new class of large-scale simulation environments designed to help AI systems train, evaluate, and improve across complex digital workflows. The round included participation from existing investors Notable Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Datadog, Samsung, Factorial Capital, Gokul Rajaram, and leading AI and software executives. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Unity, PTC, and Ansys.Allium– The leading blockchain data platform for enterprises, announced it has raised $40M in Series B funding. The round was led by Amplify Partners, with participation from existing investors Kleiner Perkins and Theory Ventures. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Coinbase, Block, and IBM.Unicorns to watch this week:Lovable– The startup offering an AI-powered "vibe-coding" platform that enables users with little or no technical background to build apps and websites via natural language is valued at $1.8B. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Appian, Pegasystems, and ServiceNow.Statsig– With a valuation of about $1.1B, the platform provides experimentation, feature flagging, and product analytics for engineering/product teams. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Amplitude.Chaos Industries– The defense tech / national security startup building advanced detection, radar, monitoring and communications systems is valued at about $2B. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include L3Harris Technologiesand Northrop Grumman.Huntress– The company valued at $1.5B Provides managed detection & responseand threat hunting tools for SMBs and mid market enterprises. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Palo Alto Networks.Hume AI– The conversation AI platform is valued at $1.1B and focuses on building emotionally aware conversational AI models and voice interfaces. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include SoundHoundand Nuance.Other IPOs to watch:Bending Spoons– The technology company whose main businesses include AOL, Brightcove, Eventbrite, Evernote, Harvest, komoot, Remini, StreamYard, Vimeo, and WeTransfer, announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares.Kardigan– The company has filed an initial public offering of shares of its common stock. JP Morgan, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, and TD Cowen are acting as the underwriters for the offering.Inspire Brands– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Inspire Brands expects to use the net proceeds of the proposed offering to repay outstanding indebtedness under its existing term loan facility and pay offering fees and expenses.Tarsier Pharma Ltd.– The company filed for an initial public offering of its ordinary shares. The prospectus stated, "Tarsier Pharma is developing TRS01 and TRS02, novel product candidates based on dazdotuftide, a new molecule with a new mechanism of action for uveitis and uveitic glaucoma. We are attempting to address a significant, underserved market opportunity and have engaged closely with the FDA on our clinical development strategy, including a Special Protocol Assessment agreement for our planned pivotal trial... Although we are still early in this journey, I believe we have the technology, the team, the discipline, and the persistence required to build an enduring company.""Private Markets" is The Fly's recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.