Confluent Files For IPO; Event Streaming Company Valued At $4.5 Billion

Real-time event streaming platform Confluent has announced that it will be filing for an initial public offering (IPO), a press release from the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) says.

Confluent’s technology, which is cloud-based, allows companies to build applications that respond to and react to data flow, according to a report from U.S. News.

The company now joins the hundreds of tech startups looking to cash in on the moment.

Confluent is backed by Microsoft-backed LinkedIn, and other investors include venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures. The company was recently valued at $4.5 billion since its last fundraise in April 2020.

The U.S. market for new listings saw a record amount of capital through stock flotations last year. 2021 is expected to be even more than that, according to the report.

Companies this year have raised a total of around $150 billion from IPOs thus far in 2021, according to data from Dealogic.

In other Microsoft-related news, Silicon Valley chat startup Discord has cut off talks with the tech giant for an acquisition.

The startup is moving toward trying to make its own way.

Microsoft had been looking to pay at least $10 billion to acquire Discord. Those close to the discussions said talks might be able to be revived.

Discord, which was launched in 2015, now has at least three firms vying for its attentions.

Microsoft, seeing a valuation of almost $2 trillion, has been looking into firms that would aid it in leveraging new customers. The company also looked into a potential majority stake in TikTok.

Microsoft has also been undergoing new partnerships, including with the FinTech Ally, which works on boosting the role of quantum computing in the financial services sector.

According to a report, the strategic collaboration will highlight how the newest research on quantum-inspired algorithms will make it easier to understand how tech can be applied to broad commercial processes.