Accel’s Mitra bets on AI to shrink startup IPO timelines

Accel partner Subrata Mitra expects AI startups to reach IPO scale in far less time than the 12 years it took digital lender Moneyview.

Mitra’s view suggests AI could speed up growth, though recent developments offer mixed evidence. Nscale, a London-based AI infrastructure startup, recently filed for a NYSE IPO after raising $3.36 billion in a pre-IPO round. Plaud, based in San Francisco, has indicated it plans to go public in 2028 but only after reaching $1 billion in annual revenue, a target it has not yet met. Moonshot, meanwhile, is reportedly pursuing a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, possibly to navigate delays in Hong Kong’s IPO process.

The differences in these companies’ approaches highlight how AI’s potential for rapid scaling interacts with the slower mechanics of public markets. Nscale’s large pre-IPO raise may signal investor confidence in expediting a listing. Plaud and Moonshot, however, appear to be proceeding more cautiously, linking their IPOs to revenue milestones or alternative listing venues. Plaud’s 2028 timeline suggests an expectation that AI’s growth will eventually justify the wait, while Moonshot’s dual-listing strategy could reflect an effort to work around market constraints.

Mitra’s optimism about AI shortening the startup-to-IPO timeline may reflect the sector’s ability to scale quickly, leveraging cloud infrastructure and data advantages that differ from traditional business models. However, public markets—including exchanges and investors—have not fully adjusted to this speed. Hong Kong’s IPO backlog and Plaud’s revenue-based IPO target suggest that even AI startups face familiar hurdles.

The question Mitra’s comment raises is whether AI’s growth can overcome these structural delays, particularly in markets outside the U.S. Nscale’s NYSE filing and Plaud’s U.S.-focused approach may indicate a preference for faster IPO processes. Moonshot’s dual-listing effort, meanwhile, could be an attempt to balance liquidity and timing. For Indian startups, Mitra’s prediction might hold, but only if they can achieve similar scale or regulatory advantages as their U.S. and Chinese peers.

What remains to be seen is whether AI-driven acceleration becomes standard or remains an outlier. If Plaud reaches its revenue target ahead of schedule or Moonshot’s dual listing succeeds despite Hong Kong’s backlog, Mitra’s argument gains credibility. But if Nscale’s IPO faces challenges or Plaud’s timeline slips, the market may revert to its usual pace. For now, the tension between AI’s speed and public-market inertia is the key dynamic to watch.

Sources: moneycontrol.com