The 2026 IPO class already has a record-setting headliner in SpaceX. Now, with the public-market window narrowing and the post-Labor Day filing sprint upon us, attention is turning to which venture-backed companies might still make a move in coming months.
Crunchbase’s predictive intelligence tools flags a handful of well-funded private companies with at least a 40% probability of going public within the next six months. Anthropic, arguably the most closely watched IPO prospect, sits just outside that near-term screen: Crunchbase considers an eventual listing very likely, but the model favors a six- to 12-month timeline.
Together, Anthropic and the other seven companies noted below make up a varied watchlist spanning artificial intelligence, fintech, crypto, consumer health and climate technology, ranging from smart-ring maker Oura to enterprise productivity platform Notion.
A record IPO sets the stage
In the first half of this year, 58 venture-backed companies listed at $1 billion or above, per Crunchbase data. That compares with 27 that did so in the first half of 2025 and 69 in all of last year.
On a dollar basis, this year has also far surpassed recent IPO years, thanks to SpaceX’s historic IPO in June that launched it onto the Nasdaq and raised $86 billion in the process. Through the first half of 2026, venture-backed startups globally raised $110.8 billion collectively via IPO listings, Crunchbase data shows, well above the $12.6 billion raised in the first half of 2025.
With the year’s end now in sight, a small window remains for other startups to launch 2026 IPOs. With that, here’s a look at notable venture-backed startups that Crunchbase’s predictive intelligence suggests are potential IPO candidates within the next six months.
Venture-backed IPOs to watch
Anthropic: Anthropic, the most valuable venture-backed startup in the world, has indicated it plans to beat rival OpenAI to the public markets. The company could debut as soon as September or October and raise up to $100 billion via the offering, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal last week. Crunchbase’s predictive intelligence tools, meanwhile, pin a slightly longer timeline on an Anthropic IPO, saying it’s more likely to happen in six to 12 months. Anthropic has already raised $125 billion from private-market investors since its founding in 2021, and whenever it happens its IPO would mark a major liquidity bonanza for those backers. (For its part, OpenAI is also deemed a very likely IPO candidate by Crunchbase, but not within the next six months, a prediction corroborated by the WSJ report, which noted that the company is considering pushing its listing to 2027.)
Oura: Smart-ring maker Oura is a likely IPO candidate in the next six months, per Crunchbase. The Finland-based company, which has raised $1.5 billion from investors, is mulling an offering as soon as September or October that could fetch a valuation above the $11 billion it achieved in its most recent funding, the Journal reported last week. A successful offering would also provide a notable test of public-market appetite for consumer health hardware, a category that has produced relatively few large venture-backed listings in recent years.
Notion: San Francisco-based Notion is a strong candidate for a near-term IPO, according to both Crunchbase’s predictive tools and independent reporting. The productivity-software maker has raised more than $343 million from investors over time and has reportedly posted strong revenue growth from its enterprise AI offerings. Startup reporter Alex Konrad recently reported that the company has appointed a new board of directors with significant public-company experience in “a big step towards an IPO.”
Kraken: Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is another probable public-market entrant, per Crunchbase, and if it does make the IPO leap, it’s highly likely to do so within the next six months. The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based company filed a confidential IPO registration statement with the SEC almost a year ago, but subsequently paused its going-public plans amid market volatility. In May, CEO Arjun Sethi said the company was “~80% ready” for a 2026 listing, although it has reportedly weighed delaying again until 2027.
SambaNova: Following Cerebras Systems’ $6.4 billion Nasdaq IPO in May, attention has turned to SambaNova, a fellow developer of specialized AI chips and infrastructure. Crunchbase predicts that the San Jose, California-based company is a probable IPO candidate, with a slightly less than even chance of going public within the next six months. That prediction jibes with comments from co-founder and CEO Rodrigo Liang, who told CNBC in July that the company was strongly considering a U.S. IPO next year. His comments followed SambaNova’s $1 billion Series F raise this summer at an $11 billion post-money valuation.
Stegra: Sweden-based green-steel maker Stegra has raised approximately $12.6 billion across equity and debt financing, according to Crunchbase, including a €1.4 billion financing round that closed in June. Bloomberg reported in June 2025 that the company was considering an IPO to fund further expansion. Founded in 2020, Stegra has attracted orders from automakers and industrial customers including Mercedes-Benz, Scania, Porsche, Volvo Group and IKEA parent Ingka Group for steel produced using renewable electricity and green hydrogen. It broke ground in August 2022 on an integrated steel plant in Boden, northern Sweden, whose first phase is designed to produce 2.5 million tonnes of green steel annually. Some customer agreements call for deliveries to begin in 2027, although Stegra has said the project’s overall timeline remains under review. Crunchbase considers Stegra a probable IPO candidate and gives it a roughly even chance of listing within the next six months.
Stripe: Stripe is a perennial presence on our IPO predictions lists, and for good reason. Before the AI giants displaced it at the top of The Crunchbase Unicorn Board, the payments company held the crown as the most valuable U.S.-based startup, and one with a solid business to boot. Stripe has raised a total of $10.4 billion, including venture rounds and secondaries, since its 2010 founding, but has delayed entering the public markets with repeated tender offers that provide liquidity to employees. Will it finally make a run at the public markets in 2027? While Crunchbase predicts the South San Francisco, California-based company is a very likely IPO candidate in the long-term, in the short run it’s a bit iffier. The model says six to 12 months is a more believable time frame, and CEO John Collison has said the company is in no rush to go public.
OpenEvidence: OpenEvidence, an AI platform for doctors, is a probable IPO candidate, per Crunchbase. If it does pursue a listing, it’s likely to go public within the next six months, per our predictive intelligence. CEO Daniel Nadler has been somewhat more circumspect: In an interview with CNBC in January, he said the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company would consider an IPO after OpenAI and Anthropic had listed: “There’s an order to nature,” he said. “Foundation model companies go public first. Then the application layer follows. That’s how the internet played out, and that’s how this cycle will play out, too.”
Methodology
For this analysis, we used Crunchbase’s predictive intelligence tools and our own reporting and analysis to refine a list of potential near-term IPO candidates.
Crunchbase’s IPO predictions use company data — including funding and valuation history, financial growth, key leadership hires, market-share expansion and headcount trends — to assess the likelihood that a private company will go public.
The model produces an overall IPO probability score and corresponding rating, such as “very likely,” “probable” or “uncertain.” For companies that meet a minimum confidence threshold, Crunchbase separately estimates when an IPO might occur across four windows: within six months, six to 12 months, 12 to 24 months, or more than 24 months.
For this analysis, we define a “near-term” candidate as a private company rated at least “probable” overall, with a 40% or greater probability of going public within six months of the prediction date. The overall and timing scores should be read separately: A company may be considered highly likely to IPO eventually without being a strong near-term candidate. Predictions are directional rather than guarantees and may change as new company and market data becomes available.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
