IPO-pedia | Customer Engagement Platform Braze is going public tonight

Braze substantially boosted its expectations and priced its initial public offering at $65 per share, above the previous marketed range ( $55 and $60 per share). It distributed 6.7 million shares to raise $520 million.

According to Bloomberg, at the IPO price, Braze would have a market value of $5.87 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accounting for employee stock options and restricted stock units,the company would have a fully diluted value of more than $6.7 billion.

New York-based Braze was founded in 2011 to assist organizations in automating and analyzing their customer communications and engagement efforts.

Brands ingest and process customer data in real time, orchestrate and optimize contextually relevant, cross-channel marketing campaigns and continuously evolve their customer engagement strategies with the platform.

As of July 31, 2021, the company had 1,119 customers, up from 890 customers as of January 31, 2021 and 728 customers as of January 31, 2020.

Its customers include many established global enterprises and leading technology innovators, including Domino's Pizza，SoundCloud，HBO Max and Urban Outfitters.

In a letter to investors, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer William Magnuson said the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, including the importance of mobile technology for connecting customers to brands. The transformative impact from 2020 will echo into the future, further validating Braze's founding vision.

Braze generated revenue of $96.4 million and $150.2 million in fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 56%.

Revenue increases 52.6% to 103.6 million from the six months ended July 31, 2020 to the six months ended July 31, 2021.

The company had net losses of $31.8 million and $32.0 million in fiscal year 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The increase was primarily driven by an increase in subscription fees with existing customers as a result of expansion in committed entitlements and features, and an increase in the number of customers from 796 as of July 31, 2020 to 1,119 as of July 31, 2021.

According to the prospectus, approximately 54.5% of the increase in revenue was attributable to the growth from existing customers, and the remaining 45.5% was attributable to new customers.