Nvidia-backed CoreWeave set for flat debut in disappointing IPO

CoreWeave CRWV.O, artificial intelligence startup backed by Nvidia NVDA.O, on course for flat debut on Fri after hotly-anticipated IPO downsized and priced well below range

CRWV shares recently indicated to open at $40, matching the IPO price

Livingston, New Jersey-based co late Thurs announced 37.5 mln shares for total raise of $1.5 bln, and fully diluted valuation of ~$23 bln at the IPO price

CoreWeave, which has yet to turn a profit, and some existing shareholders had planned to sell 49 mln shares at $47-$55

Nvidia, which has ~6% stake, was reportedly buying $250 mln worth of IPO shares

Founded in 2017 as a crypto mining firm, CoreWeave provides access to data centers and high-powered chips for AI workloads, and competes against cloud providers like Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's AWS

In 2024, CoreWeave's rev surged more than eightfold to $1.9 bln. However, Microsoft MSFT.O, also a customer, accounted for nearly two-thirds of CoreWeave's rev last year

Earlier this week, D.A. Davidson initiated coverage of CoreWeave at 'neutral', saying it sees co "mostly as a highly levered way for Microsoft to offload less desirable workloads and Nvidia to leverage a small investment into a very large customer”

CoreWeave's IPO is seen as a critical barometer of investor appetite for new listings and sentiment for AI-related names, especially since the launch of China's DeepSeek

Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs leading an 18-firm underwriting group for the IPO

Markets have been roiled this year by President Donald Trump's tariff salvos and concerns of a U.S. economic slowdown

Equities are selling off on Fri, extending YTD loss for the S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC to 5% and ~10%, respectively. The Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX falling 3% on the session, bringing its 2025 loss to 14%