This morning, the well-known robotic process automation (RPA) unicorn UiPath filed for IPO.
The company’s S-1 lawsuit comes after it has raised billions of dollars as a private company, making it one of the best-funded startups in history. Last year, for example, the company’s rapid fundraising included its Series E and F rounds of capital, both of which took place in the past 12 months.
The UiPath filing details a rapidly growing company. From its fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, to its fiscal year ended January 31, 2021, UiPaths’ revenues increased from $ 336.2 million to $ 607.6 million, which translates into a growth of just under 81%. This revenue expansion brought with it GAAP net revenue of –$ 519.9 million in the year ending early 2020, and – $ 94.7 million in the year ending January 31, 2021.
UiPath was privately valued at $ 10.2 billion in mid-2020 and $ 35 billion in early 2021.
For the company’s 27 known investors, the IPO request is a critical moment. If UiPath can defend its rich private valuation, its IPO can be seen as a success. However, the investors in that final round – Alkeon Capital and Coatue, the investors who also led the E Series – will want to see their market value rise.
Whether UiPath can achieve a public valuation of more than $ 35 billion, it remains to be seen.
The company’s finances paint the picture of a high-growth company that adjusted its costs after a very expensive fiscal year that ended on January 31, 2020. UiPath cut its sales and marketing costs, its research and development expenses and even even your general and administrative budget costs in your most recent fiscal year. The result is that your gross profit has been scaled against a lower cost base. The result of this was a drastic improvement in profitability and cash generation.
As the S-1 notes: “[UiPath’s] operating cash flows were $ (359.4) million and $ 29.2 million and our free cash flows were $ (380.4) million and $ 26.0 million in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. ” It is a massive turnaround, perhaps even more impressive than the company’s net GAAP margins.
There is more to come from UiPath, that is, a dip in its quarterly results, which the company says will come in a “change subsequent to the [its] prospectus.”
In all, UiPath’s most recent fiscal year shows significant operational leverage – something that not every software company that is going public can boast about.