Buffett-backed cloud unicorn Snowflake nets $3.4 billion in record-breaking software IPO

Snowflake would raise $3.4 billion in the largest initial public offering (IPO) for a software company. Snowflake would sell 28 million shares at $120 each. Snowflake, which was valued at $12.4 billion and counts the billionaire investor Warren Buffett among its backers, plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SNOW.

Snowflake’s highly anticipated IPO has managed to generate enthusiasm from Buffett, who has famously steered clear of tech stocks. Buffett agreed to invest upwards of $550 million once it goes public.

Snowflake is the largest software IPO on record and the largest since Uber’s $8.1 billion IPO in May 2019.

The company has emerged as one of the strongest players in cloud-data warehousing in 2020 as the pandemic forced millions of people to work remotely, fueling a trend among businesses of setting up networks on web-based platforms. The company was reportedly aiming for a valuation of $20 billion. In total, the company has raised $1.4 billion from investors including Sequoia and Iconiq Capital.

The company had about 3,100 customers, including 56 clients that contributed about $1 million in a 12-month period. The company would be the blockbuster enterprise listing for 2020. Other tech IPOs set to debut this week include Unity, a video-game-software firm expected to raise $950 million. And Sumo Logic, a data-software platform expected to raise $281 million.