Top technology venture capital experts say IPO prices in 2019 may be "far below expectations

Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist known for his early bets on Twitter, Zynga and Coinbase, predicts that high-profile IPO prices in 2019 are expected to be "far below their current high expectations." Uber, Lyft and Airbnb are all preparing to go public this year – with 10 years of growth and financing support, they are valued at tens of billions of dollars. According to reports, Uber received a bank offer worth $120 billion at the end of last year.

Union Square Ventures co-founder Wilson said in his annual forecast blog post that investors can expect these valuations to fall.

“Partly because the US stock market is weak, in fact, most of the IPO pricing in 2018 is also lower than the “job” expectations of founders, managers, boards of directors and their bankers. For a long time, the open market is optimistic about value. The extent is much higher than the late stage of the private market."

Wilson says technology start-ups are largely unaffected by broader economic trends, minimizing the impact of potential recessions. But he said investors may be more cautious in the face of widespread market turmoil.

Wilson said: "If the total venture capital investment in 2019 is lower than in 2018, I will not be surprised." "I think we will see that financing will take longer, and due diligence on new investments will indeed happen, even if The most attractive opportunities, valuations will also be under pressure."

Wilson is not the only skeptic in the VC industry. According to the Silicon Valley Venture capital Confidence Index released on Monday, investor confidence fell sharply in the third quarter, below the 15-year average. The survey of 26 venture capital firms in the Bay Area was conducted in September last year, when the stock market fell sharply at the end of the year.