Darktrace reportedly eyeing London IPO

The company is expected to issue its intention to float within the next week or so

Cybersecurity unicorn Darktrace could be making its public debut this month, despite the doubts cast by Deliveroo’s failed London Stock Exchange (LSE) float last week.

UK-based Darktrace was founded in Cambridge in 2013 and is now reportedly eyeing an initial public listing (IPO) on the LSE as early as this month, according to sources speaking with Sky News. The company is expected to issue its intention to float within the next week or so.

However, the news comes just a few days after food-delivery app Deliveroo bungled its public listing, which saw its value plunge by more than 26% within the first day of trading.

As a result, investors are expected to be more cautious about UK-based tech listings in the future, which have reportedly prompted Darktrace to adopt a more conservative approach to its IPO, according to the Sky News report.

The more careful approach could see Darktrace seek a lower valuation than the $5bn valuation market analysts and experts have previously expected.

Darktrace is using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect, investigate and respond to cyberattacks in real time. The startup is not alone in doing so.

More investment has been made into AI technology within the cybersecurity space over the past decade. While the total value of AI cybersecurity investment fell from $34.5bn in 2018 to $7.2bn in 2019, it slightly recovered to $29.3bn in 2020, according to GlobalData’s Technology Intelligence Centre.

Cloud-based technology investments are still the most popular though, with GlobalData’s thematic data showing that this segment of the cybersecurity sector raised $41bn in total in 2020.