Kodiak Robotics made a financial move that was ubiquitous in 2021. Yup, the self-driving truck startup plans to go public through a merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, a special purpose acquisition company. It’s a bold bet in a market where SPACs have lost their shine and the autonomous vehicle space has numerous shutdowns, including Embark and TuSimple.
Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha are unpacking the week’s news, including the possible return of the SPAC in an uncertain IPO market. It’s a curious moment for a public debut in general, as Kirsten points out, especially after so much chatter that 2025 would be the big comeback year for blockbuster IPOs; some major players like Klarna and StubHub have already hit pause. And as investor Mark Goldberg put it on this week’s show, folks holding their breath for a fintech IPO wave this year “are going to be blue in the face.”
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned!
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.
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