The new round was led by , with participation from existing investors , and . Music group Swedish House Mafia also participated.

Nothing, founded in 2020, launched its Phone (1) product last year. Even amid declining cell phone sales, the product sold out and never made the U.S. Its new Phone (2) — set for a July 11 launch — will make the U.S. market and is highly anticipated.

“In just over two years, we’ve assembled one of the strongest teams in the industry and sold over 1.5 million devices worldwide,” co-founder and CEO said in a release. “It’s clear that there’s real demand for an innovative challenger in the consumer tech industry, and with this new round of financing, we’ve never been better positioned to realize our vision to make tech fun again.”

Growing fast

The London-based startup is not small by any means, with more than 450 people across seven offices worldwide. The company made $200 million in revenues in 2022 and is on pace to exceed that this year, .

Aside from its phones, the company also has released earbuds and a sound stick. The company has sold more than 1.5 million devices, per the report.

Part of the company’s fast success is undoubtedly due to its engagements with its customers. It has raised nearly $14 million in crowdfunding and attracted more than 8,000 investors in those rounds.

Nothing also has ongoing sustainability initiatives and promises its new phone will have a lower carbon footprint than the first iteration.

Founded in 2020, the company has raised more than $250 million to date, per the company.

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Kenvue’s shares traded at $26.90 each when the market closed on Thursday, a 22% jump from the company’s original asking price of $22, which was in the high end of the range. When it debuted, shares were trading at $25.60.

The company sold 172.8 million shares — an increase from the 151 million it planned on selling. Kenvue raised $3.8 billion from the offering and its valuation jumped from $48 billion at the start of trading to $50 billion when the market closed.

Back in 2021, Johnson & Johnson it would split its pharmaceutical brand from its consumer health division, marking one of the biggest changes to its 100-year history. Kenvue, the consumer health arm that owns a slew of household names like , and , announced last week it would brave the icy public markets and go public. 

Johnson & Johnson is still a majority shareholder in Kenvue, representing a 90.9% stake in the company and owning 1.7 billion shares of common stock.

Sign of a bustling public market ahead?

Kenvue’s blockbuster debut may be a sign that the public markets are thawing. There was an unprecedented number of startups that went public in 2021, but the market chilled considerably in 2022. 

Last year, raised $1.9 billion when it debuted back in July, while marketing platform raised $518 million a few months earlier in January. They were part of a mere 91 startups that went public in 2022, per . By comparison, over 400 startups debuted on the stock market in 2021 and 190 debuted in 2020.

In 2022, several companies scrapped or paused their IPO plans as the economic health of the U.S. became more uncertain, but it’s clear many are waiting for the right time to go public. Both fast-fashion retailer and fintech platform are reportedly in talks to explore IPO options no later than 2024.  

Startups, after raising huge rounds at high valuations in 2021, are looking for ways to extend their runways. And the banking crisis that killed and is only causing more uncertainty for risky startups that don’t often meet banks’ loan requirements. 

Related Crunchbase Pro query:

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Winc was founded in 2012 as Club W. The company, which sends customers customized wine shipments based on their tastes, raised a total of $54.2 million from venture investors including , and , according to Crunchbase data. 

It raised another $22 million in its November 2021 IPO amid a spike on online alcohol sales during the pandemic. Its market capitalization has hovered around $3.6 million lately — a fraction of its most recent private valuation of $112.3 million in late 2019.

Winc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — which allows a company to keep operating as it reorganizes — listing $50.3 million in assets and $36.8 million in liabilities. The company generated $72.1 million in revenue last year, but never turned a profit.

Its largest unsecured creditor listed in bankruptcy filings, , is Facebook parent , which is owed $724,000, presumably for online advertising.

Shares of consumer brands have been particularly hard hit this year amid stock market turmoil. Among them:

• Shares of ​​, ’s consumer goods brand, have fallen about 84% since its May 2021 IPO.
• Oat-milk maker went public in May 2021. Its shares are trading down about 93% since then.
• , a second-hand clothing marketplace, went public in early 2021. Its shares are down about 79% since then.
• , another used-clothing marketplace, has seen its shares decline 94% since its March 2021 IPO.
• , which makes medical scrubs, went public in May 2021. Its shares are down about 76% since then.
• Shares of clothing rental service are down roughly 92% since the company’s October 2021 public market debut.

Related reading:

• These Are The Tech Companies That Went Public In 2021, A Record Year For IPOs

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