Cloud storage and analysis provider Snowflake is preparing for its IPO this week, with a second increase in the company's initial share price bringing greater attention to the soon-to-be-public firm. Snowflake is one of the most highly sought-after companies going public this week, attracting big names to the IPO with the promise of rapid growth and high returns.
Snowflake is set to debut on the New York Stock Exchange this week, the first of several tech companies doing so. Snowflake is premiering alongside Unity Software, which will be listed as (NYSE: U). Unity is best known for the Unity Engine, one of the most popular game engines in the video gaming industry, with a broad appeal among both AAA game developers and small-time independent studios for its versatility and vast market of assets. Snowflake is also premiering alongside Amwell, which will be listed as (NYSE: AMWL). Amwell is a telehealth provider, a service that has exploded amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Telehealth allows doctors to conduct appointments with patients to monitor their health, especially useful for those with chronic conditions.
Soon to be listed as (NYSE: SNOW), the rapidly growing cloud service provider has attracted a great deal of attention as it prepares to go public. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) and cloud computing firm Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) have both signed on to purchase $250 million of shares each at the IPO price.
Snowflake's IPO price has been raised twice this week, which has drawn a great deal of attention from potential investors. On Monday, Snowflake raised its maximum from $85 to $110, and on Tuesday, it increased that number to $120.
The fervor surrounding Snowflake's IPO is understandable, considering how much of a high-growth market cloud computing truly is. It's hard to find a major corporation that isn't at least somewhat reliant on cloud computing for its daily operations, with that dependence on cloud storage and analysis growing drastically during the Coronavirus pandemic, which has sent many office workers home to telecommute. Snowflake benefitted from the telecommuting trend, seeing its revenue grow 130% in the first half of 2020 as a direct result.