US IPOs are surging as global investors rotate capital into emerging tech names, seeking exposure to the next generation of trillion-dollar disruptors transforming the technology industry.

Syndicate desks are expanding order books to accommodate a buyside desperate to deploy capital — countering the narrative of waning US exceptionalism that has lingered over equity markets since the start of the year.

Three recent high-profile tech IPOs — CoreWeave, Circle Internet Group, and Chime Financial — have all significantly outperformed benchmarks, reflecting strong investor appetite for AI, cryptocurrency, and digital banking disruption. CoreWeave, an AI hyperscaler, has rallied 296% since its 27 March debut. Circle, the US stablecoin issuer, has soared 387% since its 4 June listing, while Chime has gained 37% since going public on 11 June.

Their “magical” IPO performances, said an ECM banker, showcase a unique corner of the US capital markets where investors are eagerly backing ambitious growth stories in search of the next trillion-dollar giant to rival the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’. “The US excels at creative destruction,” he said. “You can lose a lot of money — but if you pick the right ones, the upside is enormous.”

The Nasdaq 100 is up roughly 3.5% year-to-date and 25% from its post-‘Liberation Day’ lows, and investors are increasingly questioning the upside potential of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ — including Meta, Apple and Alphabet — with AI ushering in the most profound disruption the industry has seen in decades.

“Investors are asking whether companies like Meta or Apple can really triple in value again, given how far they’ve already come, and the huge challenges ahead,” the ECM banker said. “These businesses will need to rapidly pivot to AI models and compete with the next generation of trillion-dollar disruptors.”

A US venture capital investor concurred that the massive jump in price in US IPOs was a sign of investors pivoting to pick the next mega-cap technology champion. While these businesses rise, however, there might also be losers in the form of slower adopters.

“Product-led growth companies that rely on fast, user-driven adoption are more vulnerable since AI makes building and switching products easier,” the investor said.  “The winners will be the ones with the strongest data moats and most sophisticated AI capabilities.”

Demand for more

The ECM banker added that the demand for US tech is being driven by the same forces drawing global asset managers to traditionally under-owned European stocks: the opportunity to close valuation gaps with richly priced US peers.

Several European block trades have been heavily oversubscribed, forcing banks to upsize deals to meet the sheer quantum of demand.

That trend has accelerated since early May, coinciding with an equity rebound following US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff pause.

The same dynamic is evident in US IPOs.

In the first quarter, when trade tensions weighed on sentiment, new US listings were downsized by a weighted average of 6% between initial offer and final pricing, according to Dealogic data and calculations by this news service.

But since the 90-day tariff pause, the narrative has flipped. US IPOs have been upsized by a weighted average of 23.7%, according to the same data and calculations.

A second ECM banker noted a shift in investor mindset: “They’re paid to go out and put money to work” — not sit on the sidelines holding cash. That’s driving a much more proactive posture, he said.

“One way that investors are being proactive is by leaning back into growth. There’s still a significant lack of growth in many portfolios,” the banker said. “Even companies with modest growth are attractive compared to what’s broadly held today.”

Not every bet will pay off. But the potential rewards from getting in early on the next tech IPO champion are simply too great for investors to ignore.