The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) rose in 2023 after hitting a bottom during the bear market of 2022. However, the global IPO market still has a long way to go to reach the heights seen in 2021. This was during the pandemic-fueled stock market frenzy. Data from Ernst & Young shows that, last year, there were 120 IPOs in the United States. These collectively generated $22.60 billion in proceeds. That was down from a record 416 IPOs held in 2021 that, combined, earned $155.80 billion. While still soft, there were signs of life in the IPO market late last year. Several high-profile companies, including sandal maker Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) and chipmaker Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM), made their market debuts.

These IPOs have proven to be successful. BIRK stock is up 42% and ARM stock is up 120% since going public less than six months ago. The strong market debuts have fueled excitement for more big IPOs this year. This is happening as the market rally carries on and conditions look favorable for new listings.

Reddit (RDDT)

Social media firm Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) looks like it will be the next blockbuster IPO. It has had the biggest market debut of the year so far. The company has filed the needed paperwork and prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in March. Reddit plans to trade under the ticker symbol “RDDT.” The company has not set an exact date for March as of yet. However, it will be the first major technology IPO of the year. It is also the first social media IPO since Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) went public back in 2019.

Reddit was founded in 2005 and has been valued at about $10 billion in past funding rounds, according to deal tracker PitchBook. How much the company is ultimately valued at when it holds its IPO remains to be seen. However, Reddit’s prospectus provides some highlights of the company’s finances. Reddit had annual sales last year of $804 million, up 20% from $666.7 million the previous year. The company is dependant on online advertising to generate revenue. Worth noting is that Reddit is not yet profitable and posted a net loss in 2023 of $90.8 million. That was down from a loss of $158.6 million in 2022.

Stripe

The IPO of Irish-American financial technology and software as a service (SaaS) company Stripe has been expected since before the Covid-19 pandemic. But market conditions have repeatedly delayed the market debut of Stripe, a company that was founded in 2009 by brothers Patrick and John Collison and that has been valued as high as $95 billion. As rumors continue to swirl around a likely date for Stripe to go public, the company’s valuation has fluctuated wildly in recent years as the stock market declined sharply in 2022 and then rebounded strongly in 2023.

At various times Stripe’s valuation has dropped as low as $50 billion and is currently pegged at about $70 billion based on trading in the secondary market, where investors buy and sell securities directly from other investors rather than from companies that issue the securities. In this case, Stripe insiders are selling their stock on the secondary market as they too wait for the IPO to happen. Whether this is the year that Stripe finally makes its market debut remains to be seen. Analysts note that the company doesn’t seem to be in a hurry because it has had no difficulty raising funds to date.

Databricks

Databricks is another well-capitalized company. The San Francisco-based software company that is heavily involved in both machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). Analysts valued the company, founded in 2013, at $43 billion when it raised $685 million through a Series I funding drive. While Databricks has ample cash on hand, there is speculation that the company might finally go public this year to capitalize on the hype surrounding AI, which appears to be at its zenith right now. Investor appetite for a new leading AI and machine learning company is certainly high at the moment.

In all, the company has raised $3.5 billion in funding, according to Crunchbase. Databricks AI credentials also got a big boost after the company acquired last year OpenAI competitor MosaicML for $1.3 billion. Last summer, Databricks was talking up the fact that it was close to surpassing $1 billion in annual revenue, a data point that could certainly help to sell its IPO. Databricks has also won praise from analysts for its technology, which creates tools that help other companies view both structured and unstructured data in a single location. This IPO will almost certainly be a blockbuster.

On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.