Ambiq Micro, a 15-year-old semiconductor firm specializing in ultra-low-power chips for wearables and medical devices, achieved a 61% surge in its IPO debut on Wednesday. The company closed its first-day trading at $38.53 per share, surpassing the $24 IPO price set the previous day.
This successful IPO highlights growing investor appetite for small-cap firms positioned to benefit from AI advancements in public markets. Ambiq's market capitalization reached $656 million (excluding employee stock options) on its listing day, according to PitchBook data, marking a significant increase from its $450 million valuation during the last private funding round in 2023.
Positioning itself as an AI growth enabler, Ambiq leverages its energy efficiency advantages. CTO Scott Hanson told TechCrunch: "Due to our ultra-low power consumption, we can integrate more intelligence and AI capabilities into edge processors."
Financial disclosures show a net loss of $8.3 million and revenue of $15.7 million for the three months ending March 31. This represents slight improvement compared to the $9.8 million loss and $15.2 million revenue reported in the same period of 2024.
Kleiner Perkins and Singapore's state-owned EDB Investments emerged as Ambiq's major external backers based on filing documents. Wen Hsieh, who joined Kleiner Perkins as a general partner in 2023, initially invested in Ambiq during its Series C funding in 2014. He followed up with another investment two years after establishing his venture capital firm Matter Venture Partners.
