On June 30, 2021, the New York Stock Exchange will welcome executives and visitors of Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE: YOU) in celebration of the company’s Initial Public Offering. Investors made billions of dollars on a day when there were more tech IPOs than available bell-ringing slots on U.S. exchanges. The victors, however, were not limited to Silicon Valley’s venture capital network. Uber and Tencent have joined SoftBank as the largest shareholders in Didi Chuxing, a Chinese ride-hailing firm that debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and finished with a market worth of $67.8 billion. Delta Air Lines is a major shareholder in Clear, an airport security company that rang the New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell. New York’s Insight Partners had the greatest day among venture firms, thanks to its $1.45 billion holding in cybersecurity software business SentinelOne, while Highland Capital owns shares in Xometry, a manufacturing marketplace, valued over $500 million. Private equity firms have plenty of cash to work with as well. LegalZoom, which celebrated its Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, is primarily owned by Francisco Partners, and ad tech firm Integral Ad Science is mainly controlled by Vista. The Nasdaq’s closing bell was rung by Integral. While the IPOs of software companies Confluent and Doximity last week mostly rewarded well-known venture firms like Benchmark, Index Ventures, and Emergence Capital, this round of deals highlights the investor appetite for technology. Capital has flooded into the tech industry, which is playing an outsized role in the larger economy, from buyout firms and mutual fund managers to huge publicly traded enterprises. Didi was by far the most successful IPO on Wednesday, raising $4.4 billion in its initial public offering. SoftBank, the company’s largest investor, began buying shares in 2015 at a $16.5 billion post-money valuation, according to PitchBook. As of the closing of trade, the firm had built a holding worth $13.7 billion, primarily through its Vision Fund. Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) floor in New York City, United States, on June 30, 2021, during the IPO for Chinese ride-hailing startup Didi Global Inc. Reuters/Brendan McDermid After ceding China to its rival in 2016 and selling its Chinese operation in exchange for Didi shares, Uber now holds a $8.1 billion stake in Didi. Uber’s Didi shares was valued at $5.9 billion at the end of March. Uber’s profit, according to Emil Michael, the company’s former chief business officer, stemmed entirely from a $2 billion investment. In one of his tweets regarding the purchase, Michael stated, “Nearly every stakeholder was against our huge investment in China and constantly nasty about it.” Tencent, the Chinese internet powerhouse, owns a $4.4 billion interest in Didi, having invested in the company as early as 2013. Later investments came from Apple and Alibaba, but because they individually control less than 5% of the company, their interests aren’t revealed in the prospectus. ‘Less annoyance’ at the airport Clear has a market valuation of $5.9 billion after its stock soared 29 percent to $40 in its NYSE debut. Clear’s biometric devices enable customers breeze past airport security lines. With a position worth $763 million at the close, T. Rowe Price is Clear’s largest outside investor, followed by venture capital company General Atlantic with $596 million. Because of an investment connected to a cooperation between the two corporations, Delta’s stock is worth $331 million. Delta utilizes facial recognition systems at its Atlanta hub to allow customers to board some international flights without having to produce a boarding pass or passport. According to the prospectus, Clear commenced operations at New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in 2017, and instead of paying the airport, it pays a revenue share to Delta. “Our customers tell us that their time is essential, and that having a consistent, delightful airport experience with less trouble is important,” stated Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a news release at the time of the arrangement in 2016. “We’re excited to see what this collaboration will bring to our customers.” SentinelOne’s stock jumped 21% on Wednesday after the business raised $1.2 billion in its initial public offering. The leading shareholder is Insight Partners, which has a winning run thanks to the IPOs of Israel’s Monday.com and WalkMe. Tiger Global, a late-stage internet investment firm, owns a $1.1 billion interest in the company. Among Wednesday’s IPOs, Xometry, which supplies technology for on-demand manufacturing, had the greatest jump, nearly doubling to $87.39 from its offer price of $44. The company’s market capitalization was $3.7 billion at the end of the day. Highland Capital, based in the Bay Area and Boston, led a $8.8 million investment in 2015, valued at $40 million. Last year, T. Rowe Price led the most recent private financing, which valued the company at over $550 million. Even though there are other ways to go public, such as a direct listing or through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Xometry CEO Randy Altschuler told CNBC’s “The Exchange” that an IPO was the best option for the company. “We had a lot of excitement going into today’s debut, so we thought, okay, let’s establish a book of long-term investors and build a wonderful company,” he added. Buyout firms can make a lot of money. On Wednesday, two 2018 private equity investments also paid out nicely. Less than three years after investing $300 million in a deal that valued the legal services site at $2 billion, Francisco Partners virtually doubled its money in LegalZoom. The stock rose 35% to $37.85 on Wednesday, bringing LegalZoom’s market valuation to $7.3 billion and Francisco’s holding to $1.1 billion. On a percentage basis, Vista’s return on Integral Ad Science isn’t quite as impressive, but the total cash amount is. According to PitchBook, Vista purchased a controlling stake in the ad-tech firm in June 2018 for $835 million. Integral Ad’s stock climbed 14% to $20.58, giving it a market capitalization of $3.1 billion. Vista’s 70% interest is currently valued at approximately $1.94 billion. WATCH: Xometry’s CEO speaks about the company’s first public offering (IPO)./nRead More