IPO game is dead in US.
Fintech giants nowadays are becoming the new existing liquidity of each founders:
Before 2020
-> Build a real company
-> Raise and grow
-> IPO
-> Retail investors get in — and actually make money
2020–2025
-> Build a narrative
-> Raise at series A/B/C/D/E/F/G
-> Hype the valuation as much as possible
-> IPO
-> Retail is the exit liquidity
(New stocks = crypto altcoins. Same game, different ticker.)
After 2025
-> Build in a hot theme
-> Raise enough to get noticed
-> Sell to a panicking fintech giant
-> No IPO anymore. The acquiring company is the new exit liquidity