Austin solar tracking and software company FTC Solar Inc. late last week filed papers showing it intends to go public on the Nasdaq Global Market with "FTCI" as its ticker symbol.
It's not entirely clear just yet how much the company will raise or when it will start trading, although it pegged its target at $100 million, which is commonly a placeholder when companies make their initial S-1 filing.
While the Austin-headquartered company may not be a household name just yet, FTC Solar reports that its solar tracking systems, software and engineering boost the amount of solar energy produced by installations by optimizing their movement to orientate with the sun. FTC believes it has about 11% of the U.S. market share for its type of offering. And it reports that, as of the end of last year, it had logged $109 million in executed contracts and orders for its Voyager system for 2021. That's a 100% jump from a year prior, according to the federal filing.
It shows $187 million in revenue in 2020 — and $15.9 million in net losses.
The company, led by President and CEO Tony Etnyre, launched in 2017 and installed its first Voyager set up in Q3 of 2019. Earlier this year, it launched its next generation tracker at a test site in Denver. It competes against players including Array Technologies and Flex Ltd.
It plans to use its IPO investments to buy back stock from some employees and other stakeholders, as well as for general working capital.
FTC Solar had 31 employees as of last fall, when it ranked as one of the top 35 revenue-generating private businesses in the area tracked by Austin Business Journal.
FTC Solar's path to the public markets is notable because it follows the traditional path of an initial public offering. Special purpose acquisition companies — shell businesses that go public, then seek a private company to merge with and take public — have been all the rage on Wall Street, as well as in Austin.
But traditional IPOs have been less common in the Texas capital. The last business to complete one was Bumble in February, and before that it was biotech company Shattuck Labs in October.
