IPO Market Analysis: Forgent Power Solutions and Liftoff Mobile Debut Amid 2026 AI Infrastructure Boom

The week of February 2-6, 2026, represents a pivotal moment for the U.S. IPO market, marking continued recovery and investor appetite for AI-related offerings. According to market projections, 200-230 IPOs are expected to raise between $40-60 billion throughout 2026 [0], demonstrating sustained confidence in public market valuations for growth-oriented technology companies. The concurrent debut of Forgent Power Solutions and Liftoff Mobile during this period tests investor appetite across two distinct segments of the AI ecosystem—physical infrastructure and digital advertising technology.

The Renaissance IPO Index was up 1.2% year-to-date as of January 29, 2026, compared to the S&P 500’s 1.9% gain [4], suggesting moderate but positive market sentiment toward new listings. This environment provides a constructive backdrop for both companies to achieve their pricing targets while establishing public market presence.

Forgent Power Solutions emerges as a differentiated IPO opportunity by offering investors direct exposure to AI data center power infrastructure without the diversification constraints of larger energy conglomerates. The company designs and manufactures electrical distribution equipment including automatic transfer switches, transformers, switchgear, and power distribution units, serving data centers, power grids, and energy-intensive industrial facilities [1].

The company’s financial profile reveals $882 million in revenue for the 12 months ended September 30, 2025, with a strategic revenue mix of 42% from data centers, 23% from grid applications, 19% from industrial sectors, and 16% from other markets [1]. This concentration in data center infrastructure represents a rare pure-play opportunity in public markets, allowing investors to make targeted bets on AI capital expenditure without indirect exposure through diversified industrial companies.

Manufacturing scale positions Forgent to capture sustained market share as data center construction accelerates. The company operates 10 manufacturing campuses totaling 2.3 million square feet across Minnesota, Texas, Maryland, California, and Mexico, with an additional 1.8 million square feet of capacity planned by the end of 2026 [1]. This expansion capacity aligns with projected market growth, as research indicates the global AI Data Center Power Infrastructure Market is growing at an 18% CAGR during 2026-2030 [5].

Liftoff Mobile represents the continued maturation of mobile advertising technology companies with genuine AI differentiation. The company operates a unified demand-side platform (DSP) and supply-side platform (SSP) powered by its proprietary Cortex AI prediction engine, formed in 2021 through the merger of Liftoff and Vungle under private equity giant Blackstone ownership [2].

Financial metrics demonstrate strong operational performance with $519.3 million in revenue for FY 2024, representing 30% year-over-year growth for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, with Core Advertising revenue up 43% year-over year [2]. Operating income of $92.9 million for FY 2024 indicates improving profitability, though the company still reports net losses on a GAAP basis—reduced from $48.2 million in FY2024 to $25.6 million for nine months ended September 30, 2025 [2].

Platform scale reaches 1.4 billion daily active users globally through SDK integration with over 140,000 applications, serving more than 1,000 marketers [2]. Geographic revenue distribution balances exposure across regions at 36% Americas, 31% EMEA, and 33% APAC, reducing dependency on any single market. Customer retention metrics prove exceptional, with 99% retention among top 100 advertisers and 100% publisher retention, combined with net dollar retention of 124% for Core Advertising [2].

Both IPOs benefit from structural tailwinds driving AI-related capital expenditure across the technology sector. U.S. data center power consumption is projected to surge from 183 TWh in 2024 to 426 TWh by 2030, while global data center demand is expected to double to 1,587 TWh by 2030 [6]. These projections create sustained demand fundamentals for Forgent’s electrical infrastructure products.

The advertising technology landscape presents different dynamics, with budget shifts toward performance marketing and AI-driven targeting creating opportunities for platforms with proprietary machine learning capabilities. However, operating in the shadow of dominant platforms like Google and Meta creates structural competitive challenges regarding inventory access and pricing power [7].

Forgent’s IPO terms include 70% secondary shares, indicating significant insider selling that may impact pricing dynamics despite strong sector tailwinds [1]. This high secondary percentage contrasts with Liftoff’s offering structure under Blackstone ownership, suggesting different motivations and market dynamics between the two offerings.

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The concurrent IPO of Forgent Power Solutions and Liftoff Mobile highlights the broadening investment opportunity set within AI infrastructure, extending beyond traditional chipmakers and cloud providers to infrastructure components. Forgent represents physical AI infrastructure—the power systems required to operate increasingly energy-intensive data centers—while Liftoff represents digital AI infrastructure—the advertising technology platforms leveraging artificial intelligence for user acquisition and monetization optimization.

This diversification within AI-related public offerings suggests maturing investor sophistication regarding AI investment themes. Where previous market cycles focused primarily on semiconductor exposure and cloud computing platforms, the 2026 IPO market demonstrates demand for more granular exposure to specific AI value chain components.

Liftoff Mobile’s IPO represents a successful exit for Blackstone, demonstrating continued private equity confidence in public markets for technology investments. This follows a broader trend of private equity-backed companies pursuing public listings as market conditions stabilize, with both companies featuring premier underwriters—Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley leading both offerings [1][2].

The successful path to public markets for Blackstone-controlled Liftoff may encourage additional private equity technology portfolio companies to pursue IPOs in 2026, contributing to projected market activity levels.

Forgent’s extensive manufacturing footprint—10 campuses with 2.3 million square feet of production space and 1,500 unique designs produced annually—demonstrates how operational scale creates barriers to entry in industrial equipment markets. This manufacturing expertise, developed over decades of serving diverse industrial applications, translates to competitive advantages in the rapidly growing data center segment.

The company’s ability to produce custom solutions with an average batch count of 15 units per design differentiates Forgent from larger conglomerates that may prioritize standardized, high-volume production [1]. This customization capability positions the company to capture project-specific orders from data center developers requiring specialized electrical infrastructure configurations.

Liftoff’s unified DSP and SSP platform creates network effects through integrated data insights across advertisers and publishers. The proprietary Cortex AI engine benefits from training data across 1.4 billion daily active users, creating algorithmic advantages that strengthen over time as more interactions occur on the platform [2]. This data moat represents a significant barrier to competitive erosion, though larger platforms with greater resources may accelerate their own AI investments in response.

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The company’s ambitious capacity expansion requires successful construction and operational ramp-up. Construction delays, labor constraints, or supply chain disruptions could impact growth trajectories. Additionally, customer concentration within the 42% data center revenue exposure creates dependency on major hyperscalers’ capital expenditure decisions [1].

Operating in the shadow of dominant platforms (Google, Meta) creates structural competitive challenges [7]. Privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and platform policy changes (Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, IDFA deprecation) continue to reshape the mobile advertising landscape, potentially impacting revenue models that depend on user-level targeting capabilities [2].

Elevated interest rates continue to impact growth stock valuations and may affect pricing for both offerings. Some analysts question whether AI spending can continue driving market returns at current levels [8]. A slowdown in AI investment could impact demand for both data center infrastructure and advertising technology platforms.

The projected 18% CAGR for AI Data Center Power Infrastructure through 2030 creates a sustained multi-year opportunity window for Forgent to capture market share [5]. As hyperscalers (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI) continue expanding data center capacity, Forgent is positioned as a direct beneficiary of sustained capital expenditure in power infrastructure.

Liftoff’s strong retention metrics and Blackstone backing provide strategic flexibility for potential acquisitions or partnerships that could strengthen competitive positioning against larger platforms. The 124% net dollar retention indicates strong expansion revenue from existing customers, suggesting successful product-market fit [2].

The projected 200-230 IPOs raising $40-60B in 2026 suggests a favorable window for technology companies to access public capital [0]. Companies establishing public market presence during this period may benefit from sustained investor appetite for AI-related offerings.

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The February 2026 IPO week featuring Forgent Power Solutions and Liftoff Mobile represents a significant moment in the market’s recovery and the continued integration of AI-related opportunities into public markets. Both companies offer differentiated exposure to distinct aspects of the AI ecosystem—physical infrastructure and digital advertising technology—with combined proceeds potentially exceeding $2.3 billion.

Forgent Power Solutions provides a rare pure-play opportunity in data center power infrastructure, benefiting from the structural tailwind of AI-related capital expenditure. The company’s specialized focus, manufacturing scale of 10 campuses totaling 2.3 million square feet, and custom capabilities position it well to capture growth as hyperscalers continue expanding data center capacity. The 42% revenue exposure to data centers allows investors to make direct plays on AI spending without investing in diversified energy conglomerates [1].

Liftoff Mobile represents a maturing mobile advertising platform with strong AI differentiation through its proprietary Cortex engine and solid customer retention metrics. While operating in a competitive landscape dominated by larger players, the company’s Blackstone backing and proprietary technology provide strategic advantages. The 124% net dollar retention and 99-100% customer retention rates demonstrate successful product-market positioning [2].

The broader IPO market’s projected activity levels for 2026 suggest continued confidence in public market valuations for growth-oriented companies. Investors evaluating these opportunities should carefully weigh company-specific risks—including execution challenges, competitive pressures, and regulatory developments—against sector tailwinds supported by structural AI infrastructure growth projections.