Exclusive: Database company Couchbase files for IPO - sources

By Anirban Sen and Krystal Hu

(Reuters) - Database software firm Couchbase Inc has registered for a stock market debut that could come in the first half of this year and value it at as much as $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company has achieved more than $100 million in annual revenue, one the sources said. The sources requested anonymity because the initial public offering (IPO) filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is confidential and has not yet been made public.

Couchbase declined to comment.

Couchbase helps corporate customers such as Comcast and eBay manage databases on web and mobile applications through its NoSQL cloud database service. It has thrived as demand for data storage and processing has soared because of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in 2011, Couchbase has raised $294 million from investors thus far. It last raised $105 million at a valuation of $580 million in May 2020, according to PitchBook data. GPI Capital, North Bridge Venture Partners and Accel are among its backers.

The company had eyed an IPO back in 2016, after it raised $30 million. It said at the time it expected that to be its last round before going public.

MongoDB, another database company and competitor of Couchbase, went public in 2017 and now commands a $20 billion market capitalization. Snowflake Inc, a cloud-based data-warehousing company, went public last year at a $33 billion valuation, the largest software IPO in history.

The U.S. IPO market remains welcoming, with 62 operating companies listed so far this year, according to data provider Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York and Anirban Sen in Bangalore; Editing by Daniel Wallis)