Thousands of venture-capital-backed startups applied for U.S. government-assistance loans when the pandemic hit. Many of them then went on to raise hundreds of millions of dollars each by going public.
More than 30 venture-funded tech startups with valuations of more than $150 million announced a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, within about a year of receiving taxpayer-funded forgivable loans designed to help small businesses pay their employees through the pandemic.
Another 15 companies, each valued at more than $200 million, had traditional initial public offerings within about a year of taking a loan, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data provided by research firm PitchBook Data Inc.
As much as $4 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans went to venture-backed startups, according to PitchBook.
The fast track from the PPP to a lucrative public-market debut shows how after a brief time of uncertainty last spring, when startups braced for the economy to collapse, the tech industry quickly emerged as a beneficiary of the pandemic.
