Tekcapital LON:TEK, the London-listed intellectual property investment group, could be on the verge of a significant payday after its portfolio company Guident filed paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
Guident, a Florida-based developer of autonomous vehicle technology and remote monitoring systems, submitted a registration statement on Form S-1 this week, a key step toward listing on Nasdaq under the ticker “GDNT”. The company has yet to set the number of shares to be sold or the price range for the offer, with both to be determined once the SEC’s review process is complete. The timing of the flotation will also depend on market conditions.
The listing, if successful, would mark a milestone for Tekcapital, which owns about 70 per cent of Guident’s equity. The AIM-quoted group specialises in commercialising intellectual property developed by universities, acquiring early-stage technologies and scaling them into viable businesses.
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Tekcapital said it would update investors as the offering progressed, but cautioned that no assurances could be given on the eventual size or outcome of the IPO.
IPO market for tech ventures is reopening
Founded in 2018, Guident has built its business around software and hardware designed to improve the safety of self-driving and remotely operated vehicles. Its flagship product is a system for monitoring and controlling autonomous shuttles, delivery robots and other driverless machines from a distance. Such technology has attracted increasing interest from regulators and operators alike, amid concerns that autonomous vehicles must meet higher standards of safety before achieving mainstream adoption.
Guident’s entry into the IPO queue comes at a time when public markets for technology flotations are slowly reopening. After a long drought in 2022–23 caused by rising interest rates and weak risk appetite, several venture-backed companies have tested US exchanges this year with mixed results. Investors have been selective, rewarding businesses with clear revenue visibility and punishing those reliant on distant growth promises.
Guident IPO is boon for Tekcapital
For Tekcapital, a successful listing would crystallise value in a portfolio that has sometimes struggled to win attention from the broader market. Shares in Tekcapital have traded at a steep discount to the book value of its holdings, reflecting scepticism about the timing and scale of potential exits. A Guident IPO would provide a public market valuation for one of its most advanced assets, potentially narrowing that discount.
Guident is not the first Tekcapital-backed business to seek capital through US markets. The group has previously nurtured ventures across mobility, food technology and augmented reality. But Guident’s focus on autonomous vehicle infrastructure taps into one of the largest and most contentious debates in technology: how to make driverless systems both commercially viable and socially acceptable.
If Guident can convince investors of its role in solving those challenges, Tekcapital could find itself with a valuable listed asset at a time when university spin-out investors are under pressure to demonstrate returns.
The IPO would also test appetite for companies that, while not household names, are positioned in the picks-and-shovels layer of the technology stack — providing essential infrastructure to enable broader adoption of autonomous systems.
