Montreal startup Lightspeed files for IPO, aiming for $1bn valuation

Lightspeed, a SaaS fintech company from Montreal, announced on Thursday plans to file for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the wake of the release of its omnichannel payment platform aimed at US-based SMEs. According to the Montreal Gazette, Lightspeed’s IPO is being hailed as a momentous success story for Montreal’s tech industry and Canada’s startup scene.

“It’s really one of the great high tech success stories in Montreal,” said Karl Moore, a professor at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management.

The Gazette reports that Lightspeed i seeking to raise over US$150mn the the IPO, which will allow the company to reach a valuation of $1bn. Achieving this would make Lightspeed one of the few Canadian startups - alongside Hootsuite and Shopify - to achieve unicorn status.

On January 30, 2019, Lightspeed released its Lightspeed Payments service for US retailers, as well as expanding the platform’s core functionality by seamlessly integrating the point of sale and payments processing for both physical and eCommerce stores, Lightspeed Payments simplifies business management for owners and employees alike through a single, comprehensive system. SMBs get one bill, one support line to call and one system of record.

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"Retailers are not only looking to make payment processing as seamless as possible to expedite checkout and optimize sales, but they want a solution that minimizes the time and effort required to manage operations so they can spend more time focusing on their customers," says Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed. "By providing SMBs with a comprehensive solution including fully-integrated payments processing, customers benefit from reduced complexity on both the front and back end of their business."

Brian Pinchuk, a portfolio manager at Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management, a Montreal-based financial planning firm told the Gazette that “there is much to like about the company, which is quickly becoming Canada’s next great technology success story. But, like many software firms growing revenue at a healthy clip, they also generated significant losses, making it a challenge for investors to evaluate.”