How the IPO announcement became a publicity ritual (opens in new tab)

An initial public offering has its official functions—raising money, providing liquidity for equity-holding employees and early investors—but it has unofficial ones, too. The record-setting $1.77 trillion SpaceX IPO, whose valuation was partly pumped up by its artificial intelligence ambitions, just reminded us all of a big one: a blockbuster IPO can be a blockbuster branding event. No wonder the scramble to reap the publicity benefits of being seen as the next trillion-dollar-plus IPO starte...