Confluent
#30 on Setter30 Most recent: Q4 2020Confluent is an enterprise data streaming platform built on Apache Kafka that enables organizations to access, process, and manage data in motion across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. IBM completed its acquisition of Confluent on March 17, 2026, and the company now operates as a wholly owned IBM subsidiary.
Public Company
Confluent is publicly traded
IPO'd on Jun 24, 2021
This company is no longer available on our private secondary market. Shares can be traded publicly under CFLT.
Overview
Company data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Founded
2014
Employees
1,001–5,000
Total Funding
$455.9M
5 rounds
Last Private Valuation
$4.5B
Apr 21, 2020
Secondary Signals (Note: SetterVC does not verify the accuracy of these)
3 signalsCo-founder Jay Kreps stepped back as Confluent CEO after almost 12 years, handing the company to chief product officer Shaun Clowes.
Founder exit five months after IBM's acquisition closed; Confluent now led by a product chief hired in 2022.
Reportedly cut ~800 roles (~25% of workforce) the day after the IBM deal closed; no tier-1/tier-2 outlet coverage found.
Workforce-reduction color suggesting IBM integration cost cuts; unconfirmed by a reputable outlet.
Closed: IBM completed all-cash acquisition of Confluent at $31.00/share (~$11B enterprise value); now a wholly owned IBM subsidiary.
Removes Confluent as an independent secondary-market name; equity converted to cash, no further liquidity event.
Funding
Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Total raised $455.9M across 5 rounds
Last updated 09-20-2026
| Date | Round | Amount Raised | Valuation | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2020 | Series E TechCrunch | $250M | $4.5B | Coatue Management |
| Jan 23, 2019 | Series D TechCrunch | $125M | $2.5B | Sequoia Capital |
| Mar 7, 2017 | Series C VentureBeat | $50M | — | Sequoia Capital |
Valuation Trajectory
Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Entry · Series B
$163M
Jul 2015
Confluent today
$4.5B
Apr 2020 · latest mark
Confluent multiple
27.6x
valuation uplift since first round
Y-axis is logarithmic. Hollow dots = estimated valuations. Does not represent realized investor returns.
Leadership
Competitors
Competitor list is illustrative and may be incomplete, stale, or erroneous.
Redpanda
Kafka-compatible streaming platform with high performance capabilities
Databricks
Data intelligence platform for analytics and AI workloads
Snowflake
Cloud data platform for data sharing and analytics
AWS MSK (Managed Streaming for Kafka)
Fully managed Kafka service on Amazon Web Services
Google Cloud Pub/Sub
Messaging service for real-time data streaming on Google Cloud
StreamNative
Cloud-native streaming platform based on Apache Pulsar
Confluent Investment FAQ
Confluent FAQ
Yes, Confluent is publicly traded under the ticker symbol CFLT on the NASDAQ. The company went public in Jun 24, 2021.
Confluent trades under the ticker symbol CFLT on the NASDAQ. It began trading in Jun 24, 2021.
Confluent (CFLT on the NASDAQ) shares can be purchased through any standard brokerage account — including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and online platforms like Robinhood or E*TRADE. Search for the ticker CFLT to place an order.
Confluent went public in Jun 24, 2021 via ipo, with an offering valuation of approximately $4.5B. Confluent went public on Nasdaq under the ticker CFLT on June 24, 2021, pricing 23 million shares at $36 and raising about $828M. IBM agreed to acquire the company under a merger agreement dated December 7, 2025, and completed the acquisition on March 17, 2026, paying $31.00 per share in cash for an enterprise value of roughly $11 billion. Confluent now operates as a direct wholly owned subsidiary of IBM; its Class A common stock was suspended from trading before the open on the closing date and removed from Nasdaq.
Confluent raised $455.9M across 5 disclosed funding rounds prior to its public listing.
Confluent was co-founded by Jay Kreps, Jun Rao, and Neha Narkhede in 2014.
Confluent is headquartered in Mountain View, CA.
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