Director, Head of Research, Smartkarma

Pranav Rao

Director, Head of Research

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

Equity Capital Markets

CapitaLand India Trust / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,300+ insights published on Smartkarma.</li>
<li>In this cut, we examine why opportunities exist in Korea despite the record rally, look at the rush of shareholders trimming APAC stakes, and welcome coverage on 500+ private companies.</li>
<li>Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next.</li>
</ul>


Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,300+ insights published on Smartkarma.
In this cut, we examine why opportunities exist in Korea despite the record rally, look at the rush of shareholders trimming APAC stakes, and welcome coverage on 500+ private companies.
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next.


Curator's Cut: Seoul Searching Redux, APAC Placements Apace & More Private Markets Coverage

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

<ul>
<li>In this note, we will take a look at the Asia Pacific IPO pipeline for 2026, starting with Hong Kong.</li>
<li>This list has been compiled on a best effort basis from tracking the company filings and through various other sources.</li>
<li>The deals you see in this note are only a part of our full IPO pipeline tracker. Feel free to drop us a message for additional information on these IPOs.</li>
</ul>


In this note, we will take a look at the Asia Pacific IPO pipeline for 2026, starting with Hong Kong.
This list has been compiled on a best effort basis from tracking the company filings and through various other sources.
The deals you see in this note are only a part of our full IPO pipeline tracker. Feel free to drop us a message for additional information on these IPOs.


Aequitas 2026 Asia IPO Pipeline - Hong Kong

Private Markets, Angel and Secondary Investing, Sacra

Sacra

Private Markets, Angel and Secondary Investing

Bringing transparency to private markets so investors, founders, and employees can build on conviction. Sacra delivers deeply researched insights on the private companies shaping tomorrow's markets. By surfacing the data, context, and operator perspective that are missing from private markets today, we help secondary buyers and sellers price equity accurately and unlock liquidity for the people building these businesses.

Private Capital Markets

<ul><li>Sacra estimates that Buffer reached $26.3M in ARR in August 2026.</li><li>Recognized revenue was $2.243M in August and $17.1M for January through August, up 17% year over year.</li><li>Buffer reached $26.3M in ARR and a 12.4% EBITDA margin in August 2026, providing resources to pursue these opportunities organically.</li></ul>

Sacra estimates that Buffer reached $26.3M in ARR in August 2026.Recognized revenue was $2.243M in August and $17.1M for January through August, up 17% year over year.Buffer reached $26.3M in ARR and a 12.4% EBITDA margin in August 2026, providing resources to pursue these opportunities organically.

<ul><li>Sacra estimates Whop reached <a href="https://sacra.com/research/whop-revenue-growth-valuation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$142M annualized revenue in October 2025, up 255% YoY and up from $56M at the end of 2024</a>, raising $50M last July at an $800M valuation for a 28.6x multiple on $28M revenue at the time—compared to ecommerce platform Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) at $10.7B TTM revenue, growing 20% YoY, valued at $192B for a 17.9x multiple, digital storefront <a href="https://sacra.com/c/stan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stan </a> at <a href="https://sacra.com/research/stan-revenue-growth-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$28.3M in annual recurring revenue at the end of 2024, up 93% YoY</a>, and livestream shopping platform Whatnot at $359M revenue in 2024, up 102% YoY, valued at $5B for a 13.9x multiple.</li><li>The creator market continues to split between mainstream platforms like <a href="https://sacra.com/c/patreon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patreon</a>, <a href="https://sacra.com/c/linktree" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Linktree </a> &amp; <a href="https://sacra.com/c/circle-so" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Circle</a>, built on <a href="https://sacra.com/c/stripe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stripe </a> &amp; PayPal, that optimize for SFW creators and increasingly see B2B-style adoption, versus shadow market platforms for high-risk, high-chargeback merchants like <a href="https://sacra.com/c/whop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Whop</a>, which orchestrate multiple payment providers to improve authorization rates and effectively “platform” creators who would otherwise struggle to find a place to sell online.</li><li>With the <a href="https://sacra.com/c/whop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Whop App Store </a> (launched June 2025), <a href="https://sacra.com/c/whop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Whop </a> can serve the diverse set of grey-market use cases compared to the adult-verticalized <a href="https://sacra.com/c/onlyfans" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OnlyFans</a>, siphon users from apps like <a href="https://sacra.com/c/discord" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Discord </a> (Chat by Whop) &amp; Twitch (Livestreaming by Whop) and turn Whop storefronts into high engagement user-facing apps.</li></ul>

Sacra estimates Whop reached $142M annualized revenue in October 2025, up 255% YoY and up from $56M at the end of 2024, raising $50M last July at an $800M valuation for a 28.6x multiple on $28M revenue at the time—compared to ecommerce platform Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) at $10.7B TTM revenue, growing 20% YoY, valued at $192B for a 17.9x multiple, digital storefront Stan  at $28.3M in annual recurring revenue at the end of 2024, up 93% YoY, and livestream shopping platform Whatnot at $359M revenue in 2024, up 102% YoY, valued at $5B for a 13.9x multiple.The creator market continues to split between mainstream platforms like Patreon, Linktree  &amp; Circle, built on Stripe  &amp; PayPal, that optimize for SFW creators and increasingly see B2B-style adoption, versus shadow market platforms for high-risk, high-chargeback merchants like Whop, which orchestrate multiple payment providers to improve authorization rates and effectively “platform” creators who would otherwise struggle to find a place to sell online.With the Whop App Store  (launched June 2025), Whop  can serve the diverse set of grey-market use cases compared to the adult-verticalized OnlyFans, siphon users from apps like Discord  (Chat by Whop) &amp; Twitch (Livestreaming by Whop) and turn Whop storefronts into high engagement user-facing apps.

AI | Semiconductors | Commodities, Mint Finance

Raghav Vashisht

AI | Semiconductors | Commodities

Deep Fundamental Analysis

Mint Finance

Mint Finance's investment research blends deep fundamental analysis with technical & quant insights. Investment strategies straddle across multiple asset classes with risk management embedded into every trade to deliver an outsized reward-to-risk ratio.

Mint Finance's research is centered around three key themes. First, energy transition and climate change. Second, artificial intelligence. Third, shifting world order with its impact across politics and monetary economics.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>China’s analog chip probe and revived Nvidia antitrust case are part of a deeper strategy to force foreign tech out of its supply chain.</li>
<li>Nvidia’s China-only B40 flops, with buyers preferring grey market alternatives. Meanwhile, Domestic chipmakers like Novosense and SG Micro have rallied sharply as procurement tilts inward.</li>
<li>If Beijing blocks Nvidia’s B30A next, it could mark a full commercial exit. U.S. peers like TXN, AMD, and Synopsys may also not be far behind.</li>
</ul>


China’s analog chip probe and revived Nvidia antitrust case are part of a deeper strategy to force foreign tech out of its supply chain.
Nvidia’s China-only B40 flops, with buyers preferring grey market alternatives. Meanwhile, Domestic chipmakers like Novosense and SG Micro have rallied sharply as procurement tilts inward.
If Beijing blocks Nvidia’s B30A next, it could mark a full commercial exit. U.S. peers like TXN, AMD, and Synopsys may also not be far behind.


Not a Bargaining Chip: Beijing Is Dismantling Nvidia’s China Playbook

China

Beijing Douyin Information Service Co. Ltd. provides online information and contents. The Company develops and operates short video platform, original short video community, news platform, and other related products. Beijing Douyin Information Service offers services worldwide.

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ByteDance (1439927D CH)

Curator's Cut: Seoul Searching Redux, APAC Placements Apace & More Private Markets Coverage

This Curator's Cut issue highlights opportunities in Korea amidst the record rally, shareholder stake trimming in APAC, and coverage on 500+...

Pranav Rao

Aequitas 2026 Asia IPO Pipeline - Hong Kong

In this note, we will take a look at the Asia Pacific IPO pipeline for 2026, starting with Hong Kong before covering other regions in subsequent...

Sumeet Singh

Primer: Buffer - 14 Dec 2025

Tool for scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content across multiple social media channels

Sacra

Whop At $142M Revenue

TL;DR: A digital storefront for Gen Z creators, Whop has grown to a Sacra-estimated $142M in annualized revenue, growing 255% YoY. With the launch...

Sacra

Not a Bargaining Chip: Beijing Is Dismantling Nvidia’s China Playbook

China is strategically pushing foreign tech out of its supply chain, with Nvidia facing challenges and domestic chipmakers benefiting. Another ban...

Mint Finance

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Curator's Cut: Seoul Searching Redux, APAC Placements Apace & More Private Markets Coverage

This ​Curator's Cut issue highlights opportunities in Korea amidst the record rally, shareholder stake trimming in APAC, and coverage on 500+...

Pranav Rao

Aequitas 2026 Asia IPO Pipeline - Hong Kong

In this note, we will take a look at the Asia Pacific IPO pipeline for 2026, starting with Hong Kong before covering other regions in subsequent...

Sumeet Singh

Primer: Buffer - 14 Dec 2025

Tool for scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content across multiple social media channels

Sacra

Whop At $142M Revenue

TL;DR: A digital storefront for Gen Z creators, Whop has grown to a Sacra-estimated $142M in annualized revenue, growing 255% YoY. With the launch...

Sacra

Not a Bargaining Chip: Beijing Is Dismantling Nvidia’s China Playbook

​China is strategically pushing foreign tech out of its supply chain, with Nvidia facing challenges and domestic chipmakers benefiting. Another ban...

Mint Finance

This Curator's Cut issue highlights opportunities in Korea amidst the record rally, shareholder stake trimming in APAC, and coverage on 500+...

China is strategically pushing foreign tech out of its supply chain, with Nvidia facing challenges and domestic chipmakers benefiting. Another ban...