In its highly anticipated trading debut, Rubrik Inc., a cloud and data security startup supported by Microsoft Corp., witnessed a surge of up to 25% in its shares. The company successfully raised $752 million in its initial public offering (IPO), exceeding expectations.

Rubrik's shares climbed to $38.07 per share as of 12:59 p.m. on Thursday, surpassing the pricing of its IPO at $32 each, which was above the marketed range. Additionally, the company slightly expanded the number of shares offered to 23.5 million. This positive response from investors has propelled Rubrik's market value to an impressive $6.7 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. With stock options and restricted share units taken into account, the company's fully diluted valuation stands closer to $8 billion.

Founded in 2013, Rubrik is a leader in securing corporate customers' data across various platforms, including enterprise, cloud, and software-as-a-service applications. The company boasts an extensive customer base, with over 6,100 clients, including industry giants such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., Home Depot Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Illumina Inc., Fiserv Inc., and even the National Football League's Denver Broncos.

Rubrik's IPO marks a significant milestone for enterprise software startups, as it becomes only the second sizable IPO of its kind in the past two years. The previous notable offering was Shopify Inc.-backed marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo Inc.'s $659 million IPO in September.

Microsoft's equity investment in Rubrik in 2021 played a pivotal role in bolstering the startup's valuation. The tech giant participated in a financing round that valued Rubrik at $4 billion. More notable backers of Rubrik include Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, and Khosla Ventures. The company has managed to raise $1.18 billion in funding to date, according to data provider PitchBook.

Rubrik's alliance with Microsoft also carries enormous weight. Through this collaboration, Rubrik has committed to spend $220 million over a period of up to 10 years for the use of Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform. The company intends to utilize Azure for its data security solutions and prioritize offering public cloud functionality for Azure to its customers.

Despite the successful IPO, Rubrik reported a net loss of $354 million in the year ended January 31, along with a negative free cash flow of $24.5 million. However, the company demonstrated strong growth in its subscription annual recurring revenue, which surged by 47%, according to its filings.

The IPO was led by notable financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo & Co. Rubrik's shares are currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RBRK, symbolizing its entry into the public market with a promising future.