Covid-Level Fear Grips VCs After Tariff Turmoil Delays IPOs (1)

This was supposed to be the year that Silicon Valley’s yearslong backlog of billion-dollar startups were finally able to go public, delivering riches to venture capitalists. Instead, President Donald Trump’s promises of sweeping tariffs and the havoc in global markets have thrown those plans into limbo, threatening to plunge the VC and startup industry into crisis.

Most major public listings planned for this year are on ice, with StubHub Holdings Inc., payments firm Klarna Group Plc and trading platform eToro Group Ltd. all pausing their preparations. Some of these businesses, like Klarna, intend to list as soon as the market stabilizes. But others aiming to ...