Astera Labs Soars Over 72% in First Day of Trading

Astera Labs (ALAB) is the latest technology firm to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, as its shares soared over 72% Wednesday in the company’s first day of trading.

Astera priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $36 per share, well above the expected range of $32 to $34 that was up from $27 to $30 previously. The 19.8 million shares sold raised $712.8 million.

Astera said Tuesday that it expected proceeds from the offering before expenses to be about $604 million. The company said it won’t receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by selling stockholders.

Astera Labs shares opened trading on the Nasdaq at $52.56 apiece, and closed at $62.03.

Astera Labs makes chip-based connectivity products to boost the efficiency of AI. It noted in its prospectus that graphics processing units (GPU) and other AI accelerators “often sit idle waiting for data to become available.” It said that increasing the use of AI hardware is “a massive opportunity for connectivity suppliers.”

Co-founder and CEO Jitendra Mohan told CNBC the company views AI as a very big market in the “very early stages of development.” He added “we have a decade of growth in front of us,” and that “AI is going to be the wave of the future.”