First Utah Company to Go Public This Year Soars in IPO
*By Michael Teich*
Pluralsight, a platform for online learning courses, was off to an auspicious start as a publicly traded company Thursday when the stock opened 33 percent above its IPO price on the Nasdaq.
Shares of the Utah-based tech company, which are trading under ticker symbol “PS”, opened for trading at $20 a share compared with the IPO price of $15. Pluralsight's CEO, Aaron Skonnard, told Cheddar that Wall Street was optimistic because investors realize that his company's cloud-based platform is well positioned to close a “massive skills gap” created by rapidly changing technology.
Pluralsight is the first company from Utah to go public in 2018. Skonnard said there are advantages to creating a technology company in Utah instead of Silicon Valley, including a thriving tech community in “Silicon Slopes” that attracts talent away from the San Francisco Bay area. The lower cost of living in Utah is also a “big home run” for employees.
The future of education is going to look a lot different in the years ahead, said Skonnard. Four-year college degrees are a lot less relevant than they were 20 years ago, and emerging technologies will cause the trend to continue. Pluralsight's focus on technology-based skills such as HTML and JavaScript put it in a position to provide courses that cater to the evolving demands by its corporate clients, which include AT&T and Adobe.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/utah-s-tech-unicorn-pluralsight-has-strong-nasdaq-debut).
Whether it’s a deepfake video of actor Tom Cruise discovering gum in a lollipop or President Joe Biden discouraging people from voting via telephone, you’ve likely come across a deepfake video, photo or audio recording.
Tensions in the South China Sea, Apple moving to India, and banning TikTok? The podcast ‘Face Off: The U.S. Versus China’ helps explain how we got here.
Cust2Mate is a leading innovator in retail technology, aiming to revolutionize the shopping experience. By implementing smart cart technology, the tech company addresses the issue of theft while enhancing the shopper's journey.
The Biden administration has unveiled a plan, Plan B, to address the student loan debt crisis. It offers to cancel up to $20,000 in interest for borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. This proposal aims to reset balances for those facing growing debt due to unpaid interest, benefiting low—and middle-income borrowers. An estimated 25 million borrowers are eligible for some form of interest forgiveness.
As we head into the second quarter, there’s an argument in favor of buying Boeing stock. Why? As one expert says, ‘there’s nowhere else to get planes.’
With inflation and prices still on the rise, it might be worth considering a carpool app. One of them, Singapore-based Ryde, just went public in the U.S.
