Rockset

Hypothetically, if Rockset had remained independent and continued its exceptional 260% YoY growth, its real-time analytics and vector search capabilities could have driven its valuation to $600M by 2026, representing a 200% upside from the acquisition price, though common equity returns would still be significantly impacted by the $109M preference stack.

The acquisition by OpenAI at $200M represents the base case outcome for Rockset. While this provided liquidity for preferred shareholders, common equity holders received a pro-rata share of the remaining $91M after $109M in liquidation preferences. For a job seeker evaluating an offer at this $200M valuation, the upside for Rockset equity is effectively 0% as the company is no longer an independent entity.

The acquisition by OpenAI, coupled with the transition of existing Rockset customers off the platform, signals the end of Rockset as an independent entity. Given the $109M preference stack, common equity holders would have seen a significant downside of -70% from the $200M acquisition valuation, as the remaining value would be largely or entirely consumed by preferred shareholders.