South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth rules out Canonical IPO

Mark Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Canonical Ltd., has declared that an initial public offering remains a strategic goal for the company—but one that will be pursued only when operational readiness and market conditions align. While the London-headquartered open-source specialist meets the financial thresholds commonly associated with IPO candidacy, Shuttleworth said he will not take the firm public prematurely.

Speaking at the Ubuntu 25.10 Summit at Canonical’s headquarters he stated: “We are well north now of the financial minimums needed for an IPO… I am very calmly of the view that we should be a public company, but also very calmly of the view that there’s no need to do it when we’re not mature enough.” The literal metaphor he invoked—avoiding a debut “with our trousers around our ankles”—underscores his preference for timing over speed.

Canonical has expanded significantly, now employing around 1,400 people across 80 countries, with two-thirds of the workforce in research and development roles. Its business spans cloud, server, Internet-of-Things and embedded environments, and its growth model diverges from that of VC-funded software unicorns. Shuttleworth’s backing has kept Canonical privately held and independent, enabling a long-term approach to open-source monetisation.

The company reported profitability and sustained growth without external venture capital—a contrast to many peers that list early or expand aggressively on borrowed capital. It insists that its decision-making framework remains aligned with foundational values around open source, rather than purely investor-driven targets.

The IPO comments arrive amid broader tech-market turbulence. Downturns in public valuations, regulatory pressures, supply-chain disruption and macro uncertainty are all conspiring to raise the risk of listing too early.