By Arasu Kannagi Basil Jan 20 (Reuters) – Ethos Technologies, backed by venture capital firms Accel and Sequoia, said on Tuesday it was targeting a valuation of up to $1.26 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, as a surge in insurance company listings extends into 2026. First-time share sales from insurance firms hit a 20-year high on Wall Street last year as investors flocked to firms insulated from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. The life insurance technology company and some of its backers are seeking up to $210.5 million by selling 10.5 million shares priced between $18 and $20 apiece. Ethos is offering 5.1 million shares, while shareholders such as Alphabet's venture capital arm GV and General Catalyst are selling 5.4 million shares. The 2026 IPO market is expected to shake off a relatively quiet start as companies that postponed listings last year amid a historic U.S. government shutdown return to the fray. "The first few weeks may be a bit quieter than we expected, but it's not unusual to see companies want to wait for others to test the waters," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. "It feels like everyone's lined up at the start of a race, waiting for the gun to fire." Founded in 2016, Ethos offers life insurance to families across the U.S through its digital platform. The company posted a $46.6 million profit on revenue of $277.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, up from a profit of $39.3 million on revenue of $188.4 million a year earlier. In 2021, the company had raised $100 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank at a $2.7 billion valuation. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are the lead book-running managers for the IPO. Ethos will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol "LIFE." (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Sahal Muhammed)
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