Russian company Steplife, specializing in the production of bionic prostheses, has announced its plans to conduct an Initial Public Offering (IPO) within the next four years. By the end of 2025, the company also intends to raise 200 million rubles through pre-IPO placements and bond issues. These funds are crucial for expanding production capacities and developing new generations of bionic limbs, including arm prostheses for the forearm and shoulder.
Market analysts estimate Steplife`s valuation at approximately 2 billion rubles. They believe the company has strong prospects for successfully attracting the stated amount. However, experts warn that entering the stock market and effectively competing with larger, already established players within such a tight timeframe could pose a significant challenge.
Steplife is targeting retail and institutional investors for its pre-IPO initiatives.
About Steplife LLC:
- Steplife LLC was registered in September 2019 in Moscow.
- It is 100% owned by Steplife JSC, which, in turn, is wholly owned by the company`s CEO, Ivan Khudyakov.
- In 2024, the company`s revenue increased by 112%, reaching 240 million rubles.
- Net profit rose by 311%, totaling 96 million rubles.
Earlier reports indicated a slowdown in the growth rate of the Russian MedTech market. According to Smart Ranking, growth was 34.9% in the first half of 2024 but decreased to 13.5% this year. Nevertheless, Steplife was named the fastest-growing MedTech company in Russia in both 2024 and the first half of 2025. Another bionic prosthetics manufacturer, «Motorika,» also plans to go public in 2026 and has already raised 100 million rubles for IPO preparation.
Steplife estimates the Russian prosthetics market will grow by 23% annually, from 70.1 billion rubles in 2025 to 157.2 billion rubles by 2029. However, between 2022 and 2024, the annual growth reached 49%. The company expects that by 2028, bionic devices will account for 60% of the market in natural terms, compared to the current 65% held by mechanical prostheses. This shift is attributed to increased awareness of bionic technologies and expanded production volumes.
Kirill Tishin, a partner at the investment company Kama Flow, believes that «Steplife could be valued in the range of 1.5 to 2 billion rubles.»
Sergey Nunuparov, Managing Director of the investment and consulting group «PSK-Solutions,» adds: «MedTech companies at the pre-IPO stage are typically valued with an EV/S multiplier of 2–4x, given their high technological nature, which yields a valuation of approximately 1.3–2.5 billion rubles. In a particularly optimistic scenario, considering its status as the fastest-growing company, the valuation could reach 3 billion rubles.» He also confirms that the request for 200 million rubles «is realistic, given the company`s consistently high revenue growth rates.»
MedTech Market Growth Rate Slows by 2.6 Times
Sergey Nunuparov rates the company`s chances for a successful IPO as «quite high,» citing the positive dynamics of its performance indicators, its socially significant mission, and potential for international expansion. Kirill Tishin shares this view, noting that «the prosthetics market in Russia remains substantial, partly due to the special military operation, and in the segment of bionic prostheses, especially lower limbs, Russian manufacturers have virtually no quality competitors to global leaders Ottobock and Ossur.»
However, Kirill Tishin warns that in the current Russian realities, an IPO is advisable when EBITDA is around 2 billion rubles. «Achieving such financial parameters within three to four years will be challenging, especially considering the projected slowdown in market growth until 2029. Therefore, on its way to an IPO, Steplife may need one or more intermediate funding rounds to accelerate scaling — including through mergers and acquisitions (M&A),» he concluded.
