Russian manufacturer of bionic prosthetics, Steplife, intends to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) within the next four years. Before the end of 2025, the company aims to raise 200 million rubles through a pre-IPO round, with funds allocated for production expansion. Analysts value Steplife at approximately 2 billion rubles and believe it can successfully secure the targeted amount. However, they caution that going public and competing with larger players within this timeframe might prove challenging.
Steplife confirmed its plan to secure 200 million rubles by the end of 2025 through a pre-IPO offering and bond issuance. This capital is crucial for advancing the production of next-generation bionic prosthetics, including sophisticated hand and arm prostheses (forearm and shoulder level) that utilize external power sources. The company is targeting both retail and institutional investors. A full IPO is projected within a four-year horizon.
About Steplife
Steplife LLC was established in Moscow in September 2019. It is wholly owned by Steplife JSC, which is entirely controlled by its CEO, Ivan Khudyakov. In 2024, the company`s revenue saw a remarkable 112% increase, reaching 240 million rubles, while net profit surged by 311% to 96 million rubles.
Previously, reports indicated a slowdown in the growth rate of Russia`s medtech market, from 34.9% in the first half of 2024 to 13.5% this year, according to Smart Ranking. Despite this trend, Steplife was identified as the fastest-growing medtech company in Russia in both 2024 and the first half of 2025. Another bionic prosthetics manufacturer, «Motorika,» also announced plans for an IPO in 2026, having already secured 100 million rubles for its IPO preparations.
Steplife projects the Russian prosthetics market to grow by 23% annually, expanding from 70.1 billion rubles in 2025 to 157.2 billion rubles by 2029. Notably, between 2022 and 2024, the market experienced an even higher annual growth rate of 49%. Currently, mechanical prosthetics account for 65% of the market. However, Steplife anticipates a significant shift by 2028, with bionic devices expected to comprise 60% of the market in natural terms, attributed to increased awareness and scaled-up production.
«Steplife could be valued in the range of 1.5–2 billion rubles.»
Sergei Nunuparov, Managing Director of investment and consulting group `PSK-Solutions,` estimates that «medtech companies in pre-IPO stages are typically valued at an EV/S multiple of 2–4x, given their high technological nature, resulting in an estimated valuation of 1.3–2.5 billion rubles. Under an exceptionally optimistic scenario, considering its `fastest-growing` status, this could reach up to 3 billion rubles.» He adds that the company`s request to raise 200 million rubles is «realistic, given Steplife’s consistently high revenue growth rates.»
Sergei Nunuparov rates Steplife`s prospects for a successful IPO as «quite high,» highlighting the company`s performance dynamics, socially impactful mission, and potential for international expansion. Kirill Tishin concurs, stating: «The prosthetics market in Russia remains significant, partly due to ongoing geopolitical factors, and in the segment of bionic prosthetics, particularly for lower limbs, there are virtually no high-quality Russian competitors to global leaders like Ottobock and Ossur.»
However, Kirill Tishin cautions that in the Russian context, an IPO is generally advisable for companies with an EBITDA of around 2 billion rubles. He states: «Achieving such metrics within three to four years will be challenging, especially given the anticipated slowdown in market growth by 2029. Therefore, on its path to an IPO, Steplife might need one or more intermediate funding rounds to accelerate its scaling, potentially including mergers and acquisitions (M&A).»
