Banks, AI underwriting shift

A new crop of AI-led investment banks is pitching issuers on software-heavy deal execution as Allogene Therapeutics closed a $200.4 million stock sale this week. (s45.ai) (sec.gov) S45 says it is “India’s first AI native investment bank” and markets tools for IPO readiness, pricing, bookbuilding and investor mapping across small and main-board listings. The company says it can get from first call to signed mandate in seven days and prepare a draft red herring prospectus in 30 days or less. (s45.ai) (cnbctv18.com) S45 launched the platform in February 2026 and said it had raised $5 million from RTP Global. Inc42 reported this month that the firm had facilitated 26 IPOs since pilot operations began about eight months earlier. (businessworld.in) (inc42.com) In plain terms, underwriting is the process banks use to price a share sale, line up buyers and decide who gets stock. S45’s pitch is that software can replace spreadsheet-heavy workflows and widen the investor pool before bankers make the final calls. (s45.ai) (businessindia.co) That matters in markets where allocation has long depended on bank relationships, phone calls and limited books of demand. S45 says it has mapped more than 50,000 investors and built analytics around readiness, pricing and post-listing investor relations. (s45.ai) (cnbctv18.com) The contrast this week came from a standard U.S. follow-on offering. Allogene said on April 14 it priced 87.5 million shares at $2.00 each, for expected gross proceeds of $175 million, with underwriters holding a 30-day option to buy 13.125 million more shares. (sec.gov 1) (sec.gov 2) By April 16, the underwriters had partially exercised that option for 12.7 million additional shares, bringing gross proceeds to about $200.4 million before fees. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and TD Cowen acted as joint book-running managers, and TPG Capital BD was co-manager. (sec.gov 1) (sec.gov 2) Allogene said it plans to use the money for general corporate purposes, including clinical trials, research and development, administration and capital spending. In March, the company reported $258.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments as of December 31, 2025, and said that balance funded operations into the first quarter of 2028. (sec.gov) (ir.allogene.com) The offering also showed the tradeoff issuers face in biotech financing. Allogene’s prospectus said its stock last closed at $2.72 on April 10, 2026, before the company sold new shares at $2.00, a discount that can help complete a large raise but dilutes existing holders. (sec.gov 1) (sec.gov 2) The thread tying both stories together is execution: one side is trying to automate who gets into the room and how a book is built, while the other shows how traditional underwriters still move capital at scale. For now, the AI pitch is entering a market where the old model remains the one closing nine-figure deals. (s45.ai) (sec.gov)