Atai valued at $3.19 b in Nasdaq debut

Shares of Atai Life Sciences B.V. (ATAI.O), backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, surged 40% in their U.S. stock market debut on Friday, giving the German psychedelics startup a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, reports Reuters.

The Berlin-based biotech startup, which is exploring the use of psychedelic treatments for mental illnesses, raised $225 million from selling 15 million shares in its upsized initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday.

The company's shares opened at $21, higher than the IPO price of $15, but gave up early gains to trade flat by 1600 GMT.

Atai was co-founded in 2018 by German investor Christian Angermayer, an advocate of the benefits of using psychedelics such as psilocybin to treat depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. The German startup has backed several companies developing such therapies.