Starting with the JOBS Act (in 2012), certain smaller companies under a revenue threshold were allowed to file their initial draft registration statements with

Starting with the JOBS Act (in 2012), certain smaller companies under a revenue threshold were allowed to file their initial draft registration statements with the SEC confidentially. It was meant to encourage startups to go public and avoid the public eye while they negotiated their registration statements with the SEC. It all goes public before the IPO.