New York has finally made the startup big leagues.
No, it hasn't produced any Facebook or Google-sized tech IPOs, but it's producing startups that are nearing $1 billion+ size exits.
According to SeedTable, more than 40 New York startups have been acquired this year.
But four very big New York startup acquisitions this year have amassed more than $2 billion combined.
- OMGPOP was acquired by Zynga after it's smash Draw Something hit for $210 million
- Buddy Media was acquired by Salesforce for $689 million (some reported $800 million)
- SinglePlatform was acquired by Constant Contact for $100 million in cash, employee incentives and stock
- Indeed was acquired for an undisclosed amount that's likely in the $750 million to $1 billion range. Sure, it's technically based in Stamford, CT, but it's a commutable, NYC suburb and it has a big NYC office.
If you count Kayak's $1 billion July IPO (even though it's technically a commutable distance from NYC) then we're talking $3 billion.
On the smaller scale, we have:
- Venmo, a payment company that was acquired by Braintree for $26.2 million
- Felix, the profitable portion of Yext, was acquired for $30 million by IAC (strategic acquisition to fund Yext's PowerListings business)
- Savored, a reservation website with last-minute discount prices, was acquired by Groupon (likely a soft landing/acqui-hire)
Not to mention there's Etsy, AppNexus, and others which are rapidly approaching billion-dollar valuations.
Awesome.