खरीदार उन परिपक्व स्टार्टअप्स को तेजी से खरीद रहे हैं जिन्होंने वर्षों से फंड नहीं जुटाया है

When a venture-backed startup goes several years without securing a fresh funding round, observers frequently assume its chances for a substantial exit have diminished as well.

However, an analysis of Crunchbase data reveals that this is frequently not the reality. Throughout this year, numerous significant acquisitions of private companies have featured startups that have gone more than four years without disclosing a new investment.

Several of these buyouts are quite recent—and in specific instances, quite large. The most prominent example is Uber’s acquisition earlier this month of ezCater, a workplace meal and catering platform, for $2.3 billion in cash. This transaction occurred nearly five years after the Boston-headquartered company secured its last reported venture capital round.

This transaction is not an isolated incident. Several companies that would fit right onto a playlist of unicorns from the 2021 boom era have been acquired by buyers over recent months, including former highfliers such as Miro, Airtable, and Headspace. Frequently, these businesses are transacting at valuations that, while still substantial, sit far below their previous peaks.

Who’s getting acquired

To demonstrate how frequently these aging startups are successfully finding buyers, Crunchbase data was used to compile a list of 15 transactions involving heavily funded companies that have not raised equity capital in four years or more.

Post-peak runway

A primary challenge for mature and mid-stage startups is that valuations reached a cyclical high point during 2021 and early 2022. Many enterprises that secured funding during that window faced struggles when trying to attract fresh capital or remained hesitant to finalize new rounds at deflated valuations. Even with the subsequent artificial intelligence boom, only a minimal amount of capital flowed to this particular group.

Furthermore, because the funding rounds secured during the 2021 boom were exceptionally large, these backed startups typically possessed the ability to trim operating expenses and prolong their operational runways using existing funds. Consequently, a considerable number of businesses that have avoided raising new rounds for years continue to operate, successfully surviving and even expanding without additional venture backing.

EzCater serves as a prime example. In the twelve months leading up to its acquisition, the enterprise produced over $2.5 billion in gross bookings. It maintained an annual growth rate in the high teens alongside average order values exceeding $400.

Even so, that specific revenue and growth pace did not grant ezCater a massive acquisition premium over its final funding round. At $2.3 billion, the purchase price paid by Uber represents a 53% increase above the $1.5 billion pre-money valuation that the catering startup achieved during its late 2021 funding round.

Acquisitions below peak venture valuation

In many instances, even substantial acquisitions of well-funded startups are taking place at valuations drastically lower than their former highs.

Consider Miro, a digital collaboration tool developer that agreed to be acquired by Bending Spoons last month in a transaction valued at approximately $1.36 billion. That figure represents a massive drop from early 2022, when the San Francisco-based company finalized its previous round at a post-money valuation of $17.5 billion.

Another example is Bending Spoons’ earlier acquisition of the data and workflow platform Airtable for $1.28 billion in August. That valuation is barely above one-tenth of the $11 billion price tag Airtable secured during its Series F round in December 2021.

The fashion startup Everlane represents another firm that lost its previous luster after achieving a valuation in the hundreds of millions back in 2020. It was acquired by fast-fashion giant Shein this spring for $100 million.

Meanwhile, within the health and wellness space, Headspace experienced a steep drop in valuation as well. The mental health and meditation application was acquired by Sword Health through a deal reportedly valued near $300 million, which sits far below its peak post-money valuation of roughly $2.6 billion.

A good thing?

While startup investors rarely celebrate exits executed well below peak private market valuations, such outcomes are far from the worst-case scenario. For the startups themselves, these deals are likewise a long way from a catastrophic result.

Naturally, every investor backing a unicorn aims for high-multiple returns. Yet for startups that spend years without securing fresh funding, current market conditions suggest those kinds of returns are unlikely.

संबंधित क्रंचबेस सूची:

• Acquired Startups That Hadn’t Raised Venture Funding For 4+ Years
• Global M&A In 2026 For Venture-Backed Companies

संबंधित पठन:

• Global Venture Funding And Unicorn Creation In 2021 Shattered All Records

चित्रांकन: डोम गुज़मैन