Wow, last week was an amazing one on the announcements front for the tech and startup scene in Atlanta. For years, we’d have one or two big announcements per quarter. We’ve had four just in the last five days. Momentum!
Let’s take a look.
MailChimp Acquisition by Intuit for $12 Billion
This is one of the largest bootstrapped acquisitions of all-time. Nothing Atlanta specific, this is one of the biggest deals in the world for a bootstrapped tech company. In addition to the founders becoming multi-billionaires, the staff is getting $500 million as bonuses and equity awards. One of the big ideas is that success begets success in a startup community, and having tons of new millionaires (and billionaires!) in the community will help fund the next generation of startups.
Roadie Acquisition by UPS
A logistics startup in a logistics town acquired by one of the largest logistics companies in the world. Yep, that’s Atlanta for you. Roadie, which provides same-day delivery, announced their acquisition by UPS for an undisclosed price that is rumored to be a huge number. Per Crunchbase, Roadie has raised $62M since their founding in 2014.
Stord Raises $90 Million at a $1.1 Billion Valuation
The unicorn stampede continues. Local supply chain and logistics startup Stord announced a $90M round at a $1.1 billion valuation led by Kleiner Perkins. Stord is especially interesting as it came out of CREATE-X at Georgia Tech and is only a few years old. More logistics in Atlanta.
GreenSky Acquisition by Goldman Sachs for $2.2 Billion
The buy now, pay later space is on fire (Zoolander, so hot right now) and GreenSky, which specializes in home improvement financing, just announced their acquisition by Goldman Sachs for $2.2 billion. GreenSky was one of the more recent Atlanta startup IPOs and it’s great to see they found a long-term home.
All in all, a pretty amazing week for the tech and startup scene in Atlanta. I’m excited for the what the future holds.
Entrepreneur
via https://www.aiupnow.com
David Cummings, Khareem Sudlow
