New York City Startups Have Already Raised More Than $9 Billion This Year
So far in 2018, Silicon Alley companies have closed around 850 deals.
By Guadalupe GonzalezStaff reporter, Inc.@mariainnyc
New York City startups are banking more venture capital than ever before.
Last year, companies in Silicon Alley closed nearly 1,500 deals and secured $12 billion in funding, almost double the $6.3 billion raised in 2014, according to data from the New York City Economic Development Corporation published in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. So far in 2018, New York startups have closed about 850 deals worth $9.1 billion. The agency says investors are betting on companies working in cybersecurity, blockchain, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
The rise in funding appears to be linked to larger deals--mega rounds--in which startups receive multimillion-dollar investments at increasingly higher valuations. In 2017, investors participated in a record number of mega rounds, closing 273 deals of $100 million or more, according to an analysis by The New York Times. That number will be easily surpassed this year, the report says, given that investors had already completed 268 mega rounds through July.
Notable funding rounds this year include stationary bicycle company Peloton, which raised $550 million in August, and grocery startup Boxed, which secured $111 million the same month.
Published on: Sep 20, 2018