WASHINGTON—Greater Washington builds great startups – we just can’t keep them here.
Over the past 20 years, 105 D.C. area startups were sold for more than $1 billion, but only 16 of those deals kept the businesses in the region, according to a new report examining innovation in the D.C. area. And out of 6,000 business sales over the last 20 years, about 75 percent were to out-of-region purchasers.
Recent examples include the recent $1.65 billion purchase of Cvent Inc. by San Fransisco-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, and the $532 million purchase of Opower Inc. by California-based Oracle Corp.
Image: Jonathan Aberman, managing partner of Amplifer Ventures LLC, believes the Greater Washington business community needs to work together to spur innovation.
