Startups Are Spending Big on Acquisitions

It used to be that when one startup bought another, it was a small deal. That’s no longer true.

With many startups now holding massive funding rounds, they’re more willing—and able—to make large acquisitions. Some of these deals are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, showing how startup-to-startup buying has become a serious part of the market.

In the past year, more than 400 U.S. venture- and seed-backed startups have been acquired by other private, VC-backed companies. Of the deals with disclosed prices, the total value exceeds $6.3 billion.

Biggest Startup Acquisitions This Year

One of the biggest deals came from Stripe, a major player in payments tech. In October, Stripe acquired fintech startup Bridge for $1.1 billion.

Infinite Reality, a unicorn in spatial computing and AI, recently bought Touchcast for $500 million in a cash-and-stock deal. Earlier this year, Rokt, an e-commerce tech startup, purchased mParticle for $300 million.

These acquirers aren’t just spending big—they’re extremely well-funded. Stripe has raised $9.4 billion to date, while Infinite Reality has brought in $3.4 billion.

Startups Making the Most Acquisitions

Some startups don’t just spend big—they buy often. Several are serial acquirers with 10 or more deals to date. Key examples include:

• Databricks: Acquired at least 11 companies in five years, including MosaicML for $1.3 billion.
• Automattic: Owner of WordPress.com, has 29 acquisitions, including chat app Beeper for $125 million.
• Stripe: 16 acquisitions over 13 years, with Bridge and Paystack (acquired for $200 million) being the most notable.
• Infinite Reality: Completed 10 acquisitions, with five deals above $100 million just in the past year.
• GrubMarket: With 54 acquisitions, this food supply chain startup is one of the busiest, including its purchase of Good Eggs.
• Scopely: A game publisher that recently acquired Niantic’s game business for $3.5 billion.
• Epic Games: While less active lately, Epic has made 20 acquisitions, including its April purchase of 3D content startup Loci.

Why More Startups Are Turning to M&A

Many high-valuation startups are choosing to stay private rather than go public in today’s volatile market. With plenty of capital on hand, they’re using mergers and acquisitions as a growth strategy.

Even though most startups don’t reveal how much they spend, their buying patterns make it clear that private company M&A is heating up—and could play an even bigger role in the tech economy moving forward.