The year was not exactly easy for those in the tech industry, whether you were a founder, investor or supporter of the overall scene.
Layoffs have begun happening across the nation, causing investors to take stock of their portfolio companies — and double down on due diligence for new deals. The companies that touted success in the past year skidded to a halt, while others emerging from stealth mode this year had a failure to launch.
But the year did not bring all doom and gloom. There were founders who rediscovered success post-Covid, and more money was raised in the region than ever before. There was budding new talent alongside institutional tech powerhouses still investing, literally and figuratively, in the community.
And we were there to cover it all.
We've gathered up the stories that defined this year.
Tampa put on a national spotlight
The year kicked off with the region getting tapped for the national Startup of the Year conference, which brought investors and more than 80 startups from across the nation for a three-day span. Keynotes, panels and networking all went down, but its pinnacle was the annual pitch competition. See the highlights here.
More unicorns emerged
Tampa-based companies Pocket Network and Cirkul both hit the $1 billion "unicorn" status in 2022 after multimillion-dollar investments. Cirkul closed a $70 million funding round in June, which company officials said put the company at a $1 billion valuation.
Pocket Network received $10 million in January, putting it at a $1.5 billion valuation. However, that number has since dipped due to the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and POKT's value.
After moving to Tampa, crypto company goes bankrupt
Nuke Goldstein, the co-founder of New York-based Celsius, first moved to Tampa in May 2021. After the company raised $400 million in October, Goldstein planned to boost the company's Tampa presence, first telling the Business Journal he hoped to hit more than 100 local employees by mid-2022.
But by July 2022, the company filed for bankruptcy after a former business partner accused Celsius of allegedly running a Ponzi scheme. While the company was not homegrown in the Bay area, it still delivered a blow to the region that could have benefitted from hosting a branch of a billion-dollar company.
One of the region's largest public companies eyes billion-dollar exit
Clearwater-based KnowBe4 first made headlines in April 2021, when the cybersecurity firm went public and, despite a volatile public market, kept its billion-dollar valuation. In October, the company announced it was entering into a $4.6 billion merger agreement with Austin-based Vista Equity Partners, which is expected to close in the first half of 2023.
Cyber company breaks into sports
In another Tampa Bay cybersecurity win, Tampa-based ReliaQuest announced it would replace Outback Steakhouse as the title sponsor for the New Year's Day game. ReliaQuest CEO Brian Murphy said he hopes the naming rights will bring increased awareness to not only the company itself but the cybersecurity industry as a whole.
Fintech firm crashes fast
Tampa-based Domm Holland, who rose to prominence the last two years for leading fintech unicorn Fast, announced in April the company was shutting down. Holland was largely welcomed into the Tampa Bay business community after the Silicon Valley tech executive announced in August 2021 he was opening the company's eastern headquarters in Tampa. Holland was tapped to be on the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council's executive board in December 2021 as a "Circle of Champions Investor," which the EDC called its "highest level of commitment." The move was seen as a watershed moment for Tampa Bay, which had previously grown its own unicorns but had not secured any companies worth $1 billion to relocate to the region.
Companies spring into action during Hurricane Ian
As Hurricane Ian was slated to hit the Tampa Bay region as a Category 4 before changing course to Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay startups began using their technology to help monitor and weather the storm. See the rundown here.
And to get a rundown of everything else you might have missed in 2022:
The top funding deals of the year
Every tech company that moved to the region
Every tech company that exited
