As 2018 comes to a close, we wanted to take a look at the stories that mattered this year in D.C. tech. Here are some of the biggest headlines of this trip around the sun.
Amazon Picks Northern Virginia’s Crystal City and New York City For Split HQ2
At long last, Amazon chose Northern Virginia’s Crystal City for half of its second headquarters, which it says will bring $2.5 billion in construction investments and about 25,000 jobs to the metro area. Virginia and Arlington will host 4 million square feet of office space for Amazon, with the opportunity to expand to 8 million square feet, and an estimated incremental tax revenue of $3.2 billion over the next 20 years, according to the company.
Here's what local tech leaders said about the deal. And here's another roundup on local founders' thoughts on the upcoming talent influx.
Government Tech Startup FiscalNote Acquires CQ Roll Call
D.C.-based government tech platform FiscalNote this year announced and finalized its $180 million acquisition of CQ Roll Call from The Economist Group. The move, first announced in July, makes FiscalNote one of the city’s largest tech companies by employee count.
CQ and Roll Call publish news and resources targeted at government insiders, and FiscalNote provides the software that analyzes those people and policies in all 50 states and 30 countries. It’s also a mix of new and old, bringing together a 5-year-old, fast-growing tech firm and two of the District’s oldest journalism brands.
For CQ Roll Call, the deal offers financial stability by aligning it with a subscription-based data business similar to Bloomberg’s terminal, as well as a set of data capabilities that could help it against rivals.
Mark Ein Buys a D.C. Security Company and more
Mark Ein, local investor and owner of security company Kastle Systems, bought D.C.-based Urban Alarm, which launched in 2003 and provides security systems primarily for individual residencies. The acquisition came just a week after Ein announced he would personally acquire the Washington City Paper. More recently, he bought and launched a professional D.C. esports team, the Washington Justice in the Overwatch League.
D.C. Event Tech Startup Social Tables Acquired by NoVa-Based Cvent
Northern Virginia-based event planning giant Cvent bought 8-year-old D.C. tech startup Social Tables for undisclosed terms.
The deal, which reportedly was valued at more than $100 million, combined the 110 employees and 5,000 customers of Social Tables with the 3,500 employees and 25,000 customers of Cvent. Social Tables will continue as an independent business unit from its D.C. headquarters, with Berger, founder and CEO, leading it as general manager.
“It’s a great outcome for D.C., and when the history books are written, I hope that we would be celebrated for what we have done here,” Berger said. “In D.C. tech, you either flunk out or you graduate. I view this as a graduation of sorts for Social Tables.”
PhishMe Acquired By Private Equity Firms
Leesburg, Va. cybersecurity startup PhishMe was acquired by a group of private equity firms in a deal that valued the company at $400 million, and as a result, the startup rebranded to Cofense. According to a report in Fortune, Pamplona Capital Management purchased a two-thirds stake, while BlackRock bought the remainder. By Cofense CTO Aaron Higbee’s account, the $400 million valuation was seven times larger than the startup’s 2017 revenue.
Discovery Moving Its Global Headquarters to New York City
Discovery Communications early in 2018 announced its plans to relocate its global headquarters from Silver Spring, Md. to New York City. The company, which owns the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC and Scripps Networks Interactive, employed about 1,300 people in Silver Spring at the time of the announcement. Discovery signed a deal to sell the Silver Spring headquarters for a reported $70 million this fall.
