2014's Top Funded Startups: Where Are They Now?
The five largest funding rounds of 2014 totaled over $3 billion. A decade later, the question remains: how did these companies fare?
Uber: $1.2B (Series D) - Transportation
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2009
Operating Status: Active - Public
Key People: Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick
2014 Valuation: $40B
2024 Valuation: $128.7B (as of Dec 27, 2024)
Total Raised: $30.2B
Notable Investors: Fidelity (lead investor), Kleiner Perkins, BlackRock, Google Ventures, and Menlo Ventures
Company Background: Uber is a ride-sharing application that connects drivers with riders. Since 2014, Uber has expanded its product offerings beyond ridesharing to include food delivery, same-day package delivery, and freight booking.
Company Outcome: From 2014 to the first three quarters of 2015, Uber reported revenue of $1.2B while incurring a loss of $1.7B. In 2014, approximately 64% of the U.S. population had access to Uber. During that same year, the company began its international expansion into countries such as China, Bulgaria, and Vietnam. The company went public in May 2019 for $45 per share. Raising $8.1B from the IPO. In 2023, Uber recorded its first year of profit since going public, with revenue totaling $9.9B. As of 2024, Uber operates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in 64 countries across six continents. In its Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter results, the company reported a revenue of $11.2B with a net income of $2.6B.
Cloudera: $900M (Series F) - Software
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2008
Operating Status: Active - Acquired by CD&R LLP and KKR
Key People: Amr Awadallah, Christophe Bisciglia, Jeff Hammerbacher, Mike Olson, and Owen O'Malley
2014 Valuation: $4.1B
2024 Valuation: *$5.3B
Total Raised: $1B
Notable Investors:
$160M from T. Rowe Price (lead investor), Google Ventures, and MSD Capital
$740M equity investment from Intel (giving them an 18% stake)
* Acquired in 2021 for $5.3B
Company Background: Cloudera develops a data management and analytics platform, along with training, services, and support for its products. Key features of their platform include artificial intelligence, data engineering, data flow, data hubs, data warehouses, operational databases, and streaming capabilities.
Company Outcome: In 2015, Cloudera claimed they had over 500 paying customers and surpassed $100M in revenue. The company went public in April 2017 for $15 per share. Raising $225M from the IPO. In 2018, Cloudera merged with another big data company, Hortonworks, in a deal valued at $5.2B. In 2020, the company repurchased its 18% stake from Intel for $314M. However, Cloudera struggled with profitability, and in 2021, it was taken private by Clayton Dubilier & Rice and KKR for $5.3B. In 2023, the company reported to Reuters that it had become profitable. According to data from 6sense, in 2024 the company has nearly 4,000 customers, including Salesforce and LinkedIn.
Airbnb: $475M (Series D) - Hospitality
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2008
Operating Status: Active - Public
Key People: Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk
2014 Valuation: $10B
2024 Valuation: $83.3B
Total Raised: $6.4B
Notable Investors: TPG (lead investor), Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and T. Rowe Price
Company Background: Airbnb is an online marketplace for short-term rentals that connects hosts with guests. Accommodations range from private rooms to entire homes and even unique properties like castles, offering an alternative to traditional hotels. Additionally, the company has expanded its offerings to include experiences—these are in-person activities hosted by local experts, such as historical walks, wine tastings, and culinary experiences.
Company Outcome: In 2014, the company generated revenue of $400M and had 800,000 listings, operating in 190 countries and regions. In December 2020, the company went public for $68 per share, raising $3.5B from the IPO, making it the largest U.S. IPO of that year. By 2022, the company achieved its first year of profitability. In its Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter results, the company reported revenue of $3.7B, net income of $1.4B, 8M listings, and operates in 220 countries and regions.
Dropbox: $350M (Series C) - Software
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2007
Operating Status: Active - Public
Key People: Arash Ferdowsi, Drew Houston
2014 Valuation: $10B
2024 Valuation: $9.3B (as of Dec 27, 2024)
Total Raised: $1.7B
Notable Investors: BlackRock (lead investor), T. Rowe Price, Salesforce Ventures, and Morgan Stanley
Company Background: Dropbox is a cloud storage service that allows users to store, share, and access files across devices. Since 2014, the company has expanded its offerings to include products such as video review and approval, content backup, document sending and signing, and an AI assistant and calendar.
Company Outcome: In 2014, the company generated revenue of $603M, with a total of 275M users, including 6.5M paying users. In March 2018, the company went public at $29 per share, raising $969M from the IPO. By 2022, the company achieved a full year of profitability. In its Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter results, the company reported revenue of $638.8M and $190M net income with 700M users and 18.24M paying users. In December 2024, the company announced a share repurchase program valued at $1.2B.
Tango: $280M (Series D) - Technology
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2009
Operating Status: Active - Private
Key People: Uri Raz and Eric Sutton
2014 Valuation: $1B
2024 Valuation: Unknown
Total Raised: $367M
Notable Investors: Alibaba Group (lead investor) and Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Company Background: Tango was originally a communication application but has since evolved into a live-streaming platform. In 2014, the app allowed users to send text messages, play games, and make free voice and video calls. It also enabled users to share photos, music, and video/voice messages. The company offered its own in-house iOS games as well as third-party games developed using the Tango SDK. In 2018, Tango introduced live streaming and has since shifted its focus primarily to live streaming and video chats.
Company Outcome: In 2014, the application had 200M users, with 70M being active monthly users. In May 2015, Tango launched an in-app commerce service called Tango Shop, which was powered by Walmart and Alibaba. However, the service did not last long and was shut down just six months later. By October 2015, the number of users had increased to 350M but active monthly users had declined to 48.5M. In November 2015, the company implemented a 9% reduction in staff, followed by another 20% reduction in February 2016. In the mid-2010s, Tango competed with other communication apps, including WhatsApp, which had 1B active users in 2015, and Facebook Messenger, which had 800M active users in the same year. Struggling to establish itself in this competitive space, the company shifted its focus to live streaming. In 2024, Tango has grown to 450M users, with 10M active monthly users. Since raising its Series D funding round, the company has not sought out additional funding. Little is known about its current performance.
Bonus Company!
Although it may not be among the top 5 or 10 largest funding rounds of 2014, it stands out as one of the most interesting. Wayfair secured the largest Series B round of that year and subsequently went public.
Wayfair: $157M (Series B) - E-Commerce
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2002
Operating Status: Active - Public
Key People: Niraj Shah and Steve Conine
2014 Valuation: $2B
2024 Valuation: $5.5B (as of Dec 27, 2024)
Total Raised: $3.1B
Notable Investors: T. Rowe Price (lead investor) and ICONIQ Growth
Company Background: Wayfair is primarily an online retailer specializing in home goods. The company sells products from third-party suppliers as well as its own in-house brands. They ship items directly to customers, including furniture, appliances, and lighting products. Wayfair operates five retail websites: their namesake Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, and Perigold. Additionally, they launched Wayfair Professional, "a turn-key solution for business customers to furnish spaces", in 2019.
Company Outcome: In March 2014, around the time the company raised its Series B funding round, its 2013 revenue was $915M, with a loss of $33M. The company went public in October 2014 at a price of $29 per share, raising nearly $320M from the IPO. In 2014, the retailer's revenue was $1.3B, with a net loss of $41.9M. The retailer operated in nine countries, including Australia, New Zealand, France, and Austria. It achieved its first year of profitability in 2020. In May 2024, the company opened its first brick-and-mortar store. In its Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter results, the company reported revenue of $2.9B and net income of $873M. The company now operates in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ireland, in addition to the United States with 18 fulfillment centers and 38 delivery centers.