Unicorns, SPACs and acquisitions: Here are the top DC tech moments of 2021 – Technical.ly DC

Posted: December 23, 2021 at 10:52 pm

Look, were not here to discredit the impact of Amazon HQ2national tech giants in the DMV over the past year, but we think the local growth companies deserve some well-earned credit, too.

All on their own, theyve been hard at workputting the DC tech scene on the map (well, more than it already was) in 2021. With overnight IPOs and a whole herd of new unicorns not to mention the oodles of VC funding we compiled earlier this week the tech giants, old pros and newer stars brought all kinds of eyes to the area this year. And if its any indication of 2022, theres plenty of room for even more to follow in the footsteps.

To wrap up the year, weve rounded up the top public offerings, M&As and new unicorns from 2021. Take a bow, guys.

The DMV had more than a few companies make their debut in the public markets this year, largely thanks to a number of SPAC mergers. In total, seven companies went public, with one other announcing 2022 intentions.

Xometry premiered on the Nasdaq in June 2021 (photo via @Nasdaq on Twitter).

Chip Paucek, 2U CEO (right), and Anant Argawal, 2U chief open learning officer (courtesy photo).

This year featured a number of noteworthy acquisitions from companies in and out of the region pulling DMV firms under their umbrella, but we narrowed it down to the six biggest.

ID.mes headquarters in McLean, Virginia (courtesy photo).

The mythical creature isnt so much of a fantasy in the area anymore. The District and surrounding region is now home to a number of once-startups now valued at over $1 billion.

P.S. We also published a roundup of the regions top megarounds in 2021, if youve got the growth company bug.

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Unicorns, SPACs and acquisitions: Here are the top DC tech moments of 2021 - Technical.ly DC