Although the tech sector saw a decline in venture capital in 2022, several New York City startups were able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for their innovative work across fintech, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. With 2022 in the rearview mirror, Built In NYC is taking a look back at the largest funding rounds of 2022. Totaling more than $5.7 billion, these funding rounds will fuel the growth of the NYC tech scene in the coming year.
Largest NYC Tech Funding Rounds of 2022
- Celonis
- Checkout.com
- Cross River
- Fireblocks
- Back Market
- ConsenSys
- D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments
- Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners
- Fractal
- Ava Labs
- Wonder
- Flow
#10 (tied). Flow: $350 million, August 15
Flow is a residential real estate startup founded by Adam Neumann, the co-founder and former CEO of WeWork. The funding round, led by Andreessen Horowitz, values the new startup at more than $1 billion and is reportedly the largest check the investment firm has ever written for an individual company’s funding round. Flow plans to operate rental properties with an emphasis on building a sense of community. The company is expected to launch in 2023.
#10 (tied). Wonder: $350 million, June 14
NYC foodtech startup Wonder eliminates the possibility of a lukewarm meal by cooking the food in a van outside the customer’s house. The company, which currently serves customers in parts of New Jersey, offers cuisine from about 20 restaurants, many of which have won prestigious food industry awards. Wonder said the Series B funding, which values the company at $3.5 billion, would be used to launch another 11 restaurants and expand its service area.
#10 (tied). Ava Labs: $350 million, April 14
Brooklyn-base Ava Labs is the developer of the Avalanche blockchain network, which the company says is the fastest smart contracts platform in the blockchain field. Avalanche’s “subnet” functionality makes it easier for developers to launch decentralized finance applications. This funding round valued the company at $5.25 billion.
#9. Fractal: $360 million, January 5
For more than two decades, Fractal has used artificial intelligence to help companies make data-driven decisions, identify investment opportunities and identify anomalies or patterns in data, among other applications. The company, which is used by Google, Wells Fargo and other Fortune 500 companies, said this funding round would be used to scale its operations and products.
#6 (tied). Celonis: $400 million, August 23
Based in NYC and Munich, Germany, Celonis helps businesses eliminate inefficiencies, reduce carbon emissions and provide better customer experience. The company raked in $1 billion in August, which consisted of a $400 million Series D extension led by Qatar Investment Authority and a $600 million credit facility led by KeyBanc Capital Markets. Now valued at nearly $13 billion, Celonis said the funds would go toward product innovation, potential acquisitions, new partnerships and more. The company is actively hiring for more than 20 roles across its engineering, finance, sales, operations, design and product teams.
#6 (tied). D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments: $400 million, June 29
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments, a subsidiary of The D.E. Shaw Group, is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy projects across the U.S. The company’s assets, which include 65 wind and solar projects, generate a total of 6 gigawatts of power across 25 states. The company obtained this fresh funding through a strategic financing relationship with Harbert Infrastructure managed funds.
#6 (tied). Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners: $400 million, February 2
Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, or SIP, is developing an array of high-tech infrastructure projects across the country, like a Michigan highway designed for autonomous vehicles. The company was founded in 2019 by former employees of Sidewalk, an Alphabet-formed startup tasked with building a 12-acre smart city in Toronto. Sidewalk has since abandoned its smart city project and has been absorbed by Google. This funding round, led by StepStone Group, values SIP at $1.25 billion.
#5. ConsenSys: $450 million, March 15
ConsenSys is the developer of MetaMask, a popular cryptocurrency wallet that has more than 30 million monthly active users. This Series D round, led by ParaFi Capital, valued the company at more than $7 billion. At the time of the raise, ConsenSys said the funding would be converted to Ether, the currency of the Ethereum blockchain, to align with ConsenSys’ treasury strategy. The funding would also be used to launch a new MetaMask plug-in that supports integration with other blockchain protocols. The capital would also support the adoption of Infura, a tool suite for developers, and go toward hiring 600 employees.
#4. Back Market: $510 million, January 11
Back Market is an online marketplace that allows consumers to buy refurbished electronics at a discounted rate while cutting down on e-waste. The company requires refurbishers to go through a screening process, and it monitors users’ reviews to ensure its standards are met. Back Market also offers free shipping and a 30-day return window. This Series E financing round valued the company at $5.7 billion.
#3. Fireblocks: $550 million, January 27
Fireblocks is a crypto custody platform that helps institutional investors store and secure their cryptocurrency. This Series E funding round, co-led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital, valued the company at $8 billion. When the funding was announced in January, Fireblocks said it had more than 800 customers and that it could support 1,000 cryptocurrencies on 20 blockchains.
#2. Cross River Bank: $620 million, March 30
Cross River Bank is a fintech company that provides embedded payments, lending and crypto solutions to more than 80 technology partners. This financing round, co-led by Eldridge and Andreessen Horowitz, is expected to help the company build out its products, expand internationally and strenthen strategic partnerships.
#1. Checkout.com: $1 billion, January 12
The biggest NYC funding round of 2022 went to online payments platform Checkout.com, which raised $1 billion at a $40 billion valuation. The Series D round garnered investment from Tiger Global, Dragoneer and other investors. At the time of the raise, the end-to-end payment processor said it would use its fresh funding to increase its U.S. client base, strengthen its position in the Web3 space and launch a solution to service marketplaces and payment facilitators.
