Foursquare Raises $45 Million, Cutting Its Valuation Nearly in Half - The New York Times

A startup valuation reality check

"Foursquare, which is based in New York, is likely to be joined by other start-ups this year in doing what is known in investing circles as “down rounds,” in which companies that once raised money at soaring valuations are forced to accept funding at lower values. While tech start-ups boomed in recent years — with many easily attracting investors and big sums — that environment has now turned on fears that many of these young companies got ahead of themselves.

Investors have grown more cautious; the amount of money funding private companies has fallen 30 percent, to $27.3 billion, in the last quarter of 2015 from the previous quarter, according to a report from the research firm CB Insights. Mutual fund investors have also recently marked down valuations of some of the most prominent private companies, such as Snapchat, the messaging start-up, and Dropbox, the file storage service."

Foursquare Raises $45 Million, Cutting Its Valuation Nearly in Half - The New York Times