Skip to content


Want to cash out? Move to the Valley

Recent research from CB Insights clearly highlights San Francisco as the place to be for someone in the tech space (in terms of US cities that is).  San Francisco accounted for 9% of the M&A deals of private companies since 2012.

However, when looking at the list and considering all the cities that are in the Silicon Valley, this becomes even more crystal clear:

Bay area cities in yellow

Adding up Silicon Valley cities which tally 17 strong of the top 100, the Bay Area’s share is actually 29%. This is quite staggering.  It gets even more strange if you consider proximity to a large body of water (i.e. either an ocean or The Great Lakes). Out of the top 30 cities, which account for nearly 70% of the deals, only 2 cities are more than 300 miles from the water.

If doing a start-up is a bet, and acquisition the end game, it is quite clear where you should place your bet as an entrepreneur.  The next time your VC asks what your exit strategy is, part of that answer is quite simple.

Posted in Other.