It's been called a "blockbuster acquisition."
Cisco Systems recently announced its intent to buy the Ann Arbor-based company Duo Security for $2.35 billion. The company was valued at half that amount just nine months ago.
Duo Security is a company that began as an Ann Arbor startup backed by venture capital investors. It provides clients like Facebook, Etsy, Yelp, and Zillow with cloud-based computer security.
Lauren Bigelow, CEO of Growth Capital Network and lecturer at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, joined Stateside to talk about what this enormous deal means for the Michigan economy and its residents.
Bigelow says that the deal could help put Michigan on the map for investors and build on the start-up culture in Ann Arbor.
“Those fifty-plus brand new minted millionaires who are just out of the Duo staff, I mean you know, they’ll buy houses and cars. But our hope is that they’re gonna create their own companies.”
Listen above to hear Bigelow explain what message the deal sends to investors, where start-ups find money to get a company off the ground, and why Michigan could be a draw for tech workers.
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