Snowy Buffalo, New York – the second-biggest city in that state – officially has the first unicorn company it can call its own. ACV Auctions – an online marketplace startup for used cars – passed the $1B valuation mark thanks to its latest funding round from which it had received another $150M. The latest round was led by two Boston venture capital investment firms, Wellington Management Company and Fidelity Management & Research Co., with previous ACV Auction investors Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and Tribeca Venture Partners also chipping in.
The city is already home to several established multi billion dollar plus companies like Delaware North Companies and Rich Products Corp., but ACV Auctions is the first privately held startup to pass a $1B valuation and be deemed an elusive unicorn. There are also other valuable tech startups in Buffalo, like Synacor and Campus Labs, but none have grown with the pace of ACV,
ACV’s business model leverages mobile to maximum benefit via 20-minute auction session straight from dealer car lots, removing the need to ship vehicles around from auction to auction.
According to anonymous ACV Employees on Comparably, leadership at the company is “very approachable and genuinely care about everyone’s success and well-being.” Employees also appreciate “receiving equity options upon hire is a great compensation benefit!” And they say about their teammates: “Everyone is very friendly and hard working. Everyone wants to see each other and the company succeed, while enjoying ourselves at the same time.”
