Foursquare co-founder says equity holders got no return from acquisition

Infillion acquired location-data company Foursquare last month for an undisclosed amount. Foursquare co-founder and former CEO Dennis Crowley said in a blog post that investors received no return from the sale.

Crowley referred to an angel investor’s post and inferred that neither preferred nor common stockholders received value from the deal. He said he was disappointed with the outcome and apologized to the company’s roughly 1,600 former employees over 17 years.

Crowley said Foursquare performed well after shifting its focus to enterprise business, with consecutive years of revenue above $100 million. The company raised capital from a private equity firm in 2019. In 2021, it appointed as CEO the banker who had led that fundraising. Crowley blamed the eventual outcome on the leadership transition, saying management failed to preserve or create new value.

Foursquare had raised more than $411 million, according to PitchBook data, before shutting down its app in 2024. The service had helped users discover places in their cities. Startups including Zenly and Jagat, as well as Instagram and Snapchat, have since explored social maps.