Starry

Starry Group Holdings Inc., a Boston-based wireless broadband provider, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2023 and emerged from bankruptcy in August 2023 under lender control.¹³ The company went public via a SPAC merger in March 2022 at an implied valuation of $1.66 billion, but its stock fell below $1 and the NYSE suspended trading in December 2022.³⁷¹⁰ Starry was acquired by Verizon Communications in March 2026, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary.³

Timeline

Money raised

Starry raised a $7 million seed round on December 10, 2014, led by Lauder Partners.⁸ Starry raised a $26 million Series A round on August 21, 2015.⁸ Starry raised a $30 million Series B round on December 16, 2016, from investors including FirstMark Capital, KKR, Soros Fund Management, Third Kind Venture Capital, and Tiger Global Management.⁸ Starry raised a $100 million Series C round on July 3, 2018.⁸ Starry raised a $125 million Series D round on March 6, 2019, at a post-money valuation of $894.18 million.⁸ Starry raised a Series E-1 round of $31.75 million, a Series E-2 round of $11.03 million, and a Series E-3 round of $125 million on March 30, 2021, all at a post-money valuation of $1.23 billion.⁸ Starry's SPAC merger with FirstMark Horizon Acquisition Corp. was expected to provide $452 million in cash, including $130 million in PIPE funding from investors ArrowMark Partners, Atreides Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Tiger Global Management, and affiliates of FirstMark Capital.⁷¹⁰¹¹ Starry received approximately $155 million in net cash from the SPAC merger because most SPAC investors redeemed their shares.³ Starry obtained $43 million in debtor-in-possession financing in February 2023 from senior secured lenders.³ Starry's total funding was $455.78 million as reported by Forge.⁸

Investors named in the sources: FirstMark Capital²³⁴⁷⁸, IAC²³⁴, Tiger Global³⁴⁷⁸, KKR³⁴⁸, Quantum Strategic Partners³⁴, Fidelity³⁷, ArrowMark Partners³⁷, Atreides Management⁷, Soros Fund Management⁸, Third Kind Venture Capital⁸, Lauder Partners⁸, HLVP⁴.

What happened

Starry was founded in 2014 by Chet Kanojia and Joe Lipowski.⁸ Chet Kanojia previously founded Aereo, which was shut down after a Supreme Court ruling in 2014.²³⁴⁷ Starry launched publicly in Boston in January 2016.³ Starry's core product was fixed wireless internet, using millimeter wave radios mounted on rooftops to beam internet to buildings.²³⁷ Starry focused on multi-dwelling units such as apartment and condo buildings.³

Starry offered plans with no data caps, no annual contracts, and flat pricing, with speeds up to 200 Mbps for $50 per month.² Starry expanded beyond Boston to Los Angeles, New York City, Denver, and Washington, D.C. by 2018.² Starry also launched a Starry Connect program to provide low-cost broadband to residents of affordable and public housing.³ Starry raised venture funding from investors including FirstMark Capital, IAC, Tiger Global, KKR, and others.²³⁴⁸ Starry announced a SPAC merger with FirstMark Horizon Acquisition Corp. in October 2021.³⁷¹⁰

The SPAC merger implied a pro forma enterprise value of $1.66 billion and was expected to provide $452 million in cash.⁷¹⁰¹¹ Starry completed the SPAC merger on March 28, 2022, and listed on the NYSE under the ticker STRY.⁸ Most SPAC investors redeemed their shares, leaving Starry with approximately $155 million in net cash, far less than planned.³ Starry's stock price fell below $1, and the NYSE suspended trading in December 2022.³ Starry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2023.³

Starry obtained $43 million in debtor-in-possession financing from senior secured lenders.³ In June 2023, Starry announced that Alex Moulle-Berteaux would succeed Chet Kanojia as CEO.¹⁷ Starry emerged from bankruptcy in August 2023 as a private, lender-owned company.¹³ After emerging from bankruptcy, Starry focused on its five active markets and continued to operate normally for customers.¹⁷ Starry's public shareholders were wiped out in the bankruptcy reorganization.³

Starry remained a private company controlled by its former lenders from 2023 to 2026.³ In October 2025, Verizon announced an agreement to acquire Starry.³ Verizon closed the acquisition in March 2026, making Starry a wholly owned subsidiary.³ At the time of the Verizon acquisition, Starry served roughly 100,000 customers across five markets.³ Starry's technology was valued by Verizon as a way to reach urban apartment buildings faster than its own network build could.³

Legal outcomes

• filedStarry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2023.³
• filedThe New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in Starry shares in December 2022 because the average closing price had fallen below $1 over a 30-day period.³
• filedStarry's public shareholders were wiped out in the bankruptcy reorganization.³

Where the founders are now

Chet Kanojia stepped down as CEO in June 2023 and moved to the board of directors.³¹⁷ Alex Moulle-Berteaux, a co-founder, became CEO in June 2023 and led Starry until the Verizon acquisition closed in March 2026.³¹⁷ Joe Lipowski served as chief technology officer and was a key architect of Starry's millimeter wave systems.³

Sources

1. Internet Startup Starry Emerges From Bankruptcy With New ..., bloomberg.com, Aug 31, 20
2. Wireless broadband startup Starry files to raise up to $125 million | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2019-04-26
3. Who owns Starry? Ownership structure explained (2026), Revenue Memo, 2026-08-28
4. Starry Internet raises more money to beam broadband through the air, Vox, 2016-12-19
7. Internet Service Provider Starry Looks To Go Public In Deal Valued At $1.66B | CRN, crn.com, Oct 7, 202
8. Starry IPO Timeline and Financing Details - Forge, forgeglobal.com
10. Joint Press Release, dated as of October 7, 2021, sec.gov, Oct 7, 202
11. US CSP Starry to go public via merger with FirstMark SPAC, datacenterdynamics.com, Oct 8, 202
17. Starry Names New CEO: A Q&A with Chet Kanojia and Alex Moulle-Berteaux, Starry Blog, Jun 13, 20

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