5 big names that banked with SVB before collapse, from Roblox to Roku

Mar 16, 2023

Simone Del Rosario Business Correspondent

By Simone Del Rosario (Business Correspondent), Brian Spencer (Editor), Brent Jabbour (Producer)

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank caught some high-profile analysts off guard. The former 16th-largest bank in the nation may not have been a household name, but some household names banked there. The entire situation could have taken a toll on the tech sector, but thanks to U.S. regulators, depositors have already regained access to their uninsured funds with SVB.

Here are some of the biggest names that could have had huge financial holes from SVB’s failure in this week’s Five For Friday:

#5: Etsy

It’s unclear exactly how much money craft marketplace Etsy had with SVB. It must have been significant, though, because Etsy warned sellers of possible payment processing delays on Friday amid the collapse. It was all cleared up by Monday and Etsy said the issues only affected 0.5% of the platform’s 7.5 million sellers.

It’s a relief, too. How could anyone go without a wooden spoon featuring the face of actor Nicolas Cage?

#4: Vox Media

Silicon Valley Bank wasn’t just the home to traditional tech companies. Vox Media, which owns Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge and a whole host of other properties, used the defunct financial institution. Their publications have been covering the failure of SVB at length over the last week. Vox had a significant amount of cash with the bank but was quick to say it didn’t anticipate any major disruptions in its services. That said, company credit cards with the bank did stop working.

#3: Roblox

Roblox is that incredibly popular online game the 7-year-old in your life won’t stop talking about. The company is worth roughly $25 billion and it continues to grow with a revenue and users spike of 20% year-over-year in February. It’s doing so well that the $150 million it had with SVB was just 5% of its cash on hand. Before knowing it would be made whole, Roblox said the situation would “have no impact on the day-to-day operations of the company.”

#2: Roku

While it may be trendy to have a fancy Apple TV for streaming, at least 40% of people prefer the more economical Roku devices. Roku had around $487 million of their $1.9 billion in cash with SVB. In the wake of the collapse, Roku said it had enough working capital to operate for at least a year.

These are the kinds of assurances you want from the folks that brought you Weird: the Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame.

#1: Circle

Payments processing firm Circle was holding $3.3 billion of its cryptocurrency USD coin reserves with SVB. During the initial uncertainty, Circle assured users everything would operate normally as it sorted through the fallout. In the days following the collapse, however, the token traded around $0.91. That’s not a great sign when it’s tethered to the U.S. dollar and is always meant to stay at $1.00. The value eventually rebounded back to its peg.

Tags: Cryptocurrency, Silicon Valley Bank

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: THE COLLAPSE OF SILICON VALLEY BANK LEFT A LOT OF STARTUPS EXPOSED. THERE ARE SOME BIG NAMES THAT COULD HAVE HAD HUGE FINANCIAL HOLES HAD THE U-S NOT SECURED THEIR FUNDS. WE’VE GOT ‘EM IN THIS WEEK’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY.

CRAFT MARKETPLACE ETSY STARTS THINGS OFF, BUT ONLY BECAUSE IT’S UNCLEAR EXACTLY HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAD WITH SVB. IT MUST HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO WARN SOME SELLERS ABOUT DELAYED PAYMENT PROCESSING FRIDAY. IN THE END, THEY SAID IT ONLY AFFECTED HALF A PERCENT OF THEIR 7.5 MILLION SELLERS AND IT WAS ALL CLEARED UP BY MONDAY. SO GO GET THAT NICK CAGE WOODEN SPOON OR CREEPY BABY HEAD BEESWAX CANDLES WITH NO DELAY.

IT’S NOT ALL TRADITIONAL TECH COMPANIES EITHER, VOX MEDIA WHICH OWNS, WELL, VOX, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, AND THE VERGE ALSO BANKED WITH SVB. AND OF COURSE THEIR PROPERTIES HAVE BEEN COVERING THIS AT LENGTH. VOX HAD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CASH WITH THE BANK BUT DIDN’T ANTICIPATE ANY MAJOR DISRUPTIONS. BUT COMPANY CREDIT CARDS ISSUED BY SVB DID STOP WORKING. NOTHING LIKE BEING ON A WORK TRIP AND HAVING TO PULL OUT THE PERSONAL PLASTIC.

MOST PEOPLE KNOW ROBLOX ONLY AS THE WHACKY GAME THE 7 YEAR OLD IN THEIR LIFE JUST CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT. ROBLOX IS WORTH AROUND $25 BILLION. AND IT CONTINUES TO GROW WITH REVENUE AND USERS JUMPING 20 PERCENT YEAR OVER YEAR IN FEBRUARY. ROBLOX IS DOING SO WELL, THE ROUGHLY 150 MILLION THEY HAD WITH SVB WAS JUST 5 PERCENT OF THEIR CASH ON HAND. THEY SAID IT WOULD “HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS OF THE COMPANY.”

IF YOU’RE A SENSIBLE EVERYMAN, YOU HAVE A ROKU. AT LEAST 40 PERCENT OF FOLKS USE ROKU DEVICES FOR STREAMING. AND THEY HAD ABOUT $487 MIL OF THEIR $1.9 BILLION IN CASH WITH SVB . EVEN IF THEY HADN’T GOTTEN THE MONEY BACK, ROKU SAID THEY HAD ENOUGH WORKING CAPITAL TO RUN THINGS FOR AT LEAST A YEAR. THESE ARE THE KIND OF ASSURANCES YOU NEED FROM THE FOLKS THAT BROUGHT YOU A WEIRD AL BIOPIC STARRING HARRY POTTER.

PAYMENTS PROCESSING FIRM CIRCLE WAS HOLDING $3.3 BILLION OF ITS CRYPTOCURRENCY USD COIN RESERVES WITH SVB. THEY SAID EVERYTHING WOULD OPERATE NORMALLY AS THEY FIGURED IT OUT. BUT OVER THE WEEKEND, THE TOKEN TRADED AT AROUND 91 CENTS. NOT A GREAT SIGN WHEN IT’S TETHERED TO THE DOLLAR, AND IS SUPPOSED TO ALWAYS STAY AT 1 BUCK.

WHEN A BANK COLLAPSES THAT ISN’T AS WIDELY USED AS SOME OF THE BIG ONES, IT’S HARD TO SEE HOW IT TOUCHES EVERYDAY LIFE. BUT HEY, THAT’S WHAT WE’RE HERE FOR. OK YOU CAN GO BACK TO LOOKING AT CRAZY CROCHET GOODIES ON ETSY. THAT’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY. I’M SIMONE DEL ROSARIO. IT’S JUST BUSINESS.