British online publishing company buys Las Vegas startup Tech.co

A British online publishing company has bought a Downtown Project-funded Las Vegas startup.

Tech.Co, known for its networking events, is now part of MVF, based in London, the companies said in statements earlier this month.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Tech.Co is not finished,” Tech.Co co-founder Frank Gruber wrote online. “This amazing team will continue to grow our global audience as a leader in the media space.”

Tech.co launched in 2006 as Tech Cocktail in Chicago to connect the startup and technology scene. The business model changed from ticket sales and sponsorships to online ads and consulting.

By May 2013, Tech.Co opened a Downtown Las Vegas headquarters and received $2.5 million as an investment from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project.

Tech.Co saw over 30,000 people come to events in 2012, according to a statement from the time.

Gruber and co-founder Jen Consalvo will help Tech.Co transition into MVF before moving onto other projects, the two told the Review-Journal Wednesday.

MVF, founded in 2009, has over 400 employees. It opened its first U.S. office in Austin, Texas, in 2015.

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4602. Follow @wademillward on Twitter.