Here's a look at the year in local M&A.

A mark of a local tech community is not just new companies forming, but also those leaving — that is, getting acquired or going public.

So it’s with interest that we track startup exits. Even in a year of massive economic disruption, there was plenty of activity to report this year. Before the pandemic, we noted that the first outside investment deal for Columbia-based web dev and design firm Unleashed Technologies also marked its acquisition by Charlotte-based Linc Partners.

It’s always noteworthy to see a company’s early-stage cycle completed. Among those acquired were a few of the companies we’ve followed since close to their beginnings in local entrepreneurship programs.

The round-up includes UM Ventures-backed Breethe:

Deals can also be a step to the next milestone. Breethe, a company founded out University of Maryland, Baltimore, by surgeon Dr. Bartley Griffith saw its portable, lung-like technology acquired by Massachusetts-based Abiomed in May and the local team kept at their work. By the fall, the device received FDA clearance.

Read the full story from Technical.ly Baltimore.