Groupon is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 15 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched in November 2008, and the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City and Toronto. By October 2010, Groupon was available in 150 cities in North America and 100 cities in Europe, Asia and South America, and had 35 million registered users. In November 2011, Groupon went public at a valuation of $12.7 billion. Groupon has been criticized for allegedly inflating its original value proposition, for being a middleman, taking too large a cut, and for being difficult to cancel.