> Some customers will ask the question "So what happens when you get acqui-hired in a year and your parent company decides to shut down your service either immediately, or a year after they tell customers that everything will continue unchanged?"

An acquihire is not the most likely outcome. The most likely outcome is that the startup will fail, possibly pulling support for the product with no advance notice.

An acquihire or acquisition is one of the best chances customers have for continued support, unless the startup manages to go public and survive on its own.