NEW YORK (AP) — When Oliver Housknecht gave virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR $25 through crowdfunding website Kickstarter two years ago, he wanted to help a startup grow into a larger, independent company. Instead, Oculus became part of one.

Housknecht was shocked last week when Oculus announced it was selling itself to social media company Facebook for $2 billion. He was one of many backers who helped it raise more than $2.4 million through Kickstarter in 2012.