The Briefing: Qualcomm Buys Chip Startup For $1.4B, Rapyd And Blend Each Raise $300M, And More

Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the Crunchbase News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.

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Qualcomm buys chip startup Nuvia for $1.4B

Qualcomm said Wednesday it will acquire Santa Clara, California-based Nuvia, a central processing unit (CPU) design startup founded by former employees at Apple, for $1.4 billion. Qualcomm anticipates integrating Nuvia’s CPUs across its product portfolio, including into its smartphones, laptops and other devices.

The startup was founded in 2019 by three of Apple’s former chip executives, including Nuvia CEO Gerard Williams III, and had raised $293 million to date, according to Crunchbase data. Mithril Capital Management led the company’s $240 million Series B last year.

Rapyd raises $300M for payment tech

Payments platform Rapyd has announced that it raised $300 million in Series D financing to fund its expansion.

Coatue led the financing for the London- and Silicon Valley-based company, bringing total known funding to date to around $470 million, per Crunchbase data.

Founded in 2016, Rapyd offers a platform that it says can embed fintech services into any application and simplify the complexity of offering local payment methods.

Blend brings in $300M for lending

Digital lender Blend closed on a $300 million round of Series G funding, led by Coatue and Tiger Global, nearly doubling its valuation to $3.3 billion in just five months, the company said in a written statement.

The new funding gives the San Francisco-based company a total known funding to date of approximately $665 million, according to Crunchbase data. It will support Blend’s next phase of growth and investment in products and services.

Founded in 2012, Blend’s technology platform supports banking capabilities for mortgages, consumer loans and deposit accounts, as well as enabling consumers to complete the finance process in one place.

Poshmark looks to raise IPO price range

Poshmark, a social platform for buying and selling fashion and accessories, may be considering upsizing its initial public offering to $42 per share, according to Bloomberg.

If the new price goes through, it could mean potential proceeds of $277 million.

On Jan. 6, the Redwood City, California-based company said it intended to offer 6.6 million shares priced between $35 and $39 each at what would be a raise of up to $257.4 million.

The company will list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol POSH. Shares are expected to trade Jan. 14, according to IPO Scoop.

Poshmark is the latest e-commerce company to go public. In just the past year, a strong list of companies have either started trading on the public markets or indicated they plan to go public, including Wish, Casper, BigCommerce, DoorDash, ThredUp and Barkbox.

Damir Becirovic, an investment partner at Index Ventures who invests in e-commerce companies, told Crunchbase News earlier this week that it’s a good time for e-commerce businesses to head to the public markets.

“The growth is staggering for a lot of these companies, which are also amazing businesses,” he  said.

Public offerings

• Affirm raises $1.2B in IPO: Point-of-sale installment loan provider Affirm raised $1.2 billion in its initial public offering, after pricing shares above the projected range. (Read more here.)

Funding rounds

• Iziwork lands $43M for temporary employment: Iziwork, a French startup offering a platform to improve temporary employment, raised $43 million in fresh funding from Cathay Innovation and Bpifrance.
• Bryte tucks in with $24M for sleep technology: Bryte, a Los Altos-based company focused on AI-powered restorative sleep technology, announced $24 million in Series A funding led by ARCHina Capital.
• CookUnity serves up $15.5M for meal subscription: CookUnity, a Brooklyn-based food-tech company, closed on $15.5 million in Series A funding led by Fuel Venture Capital. The company touts itself as the “first direct chef-to-consumer meal subscription platform.”
• Nayya inks $11M for personalized benefits platform: Nayya, an insurance benefits experience and management platform headquartered in New York, closed $11 million in Series A funding led by Felicis Ventures.

M&A

Central Logic acquires Acuity Link: St. Paul, Minnesota-based health care access company Central Logic acquired Acuity Link, a provider of transportation communications and logistics management software. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal taps into Acuity Link’s technology for Central Logic’s new Intelligent Transport capability, which was announced along with a new real-time bed visibility platform. This acquisition comes two months after Central acquired Ensocare, which provides customer services and care coordination facilities to health care organizations.

Illustration: Dom Guzman