If you expected a slow news week for the Bay Area, you would be wrong. Regional tech companies continue to impress and make headlines. Keep reading to see what you might have missed. This is the Built In SF weekly refresh.
Bolt gained $355M. Bolt continues to grow after it gained $355 million in a Series E round led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. Bolt offers secure, fast checkout between customers and retailers allowing for easy online shopping. The company plans to expand internationally, hire additional engineers and launch more partnerships. [PR Newswire]
Brex valued at $12.3B. Brex’s valuation rose to a whopping $12.3 billion after a Series D-2 funding round of $300 million. Along with the raise, the company gained ex-Meta executive Karandeep Anand as its chief product officer. Originally focusing on credit cards for startups, the company is now a one-stop shop for all things finance, with a service called Brex Premium that combines some financial services — such as credit cards and spend management — into one dashboard for smaller businesses. Brex is looking to serve mid-size and large businesses as it continues to grow. [TechCrunch]
SF TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Take-Two Interactive to buy Zynga. Take-Two Interactive, the gaming company behind big names such as Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto, is set to acquire Zynga for $12.7 billion. Zynga, a mobile game mogul, will “significantly diversif[y]” Take-Two’s business, according to Take-Two’s CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick. [Built In SF]
Transcarent brought in $200M. The Series C funding round brings Transcarent’s total funding raised to $298 million and will go toward its business reach and operations. Transcarent is a Palo Alto-based healthtech company connecting self-insured clients with personalized tools and resources to find the right healthcare options. Transcarent also provides digital and live 24/7 guidance. [FinSMEs]
Envoy became a unicorn. Envoy received a $111 million Series C funding round that raised the San Francisco-based company’s valuation to $1.4 billion. Envoy focuses on making the front office experience better by providing offices with smart home tech software that allows companies to manage, schedule, monitor capacity, confirm check-ins and confirm vaccination status. Some of Envoy’s customers include Slack and Pinterest. Envoy will focus on hiring 53 new employees across several departments. [Built In SF]
In more VC funding news: Placer.ai, a location analytics company with clients across real estate and retail, gained $100 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. The newly minted unicorn will use the funds to built out is platform and user base. [TechCrunch]
Tech education platform Career Karma raised $40 million in funding with plans to add accreditation programs to its platform and hire across different teams. [Built In SF]
