The Briefing: Verbit Rings Up $250M, Metafy Acquires Former Competitor, 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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Verbit rings up $250M for voice AI

AI voice and transcription startup Verbit said Tuesday that it closed a $250 million Series E at a $2 billion valuation—double its valuation in June, when it raised its Series D.

The round was led by a $200 million investment by Third Point Ventures, with additional participation by existing investors Sapphire, More Capital, Disruptive AI, Vertex Growth, 40 North, Samsung NEXT and TCP.

— Marlize van Romburgh

Vercel lands $150M Series D

Vercel, a platform to develop, preview and ship websites, announced that it secured $150 million in Series D funding at a $2.5 billion valuation. The round brings total funding to date for the 6-year-old company to $313 million.

GGV Capital led the financing, joined by a long list of mostly existing investors. Since its Series A in April 2020, Vercel says uptake of its core product, Next.js, has grown 300 percent.

— Joanna Glasner

Metafy acquires GamersRdy

Pittsburgh-based startup Metafy, an online coaching platform for gamers, has acquired former competitor GamersRdy. The deal allows Metafy to add GamersRdy’s more than 100 coaches to its platform. Terms of the deal were not released.

Launched in 2018, London-based GamersRdy has more than 20,000 active users seeking coaching for games like “Rocket League” and “Fortnite.”

Crunchbase reported earlier this month, Metafy is getting ready to announce its Series A.

— Chris Metinko

Payhawk raises $112M

Payhawk, a provider of tools for managing payments and expenses, raised $112 million in a Series B round led by Greenoaks at a valuation of $570 million. Founded three years ago, Payhawk operates out of offices in London, Sofia, Berlin and Barcelona.

— Joanna Glasner

M&A

Getir acquires Weezy: Istanbul-based Getir, a provider of ultrafast grocery deliveries, agreed to acquire British rival Weezy, in the latest sign of consolidation for the fast-growing sector. Founded in 2019, Weezy previously raised $25.6 million in known funding, per Crunchbase data.

— Joanna Glasner

Illustration: Dom Guzman