Happy Thursday. Kara Swisher is reporting that Jawbone is in the process of raising $250 million from Twitter, Flipboard and Square investor Rizvi Traverse.
We heard that the financing has closed, and that the deal actually got done a month and a half ago. Swisher’s numbers (around $250 million at around a $3 billion valuation) are correct.
We are also hearing that Jawbone has a $600 million revenue run rate, projecting forward 12 months. Most of the revenue comes in from its compact speaker product Jambox, which is apparently incredibly popular. In fact, I have one on (blasting Kanye) right now.
Contrary to the rumor mill, the hardware maker, which also offers a line of fitness tracking bracelets and bluetooth headsets, is not in serious talks to be acquired by Google, though Google is looking into picking up a wearables company, we’ve heard and The Information has confirmed. Founder Hosain Rahman and Google CEO Larry Page are friends.
The company is amassing cash in one final financing round before starting on the path to a public offering. Jawbone’s aiming for a more successful gadgets IPO than GoPro, which just a week ago announced the filing of its draft registration statement.
Who would have thought that a humble speakers company would have a fighting chance at winning the wearables space?