Pricing Samsung’s Viv Acquisition

Dag Kittlaus, founder of Siri and Viv, announced on the company blog the sale of Viv to explosives manufacturer Samsung and explained how his company will fit into the strategic plan of the device maker. (The sale was also covered in Ars Technica and other outlets.)

I spoke with a source familiar with one of Viv’s investors. Hesitant to quote an exact figure, they’d mentioned the AI assistant company was sold for somewhere between $100 million and $250 million, an exit multiple between 3.33 and 8.33 times the amount raised in total venture funding.

According to public data, Viv raised a total of $30 million from Horizons Ventures, Iconiq Capital, Gary Morganthaler, and Pritzker Venture Capital, the latter of which led Viv’s Series B round.

Interestingly, Siri, which was acquired by Apple in 2010, was also funded by Morganthaler in both its Series A and Series B rounds. By the time of its sale to Apple, Siri had raised a total of $24 million in venture funding, which at an estimated sale price north of $200 million generated at least an 8.33 MOIC was a better deal.

This is definitely a case of the same founder selling a similar business twice to two arch rivals, which is interesting to say the least.

Kittlaus lives in a suburb of Chicago and commuted weekly to Viv’s Silicon Valley HQ. It’s unclear whether such a travel regimen will continue post-acquisition.

In case you haven’t yet seen Viv in action, check out this 30-minute demo of the platform by Kittlaus at TechCrunch Disrupt this year.