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Hype hasn\u2019t been an issue for Andy Rubin\u2019s new hardware startup, Essential<\/a>. Speculation has been circling the Android founder\u2019s next move since he unceremoniously parted ways with Google.<\/span><\/p>\n Funding, it seems, hasn\u2019t really been a problem, either. Bloomberg is reporting<\/a> that the nascent smartphone maker has raised $300 million to bring its technology to the masses.<\/span><\/p>\n A spokesperson for the company declined to offer TechCrunch a comment on the matter, though the report does seem to jibe with Rubin\u2019s\u00a0recent appearance onstage at the Code conference<\/a> several days after the filing, where he told the crowd, \u201cWe\u2019ve raised a substantial hundreds of millions of dollars.\u201d Rubin then appeared to hold up three fingers, repeating with a smile, \u201cHundreds of millions of dollars that I can\u2019t talk about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If true, the Series B, filed last month, puts the company\u2019s value at a few hairs shy of a unicorn, at $993 million. That number comes from Equidate<\/a>, a new firm that offers up valuations of private startups for investment firms. It tells TechCrunch that its own numbers were sourced from public filings.<\/span><\/p>\n