Dive Brief:
- Messaging service Slack's recent round of funding raised $200 million at a nearly $4 billion valuation, according to a TechCrunch report.
- In just a year, the company's user count and paid seats increased three and a half times. As of April 1, Slack had 2.7 million daily active users and 800,000 paid seats.
- With corporate customers like NASA, LinkedIn and Spotify, the company is continuing to take off with enterprises and now has total funding of $540 million.
Dive Insight:
Though venture investments in startups have slumped, down 30% in the last quarter, Slack is continuing to prove itself the exception to the rule.
"As has always been the case, we are taking this opportunity to further secure our leadership position as we continue to execute on our ambitious growth plans," said Stewart Butterfield, CEO and co-founder, Slack, said in a statement announcing the new funding. "This capital adds to our existing reserves and increases our ability to focus on an uncompromising long-term, strategic view."
The popular platform is working to replace email and the basic functions it offers, from inner-office communication to sending attachments. But the company has not stayed stagnant in its offerings and has worked to move beyond messaging. In early March, Slack announced it had begun offering voice calls on Chrome and desktop.
Part of Slack's appeal is that it is not like the AOL instant messenger that people were comfortable with in the early 2000s. The company takes instant messaging and makes it much more interactive. Users can include images, GIFs and other files while on the service, helping expand collaboration in the workplace.
