Workplace messaging service Slack is raising $400mn in new round
On the back of acquiring its rivals just a couple of weeks back, workplace messaging service Slack is reportedly raising more funding, this time around $400mn. According to TechCrunch, a new investor called General Atlantic is leading this round, and upon completion, the funding round is expected to take Slack's post-money valuation to a whopping $7bn. Here are the details.
Slack is set to add $2bn to its valuation
While details of the funding round aren't clear as of now, a $400mn funding would make this round Slack's biggest till date. Notably, Slack was last valued at $5.1bn following a SoftBank-led funding round in September 2017 which saw the Workplace messaging service raise $250mn. The current round is slated to contribute to an expected $2.1bn rise in Slack's valuation since September 2017.
Slack has become a force to be reckoned with
Slack has been growing consistently for the past three years, and currently boasts 8 million monthly active users, 3 million of them paying. With 65% of Fortune 100 companies using Slack, and with clients like IBM, 21st Century Fox, eBay, Slack is a sizeable entity.
Workplace messaging is an emergent and growing market
These large figures surrounding Slack underscore important changes going on in the workplace messaging space. To start with, growing investor interest in Slack points to workplace messaging being an emergent and growing market, as organizations look to streamline workplace communication using modern, digital tools. Considering the boom in consumer messaging services like WhatsApp, there's no reason as to why enterprise messaging shouldn't work.
Facebook, Microsoft are dipping their fat fingers into workplace messaging
Another major indicator of growing interest in workplace messaging is that it has attracted giants like Facebook and Microsoft. Facebook has its own enterprise messaging service, Workplace, while Microsoft is also clawing away at the market with its Teams service. Exploiting their dominance, these services have snagged major brownie points, with Teams boasting 200,000+ paying organizations, and Workplace boasting very large customers like Walmart.
Slack is taking on the role of a consolidator
However, compared to Workplace and Teams, Slack probably has an edge owing to its simpler, light-weight product and its headstart in the workplace messaging space. Additionally, Slack's acquisition of workplace messaging services from enterprise software giant Atlassian last month points towards it taking on the role of a consolidator. Notably, Slack has no plans for an IPO, at least in this year.
