Slack raises $200m to spur valuation of $3.8bn
Messaging startup Slack has raised $200m in its latest financing round to give the company a valuation of $3.8bn.
The service has raised $450m to date, raising $160m in its last round a year ago. Thrive Capital led the latest fundraiser, with contributions from GGV, Comcast Ventures alongside previous investors Accel and Index Ventures.
"We are taking this opportunity to further secure our leadership position as we continue to execute on our ambitious growth plans," Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and chief executive officer of Slack, said in a statement. “This capital adds to our existing reserves and increases our ability to focus on an uncompromising long-term, strategic view.”
While Butterfield has previously downplayed his company’s need for additional funds, his reasoning for the latest cash injection is to help establish a leadership postion. He also wants Slack to appear a stable company in order to recruit talent from other technology businesses.
The move could also provide fuel for Slack’s focus on advertising in recent months that’s seen it run TV and outdoor ads.
Some 2.7 million people use Slack’s chat tools daily, 800,000 of which pay between $8 to $15 per month to use its service. It has two models; a free option for small groups to communicate via an ongoing message stream and an enterprise subscription model that includes messaging archiving and other additional features.