Tech startup Slack has raised US$200 million in a funding round led by Thrive Capital. The latest cash injection pushes its post-money valuation to US$3.8 billion, up from US$2.8 billion a year ago.
The San Francisco-based business messaging service was founded by Vancouverite Stewart Butterfield, who maintains a residence in B.C., and has raised a total of US$540 million in funding to date.
Butterfield is travelling in Australia to open the company’s new office in Melbourne and was not available for comment, a spokeswoman told Business In Vancouver.
“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,” Butterfield said in a prepared statement.
“This capital adds to our existing reserves and increases our ability to focus on an uncompromising long-term, strategic view."
Slack employs about 65 workers in its Vancouver office and 430 workers worldwide.
Butterfield told BIV in November 2014 much of the Vancouver office is dedicated to design and front-end development, while the business side of Slack is centred in San Francisco.
“I have this nice physical division between the two parts of my responsibilities,” he said at the time.
Heather Morrison, Slack’s Vancouver-based customer experience regional manager, said the local headcount has doubled in the past year and “it would be wonderful to double headcount” in 2016.
The company has 2.7 million active users, while about 800,000 of those users pay for premium services.
Corporate customers include eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) and LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD).
