Slack now valued at $5 billion after latest round of funding

Sep 19 2017, 4:20 am

Slack, the San Francisco-based workplace sharing startup which has offices in Toronto and Vancouver, has landed a further $250 million in funding, increasing its value to more than $5 billion.

SoftBank Vision Fund, joined by Accel and a number of other investors, contributed the investment which expands on a previous $591 million in funding that was generated by the company.

The company, which was originally started in Vancouver, isn’t raising the capital to spend however, stating that they have barely touched their previous round of investment.

Instead the finance is earmarked for “operational flexibility and resources” in order to run Slack without being dependent on outside financing.

“We’re preparing to run Slack as a cash-generating, operationally fit company that can move and flex quickly as our business and the market evolves,” Slack confirmed to Daily Hive on Monday.

Vision Fund has stated that the way in which Slack is changing the workplace is part of the rationale behind its investment, likening the current growth of business messaging and collaborating tools to the early days of email.

The future of work

“We believe that Slack is the future of work, and this fund reinforces that – providing long-term operational flexibility and resources that prepare us to run Slack as a cash-generating company and move quickly as the market evolves,” Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield said in a statement.

“Softbank’s Vision Fund and Accel are ideal investors for Slack. The Vision Fund’s focus on global technology platforms aligns with our recent international expansion, while Accel has been with us as investors and partners from the very beginning.”

Deep Nishar, Senior Managing Partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund, added: “Slack is the operating system for today’s fast moving businesses, enabling teams to work together effectively at a time when businesses need to be responsive to rapid change and disruption. The Vision Fund is excited to invest in Slack and support its mission to help millions of people, teams and companies collaborate and communicate.”

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