• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
FinanceVenture Capital

Slack Raises $200 Million at $3.8 Billion Valuation

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 1, 2016, 12:14 PM ET
Photograph by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Slack, the cloud collaboration software company led by Stewart Butterfield, announced on Friday that it has raised $200 million in its fourth round of venture capital funding at a post-money valuation of $3.8 billion.

Thrive Capital led the round and was joined by GGV Capital, Comcast Ventures (CMSCA), Sherpa Ventures and existing shareholders like Accel, Index Ventures, Spark Capital, and Social Capital.

Slack was formed in 2009 by Butterfield, who previously had co-founded image-sharing site Flickr, which was later acquired by Yahoo. When founded, Slack was called Tiny Speck and focused on making an online game dubbed Glitch.

Despite having raised more than $15 million in VC funding, however, Butterfield and crew soon realized that their startup wasn’t quite working out, so they shut it down in 2012 and offered to give back any cash in the bank to investors.

As they worked to figure out what was next, the team continued to improve upon legacy chat software created by IRC and, at some point, realized that this upgraded version could eventually be transformed into a standalone product that became Slack. The beta project launched in the summer of 2013 with a more public release in early 2014.

Get Term Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on deals & deal-makers.

Slack now reports 2.7 million daily active users, 800,000 paid users, and 430 employees. Among its customers are the U.S. State Department, Salesforce.com, Harvard University, and (yes) Fortune.

The San Francisco-based company has now raised $540 million in total VC funding, including a $160 million Series C round in April 2015 at a $2.8 billion post-money valuation. Other investors include Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, Horizons Ventures, DST Global, Lowercase Capital, Google Ventures (GOOG), and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

About the Author
By Dan Primack
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

trump
PoliticsIran
Trump on Iran: ‘They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens’
By Toqa Ezzidin, Munir Ahmed, Collin Binkley and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
1 hour ago
infantino
North AmericaWorld Cup
Fifa’s Infantino predicted sellouts and ‘1,000 years of World Cups at once,’ but fans aren’t biting
By James Robson and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
2 hours ago
cox
C-SuiteWealth
Billionaires have a problem money can’t solve: They don’t know how to talk to their kids
By Nick LichtenbergMay 1, 2026
2 hours ago
trump
EconomyTariffs
Trump says he’ll hike EU auto tariffs to 25%, jolting a world economy that really didn’t need it
By Josh Boak and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
2 hours ago
male engineer working under pylon
EnergyElectricity
Utility CEOs pocket $626 million as American energy bills hit record highs
By Tristan BoveMay 1, 2026
2 hours ago
elon
EconomyCEO salaries and executive compensation
CEOs got an 11% pay raise in 2025. Workers got 0.5%
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 1, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

China dominates the world's lithium supply. The U.S. just found 328 years' worth in its own backyard
North America
China dominates the world's lithium supply. The U.S. just found 328 years' worth in its own backyard
By Jake AngeloApril 30, 2026
1 day ago
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
Personal Finance
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
7 hours ago
Accenture's Julie Sweet blew up 50 years of company history. She says the hardest part is still ahead
Conferences
Accenture's Julie Sweet blew up 50 years of company history. She says the hardest part is still ahead
By Nick LichtenbergApril 29, 2026
2 days ago
The U.S. economy is booming — just not where 50 million Americans live
Commentary
The U.S. economy is booming — just not where 50 million Americans live
By Derek KilmerMay 1, 2026
12 hours ago
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
By Preston ForeApril 27, 2026
4 days ago
Exclusive: America's largest Black-owned bank launches podcast with mission to unlock hidden shame holding back generational wealth
Banking
Exclusive: America's largest Black-owned bank launches podcast with mission to unlock hidden shame holding back generational wealth
By Nick LichtenbergApril 29, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.