At Snipply, we write a ton on the future of work — especially the future of collaboration. Collaboration is now at the heart of the workplace and will continue to grow, with McKinsey & Company estimating almost 50% of the workforce already being freelancers and part of distributed teams. All of us have experienced the pains of collaborating: spending countless hours searching, updating, formatting, sharing, and versioning documents and content.
While this is true, technology has moved forward in certain ways to help ease the pains of collaboration. In this Techcrunch article on Salesforce’s 750mm acquisition of Quip, the founders state “We’re inspired by the possibilities ahead of us. As part of Salesforce, we will be able to expand our service more quickly and reach millions of people all over the world …. in powerful new ways with our next-generation productivity capabilities. The possibilities of mixing data, content and communication are amazing.”
The last part is profound as collaboration platforms shift towards focusing on integrations and workflows at the data or information level. Integrators like Zapier and IFTTT create powerful workflows. Asana and Trello have allowed for teams to work more fluidly. Slack and Telegram have improved our ability to communicate with colleagues, team members, and partner organizations.
With that being said, there are number related areas defining collaboration. Let’s take a look at some of the top startups around the globe, shaping the future of how, where, and when we collaborate.
How Did We Make The List?
We used Crunchbase Pro’s search feature for this list. We excluded all companies marked as closed and searched for founded after 1/1/2013. The way the list is sorted is by “CB Rank”. Crunchbase defines CB Rank as follows:
The Crunchbase Rank algorithm takes many signals into account including the number of connections a profile has, the level of community engagement, funding events, news articles, and acquisitions.
A company’s Rank is fluid and subject to rising and decaying over time with time-sensitive events. Events such as product launches, funding events, leadership changes, and news affect a company’s Crunchbase Rank.
We removed the startups that clearly aren’t related to the future of work, and here we are — the top 50 collaboration startups headquartered globally.
1. Notion
Notion is for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases. The app blends everyday work apps into one. It serves as an all-in-one workspace for note-taking, task management, and project management. The app can be accessed via most web browsers. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Website — www.notion.so/
Total Funds Raised — $60,000,000
2. Coda
Coda creates online documents and the utility of applications into a single new canvas. Coda is a new type of doc that blends the flexibility of documents, the power of spreadsheets, and the utility of applications into a single new canvas. That’s Coda. It lets you make a doc as powerful as an app. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in San Francisco, California.
Website — coda.io/
Total Funds Raised — $60,000,000
3. Orion Labs
Orion Labs is a voice-first enterprise communication platform connecting frontline workers and teams and with AI-driven automation.
Website — www.orionlabs.io
Total Funds Raised — $63,000,000
4. Front
Front is reinventing the inbox so people can accomplish more together. With new workflows, efficient collaboration, and all their communication channels in one place, more than 5,000 businesses rely on their Front inbox to be more productive as a team. Founded in 2013, Front has raised $79 million from Sequoia, DFJ, and others to unlock new ways to work that make people more efficient, fulfilled, and ultimately happier at work.
Website — frontapp.com
Total Funds Raised — $138,250,000
5. Hive
Hive is a productivity platform that drives companies to work forward. Their productivity platform powers the fast pace at companies like Starbucks, Uber, IBM, and Netflix, and they are passionate about changing how people work and communicate. Hive aims to improve workplace productivity for companies of all types and sizes. Hive was founded by John Furneaux and Eric Typaldos in 2015 and is based in New York, USA.
Website — hive.com/
Total funds Raised — $16,000,000
6. Pitch
Pitch provides the next generation of content collaboration and presentation software which enables anyone to easily develop and share beautiful presentations. Behind Pitch is a senior team funded by renowned investors. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Berlin, Germany.
Website — pitch.com
Total Funds Raised — $52,700,711
7. Splice
Splice designs and develops a technology platform for music creators streamlines the fragmented process of creating and sharing music. It also provides artists with means to connect with fans and other artists to solicit feedback throughout every step of the process. Matthieu Aimonetti and Steve Martocci founded Splice in 2013. It has its headquarters in New York City.
Website — www.splice.com/
Total Funds Raised — $104,749,998
8. Slite
Slite is where modern teams write and organize their content: meeting notes, processes, how to’s, collaborative docs, and more. Slite helps teams work more thoughtfully — it’s a simple tool to write and centralize docs in a way that encourages a less interrupted, more transparent way of working. They’re also a fully-remote team and YC grads.
Website — slite.com
Total Funds Raised — $15,400,000
9. The Wing
The Wing is a network of work and community spaces designed for women with locations in New York, California, and Washington, D.C. The Wing’s mission is the professional, civic, social, and economic advancement of women through the community.
Wesbite — www.the-wing.com
Total funding: $117,500,000
10. Industrious
Industrious is a premium workplace platform, blending five-star service, and stunning design to provide unparalleled workplace experience for established professionals. Founded in 2013 by Jamie Hodari and Justin Stewart, the company provides members with stunning offices, inviting hospitality, and inspiring communities. By transforming real estate into a personal, elegant and high-quality experience, Industrious built the concept of co-working into a scalable platform for businesses of all sizes. Industrious has more than 20 locations across the country.
Website — www.industriousoffice.com/
Total Funds Raised — $222,000,000
So that concludes the list. Make sure to follow the blog as we’ll also be adding tons of resources and commentary over the next few weeks on everything from the future of work to growth hacks and automation. And if interested in tools to make your work-life more productive, check out the Snipply beta here.
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