SAN FRANCISCO — Switchboard, a cloud coworking space, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Icon Ventures, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, and Spark Capital. The Series A brings Switchboard’s total funding to date to just over $38M.
Switchboard launched publicly into beta in May, and has seen a positive response from users experiencing a new and more effective way to collaborate. With the additional funding, Switchboard plans to continue to develop new product features and expand the team with a focus on hiring more engineering, product, and marketing professionals.
“Our beta launch was so successful because we struck a nerve with the promise of better collaboration. People are using Switchboard from all over the world, across different types of organizations, from startups, agencies, higher education and beyond.” said Amir Ashkenazi, CEO and founder of Switchboard. “They recognize current communications tools we have simply aren’t working for what we need in remote and hybrid work environments. Switchboard is revolutionizing consumer expectations in remote work.”
Unlike video conferencing, Switchboard is able to emulate the in-person experience to make remote collaboration just as good as in real life through the following features:
- Content Focus: During video conferencing, the focus is on faces, and how we present versus the content being discussed. Switchboard has the same video and audio functions as video conferencing, but the focus is also on the content being shared and collaborated on in the web-based browser.
- Interaction: Switchboard makes you feel like you are working side-by-side, and removes the performative feel of video conferencing. Everyone in the room has the same capabilities to join and work together (at the same time) in physical web applications like Google Docs or Figma.
- Tools: All web-based applications are compatible in Switchboard’s browser space, allowing users to bring their favorite collaboration tools together.
- Context: Each room saves all content added during a meeting including browsers, documents, and chat. This saves teams time and allows people to pick up where they left off instead of losing everything at the end of a video call.
- Communication: Video conferencing calls are usually scheduled, inherently giving them a formal feel. Switchboard rooms can be used for scheduled meetings, but they bring the informal feel of an office space by allowing users to pop into rooms for any spontaneous questions or conversations.
“We pride ourselves on partnering with innovative companies that have the potential to be category leaders,” said Jeb Miller, General Partner at Icon Ventures, who will be joining the Company’s Board of Directors. “Switchboard is transforming how teams collaborate. Whether remote, in person or hybrid, Switchboard’s platform alleviates the struggle of maintaining human connectivity and fosters better teamwork in a distributed workplace. Looking at the market, I see the potential for companies of all shapes and sizes to benefit from Switchboard’s superior tools. The future of work is here, and we’re so thrilled to be a part of bringing people together for better collaboration on a global level.”
Switchboard’s original seed round included participation from The General Partnership, Dylan Field (CEO & Co-founder, Figma), Joe Thomas (CEO, Loom), John Lilly (former CEO, Mozilla), Akshay Kothari (COO, Notion) and others.
“The success of Switchboard’s beta launch clearly validates the strong desire for new, innovative ways to collaborate in our virtual world,” said Mike Vernal, partner at Sequoia Capital. “Switchboard’s success is no surprise to us and we are proud to continue our partnership as they make continued strides toward empowering the future of connectivity.”
