- Sequoia Startup has Raised $26 million in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital.
- Investors include Index, YC Continuity, and angels including Dylan Field, Jeff Weiner, and Kevin Hartz.
- The platform uses spatial audio technology, which is popular in video games.
- Sequoia in particular helped Unity, the game engine company for figuring businesses model
Over the past few months, as distant staff looks for better ways to work together with one another, the startup has quietly amassed more than 4 million customers, and at this time, funding from the same elite Silicon Valley firm that has backed Zoom and Slack. Gather CEO Phillip Wang tells that his startup has raised $26 million in a Collection A spherical led by Sequoia Capital. Different buyers embrace Index, YC Continuity, and angels together with Dylan Subject, Jeff Weiner, and Kevin Hartz.
Wang says his objective for the startup, which he started with pals after all of them graduated from Carnegie Mellon, is straightforward: Give attention to serving its most consistent users, usher in customization parts to make virtual spaces feel homey, and hire a whole lot of engineers. The 37-person workforce has embedded features to advertise spontaneity, corresponding to “shoulder faucets” to immediate a co-worker to talk, or pool tables where staff can circle around and start a virtual recreation of the pool.
Sequoia Capital invests in a virtual HQ platform, Gather.
The platform also uses spatial audio technology, which is popular in video games, so that users can get the feel of running into each other. The technology basically allows you to hear someone’s voice louder when you are near them, and softer as users walk away.
It built its own video-conferencing system from scratch because other solutions didn’t work well with spatial technology. Sequoia in particular helped Unity, the game engine company, figure out their business model, and [that model] is unorthodox. Gather startup has raised $26 million in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital. Other investors include Index, YC Continuity, and angels including Dylan Field, Jeff Weiner, and Kevin Hartz.
CEO Phillip Wang talks about his startup, Gather.
Wang says his goal for the startup, which he began with friends after they all graduated from Carnegie Mellon, is simple: Focus on serving its most consistent users, bring in customization elements to make virtual spaces feel homey, and hire a lot of engineers. “We’re a much broader communication platform that is going to be used across all things, but we are leaning heavily into the virtual HQ [use case],” Wang said
Gather has been in the works for more than 18 months since Wang and his friends graduated college. The team first tried to create custom wearables that would show you who was available to talk so you could tap into a conversation. When that didn’t work, they pivoted into apps, VR, and full-body robotics. With new capital and millions of users, perhaps “Sims for the enterprise” might be the route to go.
