Asana raises $28M to make the world a more collaborative place

Asana, an enterprise communication startup, has raised $28 million to boost productivity among people collaborating on projects at work, the company announced today.

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Asana, which was founded by Facebook employees Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein, offers a free service that helps companies manage communication and tasks more efficiently. The company launched a paid version of the service back in April, which increased the number of people who can collaborate within a work group as well as other enhancements. Asana faces competition from the likes of Yammer, Jive, Saleforce, and others. More recently the company launched its Asana Inbox feature to kill off the unproductive mess associated with regular email and calendar overload.

The the new funding puts the company’s valuation at $280 million, according to the New York Times. The round was led by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with participation from Benchmark, Andreessen-Horowitz, Mitch Kapor and existing investors. As part of the deal, Thiel will also be joining Asana’s board.

“We share a worldview, we share a vision for the future of technology, and we share a commitment to solving the world’s most pressing challenges. Plus, it’s kinda fun to watch Peter stump Justin when they debate philosophy,” Moskovitz wrote in a blog post about the announcement.

The startup said it will use the new capital to grow its team of employees, including positions for designers, engineers, and other contributors.

Founded in 2009, the San Francisco, Calif.-based company has raised a total of $38.2 million in funding to date.

Photo via Dmitriy Shironosov /Shutterstock