LONDON: Software startup Slack Technologies raised $250 million from SoftBank Group and other investors in a funding round that boosted the company’s valuation to $5.1 billion.
The latest fundraising, led by SoftBank through its giant Vision Fund and joined by Accel and other investors, lifted Slack’s total funds raised to $841 million, the enterprise messaging operator said on Monday.
The SoftBank Vision Fund is the world’s largest private equity fund, backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment, Apple, Qualcomm, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology and Japan’s Sharp are also investors.
In July, sources told Reuters that Slack was raising $250 million in a new funding round led by SoftBank.
The company in the past has raised money from venture firms including GGV Capital, Spark Capital and Thrive Capital, among others.
Slack this week also announced support of four new languages and a shared channels feature, allowing employees from different companies to work together using its platform.
“We believe this is the most important thing we’ve done since launching Slack itself,” April Underwood, Slack vice president of product, told Reuters.
The messaging market is also attracting investment from technology titans that include Google, Cisco and Facebook.
Slack currently has 6 million daily active users and more than 2 million paid users, up from 5 million users and 1.5 million paid users in January.
The new shared channels feature allows users to create group chats with internal and external users.
The SoftBank Vision Fund will also become a cornerstone investor in the Hong Kong initial public offering of ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance — China’s first Internet-only insurer.
“This is a good marriage for the company in the sense that this is a very strategic, visionary investor and they’ve done a lot of study into the company. SoftBank is definitely a very strong stamp of approval,” ZhongAn’s chief financial officer Francis Tang said at a news conference.
Saudi-backed fund invests in Slack
Saudi-backed fund invests in Slack
Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 10,588
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, losing 127.15 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 10,588.83.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.57 billion ($685 million), as 28 of the stocks advanced and 232 retreated.
Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 108.53 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 23,719.13. This comes as 22 of the stocks advanced while 47 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 17.17 points, or 1.22 percent, to close at 1,393.34.
The best-performing stock of the day was Sport Clubs Co., whose share price surged 3.69 percent to SR9.00.
Other top performers included Flynas Co., whose share price rose 2.55 percent to SR72.30, as well as National Industrialization Co., whose share price surged 2.13 percent to SR10.09.
Consolidated Grunenfelder Saady Holding Co. recorded the most significant drop, falling 6.61 percent to SR8.90.
Sustained Infrastructure Holding Co. also saw its stock prices fall 5.75 percent to SR30.82.
CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co. also saw its stock prices decline 5.72 percent to SR22.40.
On the announcements front, Wataniya Insurance Co. said it has received a notice of award for a one-year contract with Saudi National Bank to provide general insurance as well as protection and savings insurance services, in line with agreed terms and conditions.
According to a Tadawul statement, coverage will begin on Jan. 1, 2026. The contract value exceeds 15 percent of the company’s total revenues, based on its latest audited financial statements for 2024.
Wataniya Insurance Co. ended the session at SR14.35, up 1.92 percent.
Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co., or Cenomi Retail, has announced executing a SR1.5 billion facility agreement structured as a short-term loan with Emirates NBD – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A bourse filing revealed that the financing duration is three years with an option to extend for a total of two years.
Cenomi Retail ended the session at SR20.00, up 0.26 percent.
First Milling Co. has announced the Board of Directors’ recommendation to amend the firm’s bylaws Article “Company Management” to increase the number of board members from seven to eight. This change reflects the firm’s commitment to broadening the range of expertise and skills on its board, in line with its growth and expansion plans for the next phase.
The company reiterated its commitment to fulfilling all necessary procedures and obtaining approvals from the relevant authorities. The recommendation will be submitted to the upcoming General Assembly, with the date to be announced in due course.
First Milling Co. ended the session at SR49.22, down 1.06 percent.
