Zenzap raises $44M for an AI workplace chat app

In short: Zenzap raised $44 million to expand its workplace messaging app, which includes built-in AI tools and is meant to replace apps like WhatsApp at work.

What happened

Many companies still use personal chat apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or iMessage to talk with staff and share files. Zenzap says that can create problems for company IT and security rules, especially when workers mix personal and work messages.

Zenzap is a work-focused messaging app built by founder Guy Weiss and co-founders Noam Neumann and Jonatan Bien. The company says it helps employees communicate while keeping work conversations inside a system the company can manage.

The startup announced it raised $44 million from investors including Bessemer, Lightspeed, and The Garage, plus individual investors such as Wix President Nir Zohar and former EY GM Yoram Tietz. Weiss told TechCrunch he originally funded the company himself and worked out of Bessemer’s office before deciding to raise outside money.

Zenzap offers group chats and direct messages, plus task and schedule features. It also includes AI features like voice chat, search, and tools that can turn messages into tasks (think of AI as an assistant that helps sort and find things in your work chats). Paid plans start at $51 per month for up to 20 users.

Zenzap says customers include FedEx, Dollar General, Starbucks, and Taco Bell.

Why it matters

For many workers, especially in restaurants, retail, construction, and healthcare, a phone-based chat is the main way shifts and daily tasks get coordinated. Zenzap is betting that companies want a clear line between personal chats and work chats, while still keeping the simple feel of the messaging apps people already know.

Source: TechCrunch AI