Worksphere, the Seattle-based startup building a platform to manage hybrid workplace experiences, has been acquired by San Francisco-based competitor Envoy.
Both companies sell software that helps employers manage how workers book desks and use physical office space.
Envoy launched in 2013 and raised $111 million in January. It also acquired desk reservation and scheduling startup OfficeTogether in August.
Envoy has grown alongside the pandemic-fueled adoption of hybrid work, and its customers include large enterprise customers such as Slack, Pinterest, Hulu, Stripe and Mazda, among others.
Worksphere was co-founded in September 2020 by CEO Aakhil Fardeen, CTO Mark Piper and Head of Growth Theresa Klaassen. They previously worked at Lish, a corporate catering startup that Fardeen started. With workers going remote when the pandemic hit, Lish’s business slowed — and that led to the creation of Worksphere.
Worksphere allows users to schedule time in the office and automate such things as capacity limits, wellness surveys and contact tracing. In January 2021 it raised $550,000 in pre-seed funding led by Ascend.vc. The startup also graduated from Y Combinator last year.
“We’ve had an incredible journey building Worksphere over the past two years, and I feel grateful to have the opportunity to join forces with Envoy and continue working on the future of workplaces,” Fardeen told Startup in an email. “Especially with people that share our mission and values.”
He added that Lish is still in operation and on a “growth path.” Fardeen remains on the company’s board and advises its new leadership. However, he is no longer involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.
The Worksphere sale was paid for with a mix of cash and stock. Total transaction amount was not disclosed. Worksphere’s eight employees, which includes its three co-founders, will join Envoy as part of the acquisition.
“The Worksphere team will bring their scale-focused experience to help lead many of our enterprise initiatives,” Envoy CEO and founder Larry Gadea wrote in a blog post.
The acquisition will close Sept. 20. Once completed, Worksphere will no longer keep its branding.
Worksphere raised a total of $2.5 million from Y Combinator, Village Global, Ascend.vc, Socii Capital, Green D Ventures, Portland Seed Fund, Remote First Capital, Avalanche VC and various angel investors.