Zenzap, a private workplace messaging app built around artificial intelligence, has raised $44 million in funding. Investors in the round include Bessemer, Lightspeed, and The Garage, along with individual backers Nir Zohar, president of Wix, and Yoram Tietz, former general manager of EY. The company was founded in 2022 by Guy Weiss with co-founders Noam Neumann and Jonatan Bien, and it is aimed at businesses that currently rely on consumer chat apps to coordinate staff.

The funding marks the first time Weiss has raised capital in his career. He previously bootstrapped the e-commerce marketing platform StuccoMedia in 2012 and sold it to Market Group in 2015, then spent several years as an investor. Weiss said he initially funded Zenzap himself and worked out of Bessemer's office, and that he was reluctant to raise money because he feared a second venture would tarnish the record of his first. He credited Bessemer partner Adam Fisher with convincing him the company needed outside capital to scale.

Zenzap is designed to give organizations a messaging tool that meets IT and security requirements while giving employees access to their organization's context through AI. According to Weiss, consumer apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage cannot be used in a workplace with an AI agent layered on top because they do not comply with IT rules, while Slack and Microsoft Teams were not built for mobile-first, day-to-day use by average employees. The company targets a broad range of industries, including hospitality, construction, healthcare, and fast food.

The app's free tier includes group chats, direct messages, task management, calendar and schedule integration, and AI-powered voice chat and search. Paid plans start at $51 per month for up to 20 users and add voice and video calls, smart task sorting, task templates, higher file storage limits, workspace-wide AI search, and the ability to convert messages into tasks. Zenzap also offers AI agents for workflow automation and AI-assisted transcription of voice notes and calls, priced through a credit-based system.

Zenzap lists FedEx, Dollar General, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Casey's, and Regal among its clients. Weiss said branches of fast food chains including IHOP and McDonald's frequently use the platform to coordinate shifts and discuss supply. He said each industry has its own use cases and workflows that organizations self-serve with AI, but that they share common needs.

The startup employs 50 people across the U.S., Tel Aviv, and Europe, and plans to hire in its product and research and development departments. Fisher said Bessemer's own investment team uses Zenzap to discuss and manage deal flow, and argued that the company's broad audience is an advantage. He said Slack is the only work platform with meaningful loyalty, largely among developers, while Zenzap is focused on the other 99% of employees who use personal messaging apps and want a clear separation between work and personal life.

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