The key facts
- Zenzap raised $44 million from Bessemer, Lightspeed, The Garage, and private investors Nir Zohar and Yoram Tietz
- The messenger is positioned as a replacement for WhatsApp and Telegram in the workplace, compliant with IT requirements
- Clients include FedEx, Dollar General, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Casey's, and Regal; the company has 50 employees
Startup Zenzap raised $44 million for an AI-powered corporate messenger
Zenzap, a company developing a corporate messenger with artificial intelligence features, announced it raised $44 million. The round included funds Bessemer, Lightspeed, and The Garage, as well as private investors — Wix President Nir Zohar and former EY managing director Yoram Tietz. TechCrunch reported the news.
Founder raising venture capital for the first time
Founder Guy Weiss is raising external funding for the first time in his career. In 2012, he independently developed the internet marketing platform StuccoMedia, which he sold to Market Group in 2015, after which he worked as an investor for several years. He founded Zenzap in 2022 together with Noam Neumann and Yonatan Bien after meeting Bessemer partner Adam Fisher. According to Weiss, he initially developed the app with his own funds and worked out of Bessemer's office, fearing failure of his second venture after a successful first one. Fisher convinced him that scaling the company would require venture capital.
Positioning against WhatsApp and Slack
Zenzap is positioned as a secure messenger for communication between companies and employees, compliant with IT and security requirements. Weiss argues that consumer messengers like WhatsApp and iMessage are unsuitable for a work AI agent due to non-compliance with corporate IT policies, while Slack and Microsoft Teams are not designed for a mobile scenario for ordinary users. The target audience spans a wide range of industries: from hospitality and construction to healthcare and fast food. Bessemer partner Adam Fisher noted that the focus on a broad audience could be an advantage: according to him, only Slack has user loyalty, and mostly among developers, whereas Zenzap targets the other 99% of employees who use personal messengers and expect their own AI agent. Fisher added that Bessemer itself uses the messenger in its investment team.
Features, pricing, and clients
Zenzap's free tier includes group chats and direct messages, task management, calendar integration, scheduling, as well as AI voice chat and search. Paid plans start at $51 per month for a team of up to 20 users and add voice and video calls, smart task sorting, task templates, increased file storage limits, AI search across the workspace, and turning messages into tasks. A credit-based payment system applies to AI agents for workflow automation and transcription of voice notes and calls. The company names FedEx, Dollar General, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Casey's, and Regal among its clients; according to Weiss, franchise locations of chains like IHOP and McDonald's use the platform to coordinate shifts and discuss supplies. Zenzap has 50 employees in the US, Tel Aviv, and Europe; near-term plans include hiring for product and R&D departments.
