Meet the Slack-backed Voice Messaging Start-Up, Yac

Yac, a start-up aiming to revolutionise voice messaging in the enterprise, has raised $7.5m to develop its audio communications platform.

The Florida-based firm, which counts Slack among its investors, was founded in 2019 and says its mission is to “eliminate pointless meetings”.

Its features include voice messaging, screen sharing and group meetings – with a large focus being placed on ‘asynchronous’ messaging.

The term asynchronous refers to messages where the recipient is not expected to reply in real-time, as opposed to video chats or instant messaging. Yac calls the concept “podcast-like messages”, with the implicit rule being that responses can take minutes or even hours to be sent.

Yac’s voice messages are restricted to 120 seconds each and appear in a thread, similar to text-based chat conversations. It says this reduces pressure on employees juggling multiple projects and also helps to be inclusive of people in different companies or people different in parts of the world.

The latest funding round is comprised of capital from a number of investors, but this second investment from Slack, via its Slack Fund, is arguably the biggest endorsement of Yac’s credentials.

Jason Spinell, Director of the Slack Fund, did not downplay Yac’s potential.

“We’re reinvesting in Yac because they align with our mission to make the future of work simpler, more pleasant, and more productive, something we’ve already seen through their powerful integrations with the Slack platform”

The relationship between the pair is not just financial, with Yac now integrating with Slack’s platform. This allows users to receive Yac notifications and search transcripts within Slack.

But aside from the Slack love-in, Yac appears to be squaring up directly to other well-known brands in the collaboration space.

Its website features a “compare” section, with articles titled “Microsoft Teams vs Yac”; “Zoom vs Yac”; and “WhatApp vs Yac”.

Microsoft Teams, for example, is criticised for its “never-ending notifications” which Yac says reduce productivity. (It’s worth noting that voice messages are available on Teams but are restricted to the mobile app.)

That being said, Yac only wants to displace the likes of Teams and Zoom for some tasks.

The intention is that its platform lives in a technology ecosystem alongside other collaboration tools, to be used when others don’t quite hit the spot for a certain task.

Asynchronous communication

Yac says that workers are in danger of burnout if they are constantly required to perform during live meetings. Some employees may feel uncomfortable working in a virtual setting or struggle to make themselves heard.

This is where Yac pushes the concept of asynchronous voice messaging.

Having individuals recording and sending voice messages means the recipient will receive clear, complete contributions from everyone, which are easy to listen back to. There are no frequent video conferencing issues such as running out of time, people talking over each other, or not articulating yourself in the right way (you can re-record your messages before sending them).

These messages can also be sent alongside screenshots or screen recordings.

If the use case was clear to see before the pandemic, it has only been amplified by the extreme shift to remote working and mass adoption of collaboration platforms.

But concerns over the productivity and wellbeing of employees, who are often trapped in video meetings, has seen asynchronous collaboration pushed further up the list of desirable functionalities. In fact, Workplace from Facebook exec Ujjwal Singh recently told UC Today that developing asynchronous communication is a big part of his 2021 roadmap.

The offering

Yac already counts a number of high-profile companies among its client base, including Spotify, CBS and Hubspot. This is even more impressive when you consider that the concept was only devised at the end of 2018. Yac’s co-founders created ‘Yelling Across Cubicles’ – a digital walkie-talkie for Mac – to win a hackathon.

Justin Mitchell, Yac co-founder and CEO at Yac, said when announcing the new funding:

“Audio has become the most powerful and least intrusive communication medium as we head into 2021”

“It’s become clear that we need a workplace solution to the audio-first growth. We are thankful to partner with investors like GGV Capital and the Slack Fund who support our vision,”

Yac’s offering is currently split into two tiers. The free tier offers functions unlimited voice messages, mobile apps and transcription.

Yac for Teams is priced at $3 per user per month and includes premium features such as screen recording, team management, groups and Slack integration.