Cord Secures $17.5M in Series A Funding to Expand its Real-time Collaboration API

Cord, a London-based startup that provides a single API to integrate real-time collaboration tools into any application, has raised $17.5 million in a Series A funding round. The funding, aimed at accelerating product development through hiring engineers, designers, and product managers, was led by European venture capital firm Index. Other investors in the round included NFX, Stride, and angel investors such as Elad Gil, Jeff Morris Jr., Charlie Songhurst, Guy Podjarny, and Matt Robinson.

Despite being founded just last year, Cord has already secured a partnership with Typeform, a conversational data collection platform. This partnership enables Typeform to use Cord's API to provide its customers with collaboration features, simplifying the process of designing online forms. Although Cord has not yet disclosed specific customer numbers, it stated that its private beta, which ended after the launch of the general access service in August, involved hundreds of clients. These clients include undisclosed SaaS providers, startups, and scale-ups.

Cord's primary target market is B2B SaaS solutions used by teams. Examples include customer relationship management tools like HubSpot, content management systems like Webflow or WordPress, and no-code tools like Retool. Other major clients include Typeform's enterprise clients, large tech companies, consumer brands, and a major motion picture studio using Cord in their business intelligence tools.

The Cord API, promoted as requiring just a single line of JavaScript, allows customers to easily add collaborative features to their products. These features can include real-time chat, annotations, task management integrations, Slack integration, screen recording, audio messages, live co-browsing, and video chat.

As the demand for collaboration tools in the workplace grows due to an increase in remote work and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, Cord aims to provide businesses with an easy way to add social elements to their products. This approach can save companies years of development time and give them a competitive edge by offering enhanced collaboration features. Indeed, Cord's vision is for every web product to become a multiplayer experience in the near future.

In a statement, Jan Hammer, Partner at Index Ventures, emphasized the importance of Cord in modern workspaces: The growth of remote working, combined with a proliferation of software-as-a-service tools, means that teams lose time moving back and forth between productivity and communications applications, such as Slack. Cord allows users to stay within the app that best supports their workflow but still get the benefits of collaboration.

Hammer also praised Cord for integrating with existing applications: We like that Cord adds to existing apps - it's not yet another solution customers will have to adopt, it's a solution inside what they're already used to. Eventually, we believe SaaS tools will ship with Cord straight out of the box.

Platforms like AppMaster and other no-code tools, such as Retool, can benefit greatly from integrating with Cord. By offering a more streamlined and collaborative experience to users, these platforms can foster productivity and efficiency across various industries.

As more businesses adopt SaaS tools and remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, integrating platforms such as Cord will likely become essential for companies looking to stay competitive in the digital landscape. By making collaboration easier and more efficient, Cord could play a pivotal role in shaping the future of work and team dynamics.