Community, the L.A.-based tech startup whose platform enables mass text-messaging to fans and customers from artists, celebrities and brands, announced Friday it has raised $40 million from Salesforce Ventures.
Community is part of a wave of companies that help consumers build direct relationships with the brands and creators they idolize.
Over 3 billion messages have been exchanged between what Community calls "leaders" – the likes of whom include Tom Brady, Deepak Chopra, Barack Obama and People Magazine – and the "members" who sign up to receive the text messages.
"Our business model and purpose are built on keeping people directly and instantly connected to the conversations that they want to be part of at scale," said founder and CEO Matt Peltier in a statement.
The company has now raised nearly $90 million since launching in 2019. Previous investors include Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures, Live Nation and Sony Innovation Fund.
"On other platforms there's a guarantee of instant publishing, but there's no guarantee of instant distribution," Community's head of activation Jake Udell told dot.LA last year.
The company claims that 95% of messages sent by its leaders are opened.
"The idea that you will always be able to reach your fans — this community — via text, is a really empowering thing not just for you personally but for your business," Udell said previously.
In a statement on the role Community plays for brands, Salesforce president and CMO Sarah Franklin said, "Community lives at the intersection of trust, technology and culture, and is a powerful example of how organizations of any size can foster human connection to build meaningful relationships and drive growth."
The pandemic has accelerated the importance of artists engaging with their fans.
"That understanding and that willingness, combined with technology that allows artists to actually know who those superfans are, (and) engage them directly on a sustainable basis, is really starting to redefine how an artist looks at their fandom, and where to put their time, energy and resources," Zach Katz, CEO of music-tech investment firm Raised In Space, recently told dot.LA.
Editor's Note: dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff invested in Community in a previous round.
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