We’re big fans of UK-based startup Huddle, which offers a business-friendly collaboration and storage platform for the workplace. Today the startup is announcing that it has closed $10.2 million in Series B funding led by Matrix Partners, existing investors Eden Ventures and Charles McGregor, participating in the round. This brings Huddle’s total funding to $15 million.
Huddle, which employs more than 40 staff in the UK and U.S. and recently became cashflow positive, is planning to use the funding to expand to the U.S. and build a presence across the Pond. More than 50 percent of Huddle’s “Hundreds of thousands of users” are based in the U.S., so it makes sense for the startup to build out sales, marketing and research and development teams in San Francisco, says Andy McLoughlin, co-founder of Huddle.
Huddle aims to be sort of a one-stop-shop for collaboration and project management for businesses. The product is a network of secure online workspaces where you can share files, collaborate on ideas, manage projects and organize virtual meetings. Most recently, Huddle added web conferencing, integration with Microsoft Office, LinkedIn and Facebook integration and an iPhone app to the mix. McLoughlin says that at the moment, Huddle is focusing on making Huddle even more realtime, and looking into adding a desktop integration as well.
For a relatively small startup, Huddle’s product has gained significant traction, with big-name customers including Procter & Gamble, Edelman, Disney and HTC. Because of the startup’s multiple services, Huddle faces competition from a number of startups and tech giants including, Lotus, Salesforce Chatter Box.net, Microsoft Sharepoint and WebEx.
