Asana, Inc. (/əˈsɑːnə/ or /ˈɑːsənə/), is an American software company based in San Francisco whose flagship Asana service is a web and mobile "work management"[3] platform designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work.[4] Asana, Inc. was founded in 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein.[5] The product launched commercially in April 2012.[6] In September 2020, the company was valued at $5.5 billion following its direct listing.[7]

Asana, Inc.
FormerlySmiley Abstractions, Inc. (until July 2009)
Company typePublic
FoundedDecember 16, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-12-16)
Founders
Headquarters,
US
Key people
Dustin Moskovitz (CEO)
ServicesProcess management, Project management software, Productivity software, Team management, Work management software, Collaborative software
RevenueIncrease US$653 million (2024)
Negative increase US$−270 million (2024)
Negative increase US$−257 million (2024)
Total assetsIncrease US$962 million (2024)
Total equityDecrease US$326 million (2024)
OwnerDustin Moskovitz (51%)[1]
Number of employees
1,840 (2024)
Websiteasana.com
Footnotes / references
Financials as of January 31, 2024.[2]

History edit

The co-founders met at Facebook, where Moskovitz, Facebook's co-founder and vice president of engineering, and his colleague Rosenstein created a productivity tool called Tasks. In 2008, the co-founders left Facebook to start Asana.[5] Asana officially launched for free out of beta in November 2011[8] and commercially in April 2012.[9]

In 2014, Asana launched its native iOS app and in January 2015, Asana released its native Android app.[10][11] In 2016, Asana raised $50 million in Series C financing led by Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator.[12] In 2017, Asana integrated with Gmail, and launched its app in French and German.[13]

By January 2018, more than 35,000 paying customers were using Asana, including CityFibre,[14] AB-InBev, Viessmann, eBay, Uber, Overstock.com, Navy Federal Credit Union, Icelandair, and IBM. That same year, the company raised $75 million in Series D funding led by Generation Investment Management, a firm backed by Al Gore.[15] In November 2018, Asana raised another $50 million in funding in Series E to invest in international and product expansion.[16]

In March 2018, Hiten Shah wrote about the history of Asana as "Asana’s Rise to a $1.5 Billion Valuation".[17]

In September 2020, Asana went public on the New York Stock Exchange via a direct public offering. In August 2021, Asana dual listed on the Long-Term Stock Exchange.[18]

By December 2021, Asana's customer count increased to 114,000 with two million paid seats globally and 739 of these were spending $50,000 or more on an annualized basis.[19]

In April 2022, Asana released its annual Anatomy of Work Index.[20] The report surveyed the behaviors and attitudes of more than 10,000 knowledge workers globally to highlight differences and year-over-year trends in the modern workplace.[21]

Asana and Align Technology announced Asana Smiles for Align in May 2022.[22] This partnership offers Invisalign-trained doctors in the U.S. a customizable workflow that helps reduce manual processes and tracks tasks throughout the patient's treatment.[23]

In September 2022, Asana had 131,000 customers, while the number of customers spending over $5,000 annually increased to 18,040, up 41%.[24]

Software edit

Asana is a software-as-a-service platform designed for team collaboration and work management. Teams can create projects, assign tasks, set deadlines, and communicate directly within Asana. It also includes reporting tools, file attachments, calendars, and goal tracking.[25]

In 2022, Asana released features for team organization; this included My Goals, Automatic Progress Updates, and integrations for Google Workspace and Figma.[26]

API and integrations edit

In April 2012, Asana released its API to third-party developers. Asana's open API provided a means to read and input information and create programmed automation within the app.[27] The Asana API is a RESTful interface, allowing users to update and access much of their data on the platform.[27]

In April 2021, Asana launched Asana Partners, which allows for cross-platform integration with its project management software.[28]

In July 2021, Asana launched an app for Zoom. The Asana app can be opened within the video-conferencing software Zoom.[29]

In 2023, Asana launched product capabilities focused on generative artificial intelligence. [30]

Reception edit

Asana twice received a 4.5 out of 5 from PC Magazine. In 2017, it was an Editors' Choice and was called "one of the best collaboration and productivity apps for teams" and went on to note its "thoughtful design, fluid interactive elements, and generous member allotment."[31] In 2020, it received a Best of the Year award, remarking that it "is one of the best apps for managing tasks, workflows, and—yes—certain kinds of projects" despite not being a full-scale project management platform.[32] Asana was named as one of the Best Workplaces for Parents in the US by Great Place to Work in 2020 and 2021.[33][34]

In 2021, Inc. named Asana to its annual Best Workplace list and one of the Best Led companies.[35][36] Fast Company named Asana the #15 most innovative companies and added the company to its Brands That Matter list.[37][38]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Novet, Jordan (June 24, 2023). "Why billionaire Dustin Moskovitz keeps buying up shares of his software company Asana". CNBC.
  2. ^ "Asana, Inc. FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "Gartner Glossary Work Management". gartner.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Understand Asana's core features". asana.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Bercovici, Jeff (May 23, 2018). "How Asana's Founders Built a $900 Million Business on Buddhist Principles". Inc.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Guynn, Jessica (April 24, 2012). "Asana, software start-up from Facebook vets, launches paid version". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  7. ^ Tse, Bycrystal (October 1, 2020). "Asana valued at $5.5 billion after direct listing debut". Fortune. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  8. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (March 30, 2016). "Task management app Asana raises $50M at a $600M valuation led by YC's Sam Altman". techcrunch.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  9. ^ "Asana raises $28M to make the world a more collaborative place". VentureBeat. July 23, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Konrad, Alex. "Asana Finally Launches A Native iOS App After Facebook Cofounder Bet Wrong On Web-Based Apps". Forbes. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  11. ^ Alba, Davey. "Asana's New Android App Shows Design Matters in the Business World". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  12. ^ "Asana Links Up With $50M Series C for Collaboration Tools". Wall Street Journal. March 31, 2016. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Finnegan, Matthew (November 2, 2017). "What is Asana? Task management tracking made easy". Computerworld. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  14. ^ Trueman, Charlotte (May 7, 2021). "How Asana helped CityFibre's marketing team boost productivity". Computerworld. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Carson, Biz. "Facebook Cofounder's Productivity Startup Asana Hits Growth Spurt, Snags $1.5 Billion Valuation". Forbes. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "Asana, a work management platform, nabs $50M growth round at a $1.5B valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Shaw, Hiten (June 3, 2019). "Asana's Rise to a $1.5 Billion Valuation". nira.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  18. ^ Driebusch, Corrie (June 24, 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive | Twilio, Asana to List on Long-Term Stock Exchange as ESG Push Continues". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  19. ^ Condon, Stephanie. "Asana beats Q3 estimates, surpasses $100m in quarterly sales". ZDNet. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  20. ^ "Asana Anatomy of Work Index 2022: Work About Work Hampering Organizational Agility". investors.asana.com. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  21. ^ "More Than Half of the Working Day Is Spent Kinda, Sorta Working". Bloomberg.com. April 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  22. ^ "Align Technology and Asana Announce Strategic Partnership to Offer Asana Smiles™ for Align, a New Work Management Solution to Invisalign Trained Doctors in the United States" (Press release). Align Technology. Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Yahoo! Finance.
  23. ^ "Align Technology (ALGN) to Offer Asana Smiles With New Pact" (Press release). Align Technology. May 23, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022 – via Yahoo! Finance.
  24. ^ "CEO Dustin Moskovitz Just Doubled Down on Asana (ASAN) Stock". MSN. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  25. ^ Weir, Melanie. "A guide to Asana, the workplace management tool that helps streamline communication across teams". Business Insider. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  26. ^ "Asana launches new tools to help distributed teams stay aligned on goals". diginomica.com. June 7, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  27. ^ a b Constine, Josh (April 21, 2012). "Twitter and LinkedIn Manage Tasks With Asana, New API Means Robots Can Too". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  28. ^ Brooks, Steve (April 16, 2021). "Asana launches globalisation features and new partner program". Enterprise Times. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  29. ^ Rayome, Alison DeNisco. "Zoom: Use apps like Asana and Dropbox and schedule virtual events now". CNET. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  30. ^ "Asana launches AI product capabilities and guiding principles".
  31. ^ "Asana". PCMAG. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  32. ^ "Asana Review". PCMAG. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  33. ^ "Great Place to Work's Best Workplaces for Parents 2021". Great Place to Work. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  34. ^ "Great Place to Work's Best Workplaces for Parents 2020". Great Place to Work. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  35. ^ "Meet the Top 250 Best-Led Companies in America". Inc.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  36. ^ "Introducing the Best Workplaces of 2021". Inc.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  37. ^ "Brands That Matter – Applications". Fast Company. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  38. ^ Parrish, Cayleigh (March 9, 2021). "The World's Most Innovative Companies 2021". Fast Company. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Business data for Asana, Inc.: