Gatheround is a technology company.
Gatheround has raised $12.5M across 3 funding rounds.
Gatheround has raised $12.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Gatheround has raised $12.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Gatheround's investors include Atlassian Ventures, Awesome People Ventures, Golden Section Ventures, Slack Fund, Stellar Capital, Wing Venture Capital, Michael Stoppelman, 468 Capital, Afore Capital, AirAngels, Andreessen Horowitz, Bond.
Gatheround is a technology company that builds an interactive video platform for high-impact virtual meetings, team bonding, and community engagement, targeting people-focused organizations like Calendly, Gusto, and Google.[1][2][6] It solves the problem of awkward, low-engagement virtual interactions by offering features such as seamless presentation modes, easy Q&As with upvoting, polls, quizzes, photo booths, and breakout rooms, achieving over 80% verbal participation—2.5x higher than standard video tools.[2][6] Formerly known as Icebreaker and founded in 2018 in New York, Gatheround raised $3.5M in seed funding but was acquired by Donut, an employee experience platform, to expand into dynamic live events within hybrid work environments.[1][2]
Gatheround was founded in 2018 by a team of social-change leaders: Lisa Conn (CEO, from Change.org and Obama for America), along with co-founders experienced in activism, entrepreneurship (Hustle), community organizing, MIT Media Lab, and Facebook.[1][3] The idea emerged from recognizing how the internet's feeds and standard video calls fail to replicate in-person togetherness, leaving people drained rather than energized; their mission became strengthening communities online with genuine connection.[3][6] Early traction built through hundreds of thousands of sessions for major companies, evolving from Icebreaker to a structured platform for meetings, workshops, and learning, culminating in the Donut acquisition where Conn transitioned to an advisory role.[1][2]
Gatheround rides the hybrid work trend, where 62% of managers note meetings fail at connection amid persistent remote elements post-pandemic.[2][6] Timing aligns with evolving employee experience needs—dynamic tools blending async (e.g., Slack) and live interactions—countering multitasking (75% of employees) and low-impact gatherings.[2][6] Market forces like distributed teams and retention demands favor it, influencing the ecosystem by raising virtual event standards; its Donut integration amplifies reach in EX platforms, enabling outcomes-driven sessions for scaled hybrid adoption.[2]
Post-acquisition, Gatheround will deepen integration into Donut's roadmap, expanding live features for hybrid programs and serving more enterprises with boosted participation metrics.[2] Trends like AI-enhanced agendas and persistent virtual spaces will shape it, evolving influence toward comprehensive EX suites that blend async, live, and in-person. As hybrid norms solidify, expect Gatheround to redefine "togetherness online," turning draining calls into energizing hubs that drive retention and productivity.[2][3]
Gatheround has raised $12.5M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $8.0M Series A in October 2023.