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§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
Enterprise software platform providing peer mentorship for professional women, serving HR and diversity departments with diversity analytics.
Glassbreakers has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
Key people at Glassbreakers.
Glassbreakers has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Based in San Francisco, California, Glassbreakers is an enterprise software company that provides an online peer mentorship and diversity analytics platform for corporate human resources departments. The system utilizes LinkedIn data alongside direct user input to strategically connect professional women in management roles across the technology, finance, legal, nonprofit, and retail sectors. Shortly after its initial consumer launch, the platform scaled to 12,000 international users, with its broader user base eventually representing 90 percent of Fortune 1000 and 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The organization subsequently shifted its primary business model to target large enterprises with over 10,000 employees, raising $1.98 million in total funding from venture capital investors including Social Leverage and Gary Benitt. Glassbreakers was officially founded in 2016 by co-founders Eileen Carey and Lauren Mosenthal, who served as the company's chief executive and technical officers.
Key people at Glassbreakers.
Glassbreakers has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in January 2016.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2016 | $2M Seed | — | Costanoa Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Social Leverage, Gregory Waldorf | Announced |
Glassbreakers has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Glassbreakers's investors include Costanoa Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Social Leverage, Gregory Waldorf.
Glassbreakers is an enterprise software company headquartered in Oakland, California, specializing in tools that integrate diversity and inclusion (D&I) into core business functions, with a focus on employee resource group (ERG) management.[1][2] It serves enterprises seeking to operationalize D&I efforts, solving the problem of fragmented ERG coordination, visibility, and impact measurement by providing dedicated software platforms.[1][2] Founded in 2014, the company has raised funding from investors like The Mom Project, Sway Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Social Leverage, and Lucas Point Ventures, indicating early traction in the HR tech and social impact space.[1]
Glassbreakers was founded in 2014 in Oakland, California, by Eileen Carey, a technologist, feminist, social impact entrepreneur, MBA, and writer based in San Francisco.[1] Carey co-founded the company to address gaps in corporate D&I practices, emerging from her background in technology and advocacy for workplace equity.[1] Key early team member Anders Howerton, a software engineer from Emeryville, contributed to development.[1] The idea gained initial momentum through investments from diversity-focused VCs like Ulu Ventures, which supports diverse IT entrepreneurs, and others aligned with sustainable and inclusive business transformation.[1]
Glassbreakers rides the wave of corporate D&I mandates, amplified by post-2020 social justice movements and ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing trends, where companies face pressure to quantify inclusion metrics.[1][2] Timing aligns with rising demand for HR tech that operationalizes equity amid talent shortages and hybrid work, with market forces like regulatory scrutiny on workplace diversity favoring specialized platforms.[2] It influences the ecosystem by supporting underrepresented founders and employees through investor networks like Ulu Ventures, contributing to a more inclusive startup landscape.[1]
Glassbreakers is poised for growth as enterprises scale D&I from compliance to strategy, potentially expanding ERG tools into AI-driven analytics for retention and innovation metrics. Trends like DEI backlash mitigation through data-backed platforms and integration with broader HR suites (e.g., Workday or BambooHR) will shape its path, while partnerships with impact investors could fuel product evolution. Its influence may grow by setting standards for measurable inclusion, reinforcing its role as a pioneer in purpose-driven enterprise software—echoing its founding mission to break barriers in business functions.[1][2]
