Asana, Inc. Explained

Asana, Inc.
Former Name:Smiley Abstractions, Inc. (until July 2009)
Type:Public
Key People:Dustin Moskovitz (CEO)
Hq Location City:San Francisco, California
Hq Location Country:US
Services:Process management, Project management software, Productivity software, Team management, Work management software, Collaborative software
Revenue: (2024)
Operating Income: (2024)
Net Income: (2024)
Assets: (2024)
Equity: (2024)
Num Employees:1,840 (2024)
Owner:Dustin Moskovitz (51%)[1]
Footnotes:Financials .[2]

Asana, Inc. (or), 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]

History

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. 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

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

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.

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

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Novet . Jordan . June 24, 2023 . Why billionaire Dustin Moskovitz keeps buying up shares of his software company Asana . CNBC.
  2. Web site: Asana, Inc. FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K) . March 14, 2024 . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  3. Web site: Gartner Glossary Work Management . 2022-09-01 . gartner.com.
  4. Web site: Understand Asana's core features . 2022-10-10 . asana.com.
  5. Web site: Bercovici . Jeff . May 23, 2018 . How Asana's Founders Built a $900 Million Business on Buddhist Principles . February 10, 2022 . Inc.com . en-US.
  6. News: Guynn . Jessica . April 24, 2012 . Asana, software start-up from Facebook vets, launches paid version . en-US . Los Angeles Times . May 18, 2018 . 0458-3035.
  7. Web site: Tse . Bycrystal . October 1, 2020 . Asana valued at $5.5 billion after direct listing debut . January 26, 2022 . Fortune . en-US.
  8. Web site: Lunden . Ingrid . 30 March 2016 . Task management app Asana raises $50M at a $600M valuation led by YC's Sam Altman . May 18, 2018 . techcrunch.com . en-US.
  9. Web site: July 23, 2012 . Asana raises $28M to make the world a more collaborative place . February 10, 2022 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  10. Web site: Konrad . Alex . Asana Finally Launches A Native iOS App After Facebook Cofounder Bet Wrong On Web-Based Apps . 2022-11-23 . Forbes . en.
  11. Alba . Davey. Davey Alba . Asana's New Android App Shows Design Matters in the Business World . en-US . Wired . 2022-11-23 . 1059-1028.
  12. News: March 31, 2016. Asana Links Up With $50M Series C for Collaboration Tools. en-US. Wall Street Journal. February 10, 2022. 0099-9660.
  13. Web site: Finnegan . Matthew . 2017-11-02 . What is Asana? Task management tracking made easy . 2022-11-29 . Computerworld . en.
  14. Web site: Trueman. Charlotte. 2021-05-07. How Asana helped CityFibre's marketing team boost productivity. 2022-02-17. Computerworld. en.
  15. Web site: Carson. Biz. Facebook Cofounder's Productivity Startup Asana Hits Growth Spurt, Snags $1.5 Billion Valuation. 2022-02-25. Forbes. en.
  16. Web site: Asana, a work management platform, nabs $50M growth round at a $1.5B valuation. 2022-02-25. TechCrunch. en-US.
  17. Web site: Hiten . Shaw . Asana's Rise to a $1.5 Billion Valuation . 2022-10-04 . nira.com. June 3, 2019 .
  18. News: Driebusch. Corrie. June 24, 2021. WSJ News Exclusive Twilio, Asana to List on Long-Term Stock Exchange as ESG Push Continues. en-US. Wall Street Journal. February 10, 2022. 0099-9660.
  19. Web site: Condon. Stephanie. Asana beats Q3 estimates, surpasses $100m in quarterly sales. 2022-02-18. ZDNet. en.
  20. Web site: Asana Anatomy of Work Index 2022: Work About Work Hampering Organizational Agility . 2023-01-27 . investors.asana.com . en-US.
  21. News: 2022-04-05 . More Than Half of the Working Day Is Spent Kinda, Sorta Working . en . Bloomberg.com . 2022-05-05.
  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 . 2023-01-27 . . . en-US.
  23. Align Technology (ALGN) to Offer Asana Smiles With New Pact . May 23, 2022 . 2022-06-14 . Align Technology . . en-US.
  24. Web site: CEO Dustin Moskovitz Just Doubled Down on Asana (ASAN) Stock . 2022-10-03 . MSN . en-US.
  25. Web site: Weir . Melanie . A guide to Asana, the workplace management tool that helps streamline communication across teams . 2023-01-24 . Business Insider . en-US.
  26. Web site: 2022-06-07 . Asana launches new tools to help distributed teams stay aligned on goals . 2023-02-03 . diginomica.com . en.
  27. Web site: Constine . Josh . 2012-04-21 . Twitter and LinkedIn Manage Tasks With Asana, New API Means Robots Can Too . 2022-12-02 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  28. Web site: Brooks . Steve . 2021-04-16 . Asana launches globalisation features and new partner program . 2022-11-08 . Enterprise Times . en-GB.
  29. Web site: Rayome . Alison DeNisco . Zoom: Use apps like Asana and Dropbox and schedule virtual events now . 2023-02-10 . CNET . en.
  30. Web site: Asana launches AI product capabilities and guiding principles .
  31. Web site: Asana. PCMAG. February 3, 2018.
  32. Web site: Asana Review. February 16, 2022. PCMAG. en.
  33. Web site: Great Place to Work's Best Workplaces for Parents 2021. February 16, 2022. Great Place to Work. en-us.
  34. Web site: Great Place to Work's Best Workplaces for Parents 2020. December 22, 2020. Great Place to Work.
  35. Web site: Meet the Top 250 Best-Led Companies in America . 2022-03-04 . Inc.com . en.
  36. Web site: Introducing the Best Workplaces of 2021 . 2022-03-04 . Inc.com . en.
  37. Web site: Brands That Matter – Applications . 2022-03-11 . Fast Company . en-US.
  38. Web site: Parrish . Cayleigh . 2021-03-09 . The World's Most Innovative Companies 2021 . 2022-03-11 . Fast Company . en-US.