Gatheround gaining traction | Basecamp sees mass employee exits | Sony partners with Discord | Clubhouse begins testing Android App

The SaaS News Roundup

Remote work is no longer a new topic, as much of the world has now been doing it for a year or more because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote working platforms have evolved with Gatheround gaining traction. Gatheround’s video conversations aim to be a refreshing complement to Slack conversations. Gatheround raised $3.5million last year to build their platform. Gatheround customer base, includes 28 Fortune 500s, 11 of the biggest U.S. tech companies, 26 top universities and more than 700 educational institutions. Gatheround is not the only company attempting to tackle this space. Ireland-based Workvivo last year raised $16 million and earlier this year, Microsoft launched Viva, its new employee experience platform.

Basecamp sees mass employee exits after CEO bans political discussions. The company employs around 60 people, and roughly a third of the company appears to have accepted buyouts to leave, many citing new company policies. The no-politics rule at Basecamp follows a similar stance to Coinbase. Basecamp was immediately criticized for muzzling its employees over important issues, many of which disproportionately impact marginalized employees.

Sony announces investment and partnership with Discord to bring the chat app to PlayStation. that will integrate the latter’s popular gaming-focused chat app with PlayStation’s own built-in social tools. Sony appears to have offered a better deal than Microsoft, taking an undisclosed minority stake in the company ahead of a rumored IPO. Sony has done its part, financially speaking, by taking part in Discord’s recent $100 million H round.

Clubhouse begins externally testing its Android app. The voice-based networking app that’s now being knocked off by every major tech platform, is bringing its service to Android. The company has announced that its Android version has entered beta testing with a handful of non-employees who will provide the company with early feedback ahead of a public launch. The lack of an Android client combined with its invite system initially gave Clubhouse an aura of exclusivity. But the delay to provide access to Android users also gave larger competitors time to catch up with Clubhouse. Clubhouse didn’t give a specific time frame as to when its Android app would reach more testers or the wider public, only noting that it’s looking forward to welcoming more Android users in the coming weeks.