Rocket.Chat, a Wilmington Del.-based startup that provides an open-source chat platform, raised US$ 10m in a Series A “bridge” funding round.

The round was led by Alexia Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor Scaleup Ventures, Bob Young (Founder of RedHat), NEA and Valor Capital Group, in addition to investors such as Greycroft, Monashees, DGF, and Graphene.

The company, which had already raised US$19m in February 2021, intends to use the funds for Research & Development and commercial expansion.

Founded in 2016 and led by Gabriel Engel, CEO, Rocket.Chat provides a Commercial Open Source Software (COSS) communications platform that allows for collaboration between colleagues, across organizations (through bridges, such as MS Teams or federated servers) and with customers (via channels of their choice, such as live chat or WhatsApp). The platform allows its users to maintain ownership of their conversations, offering diverse hosting options, and adhering to strict security and compliance standards, including SOC2, GDPR, and HIPAA. It offers a free version with limited functionality and scalability, as well as a paid option with premium features and full scalability. Customers can also opt for add-on capabilities such as dedicated hosting and professional services.