Key people Julien Smith, CEO | Website breather.com | |
Industry Airbnb for office space Founder Caterina Rizzi, Julien Smith | ||
Breather is a company that facilitates transactions between consumers and people renting out livable space. The company promotes itself as a way to find an environment to rest outside of your home or office. The Next Web referred to it as the "Uber for private workspaces."
History
Breather was founded by Caterina Rizzi and Julien Smith, the company's CEO. The idea came from Smith when he traveled and found himself working in various coffee shops. Smith is author of three books and often traveled for public speaking events. He founded the company as a way to let people find a quiet space. The company raised $6.5 million in Series A funding in September 2014, $20 million Series B in September 2015, and a $40 million Series C round in December 2016, led by Menlo Ventures and Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures. This brings Breather's total funding to $69 million.
Breather had a soft launch in Montreal before expanding to New York City. As of November 2016, Breather is available in 10 cities, adding the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., London, Toronto, and Ottawa to the original two.