London’s Sona acquires workplace messenger app Yapster for undisclosed sum: Know more

London-based Yapster, a workplace messenger app for retail and hospitality, announced on Tuesday that Sona, a frontline operating system startup, has acquired it for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition will accelerate the expansion of Sona’s Frontline Operating System across the frontline economy. Together, Sona and Yapster serve over 100,000 users in five countries across social care, hospitality, retail, and logistics.

Yapster: What do you need to know 

Founded in 2015, Yapster is an all-company instant messaging app, enabling one-on-one, group conversations and company-wide social sharing. 

Currently, the app is used by several companies, including BrewDog, Caffè Nero, Krispy Kreme, Next, and Welcome Break.

Yapster co-founder CEO Rob Liddiard says, “All companies are under pressure to accomplish more with less right now, which means doing everything possible to get the most out of employees. With its backing from Gradient Ventures, Sona is the only technology supplier I’ve seen in my seven years running Yapster that appears capable of delivering the consumer-grade design and AI power customers are now crying out for to solve their productivity puzzles. Craig (Yapster Co-founder CTO) and I are excited to see popular Yapster functionality appear in the Sona platform at an even higher speed and slickness over the next year or so.”

Sona: What you need to know

Founded in 2021 by Oli Johnson, Steffen Wulff Petersen, and Ben Dixon, Sona is a Frontline Operating System (Frontline OS) that aims to change how frontline organisations operate. 

The platform combines the workforce management software’s functionality, including scheduling, time & attendance, and absence management, with dedicated features to empower staff and simplify frontline work for everyone.

Currently, the company targets industries like Healthcare, Hospitality, Retail and Charities.

Steffen Wulff Petersen, co-founder and CEO of Sona, says, “Yapster and its team are widely respected across the retail sector, and we see the extraordinary potential to accelerate Sona’s mission with this acquisition of their expertise. Employees today expect company software to be as powerful and easy to use as their favourite personal apps – and that’s precisely the level of customer experience Sona was founded on and funded to deliver.”