Slack now valued above $7 billion

Enterprise collaboration platform Slack has raised $427 million in new Series H funding at a valuation north of $7.1 billion.

Why it's a big deal: Because while Slack is massive (8 million daily active users and over 70k paid teams) and has subsumed some rivals (RIP Hipchat), this new money reflects how competition is intensifying from deep-pocketed incumbents like Facebook and Microsoft.

Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic co-led the round, and were joined by T. Rowe Price, Wellington Management, Baillie Gifford, Sands Capital and unidentified return backers.

Bottom line: It was just over three years ago that Slack founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield talked about the PR importance of being valued at $1 billion. Now it's actually raised more than that, with $1.27 billion in total funding.