YC-backed calendar app Vimcal raises $4.5M

Vimcal, a dynamic calendar app backed by Y Combinator, has successfully secured a $4.5M seed round from Altos Ventures. This funding will be instrumental in expanding both the workforce and the enterprise offerings.

• Startup Spotlight: Meet Vimcal, led by CEO John Li. Last year, they rocked the tech world with their innovative iOS app and seamless Outlook integration. They've worked on refining their Outlook integration, ensuring reliability, and eliminating pesky bugs.

• Integrating AI: In a bid to revolutionize scheduling, Vimcal introduced an AI-powered free-time finder. This feature allows users to paste meeting slots shared by others in textual form or even a Calendly link to visualize free slots. A standout feature is its automatic conversion of time slots to the user's local time zone.

• Additional Features: Expanding its natural language functionality, Vimcal now lets users schedule meetings with sentences. Initially available only on desktops, this feature found its way to Vimcal’s iOS app in October.

• Scheduling Efficiency: April saw the launch of Maestro, a product tailored for executive assistants. Maestro is designed for professionals managing schedules of multiple executives across different time zones. Recently, Vimcal introduced automatic color coding for differentiating internal and external meetings and an ability to search for free slots for an entire team.

• Funding Update: Vimcal has so far raised a total of $6.9M from investors, including Y Combinator, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, Teachable founder Ankur Nagpal, and Hustle Fund.

Despite the competitiveness of the productivity space, particularly calendar tools, Vimcal is optimistic. It is actively hiring marketing and sales personnel with the newly-acquired funds and believes in the success of great UX.