Copper

Copper

Copper was founded in 2013 to address a common complaint: legacy CRM systems were data-entry machines, not relationship builders. The founding team, including Steve Holm who now serves as CEO, built the platform from scratch to sit inside Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), not as a separate app users had to visit. The firm has raised venture funding, though the total is not publicly disclosed on its website. Copper sells a CRM that covers lead capture, pipeline management, project delivery, and client retention, all integrated with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive. Its customer base of over 30,000 companies spans small businesses and larger firms, and the platform claims usage in over 100 countries. The company positions itself as a direct alternative to unwieldy databases — emphasizing ease of use, rapid deployment, and automation of routine tasks like logging calls and triggering follow-up emails. The firm operates from offices in New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its leadership team includes CFO Rick Smith, VP Engineering Katie Huang, and VP Product Luke Lihou. Copper does not publicly disclose revenue or valuation figures, and no recent funding round or major operational event has surfaced from the last 24 months. Copper's structural differentiator is its native Google Workspace integration — the CRM was designed to work from inside Gmail and Calendar, not as a separate destination. This approach reduces adoption friction and has allowed Copper to compete against larger incumbents like Salesforce by targeting teams who already live in Google's productivity suite.