Breather was founded by Caterina Rizzi and Julien Smith, the company's CEO.[2] The idea came from Smith when he traveled and found himself working in various coffee shops.[3] Smith is author of three books and often traveled for public speaking events.[2] He founded the company as a way to let people find a quiet space.[3] Breather had a soft launch in Montreal before expanding to New York City.[4] As of 2019, the company had more than 500 private workplaces available in 10 major cities.[5]
As of June 2018 the company has raised a cumulative $122.5 million in funding.[6]
In January 2019, the company announced that Julien Smith would step down as CEO. He was replaced by Bryan Murphy, a former eBay executive.[5]
In December 2020, it was reported that the company's US and UK subsidiaries filed for insolvency in order to pull out from leases in over 355 offices.[7] This follows the company's larger plan to reach profitability by 2021, after overspending US$120 million of the $122 million it had raised in venture funding.[8]
In May 2021, Industrious, a USA provider of flexible workspaces, acquired key assets of Breather's listings platform. Breather now operates as a marketplace where customers can search and book conference rooms that are listed by third party landlords.[9]
