Exclusive: HR SaaS startup Darwinbox raises Series A funding

Enterprise human resources management platform Darwinbox Digital Solutions Pvt. Ltd has secured its second external round of funding from a clutch of investors, a top company executive told VCCircle.

“The company has raised $4 million (Rs 25.79 crore) in its Series A round led by Lightspeed India Partners LLC,” said Chaitanya Peddi, co-founder and product head at Darwinbox. Existing investors Endiya Partners, Mohandas Pai’s 3one4 Capital Advisors LLP and Startupxseed Ventures LLP have also participated in this round.

In July 2016, the company had raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round.

According to Peddi, the new capital will be used for product innovation and market expansion. “We will continue to invest in areas such as big data, machine learning coupled with the latest research in human resource management and psychology to maximise the value we offer to our clients, while staying relevant and ahead of the competition.”

The company’s cloud-based management platform automates HR processes such as recruitment, onboarding, time and attendance, expense management, payroll, employee engagement, performance management and people analytics, across the entire employee life cycle.

“Darwinbox is leading the charge in taking human capital management beyond the HR department to all employees with a highly user-friendly and configurable user experience,” said Dev Khare, partner at Lightspeed India Partners Advisors.

The company claims to have added more than 50 companies and 100,000-plus employees across verticals, including technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and logistics. Darwinbox’s clientele includes Paytm, Nivea, Godrej CDPL, Delhivery, Sai Life Sciences, Swiggy and Hetero Pharma.

The platform is targeted at mid- to large-sized enterprises. The company was founded in August 2015 by IIM Lucknow alumni Jayant Paleti and Rohit Chennamaneni, along with XLRI Jamshedpur alumnus Peddi. The co-founders have previously worked with companies such as McKinsey, Google, EY and Deloitte.

Lightspeed India’s other investments include Indian Energy Exchange, Oyo Rooms, Byju's, Limeroad, ItzCash, Innovaccer, Sharechat and Udaan.

The HR tech segment has garnered a lot of investor interest lately. In December, HR analytics platform inFeedo had raised $200,000 in a funding round led by existing investors Dheeraj Jain, managing partner at UK-based hedge fund Redcliffe Capital, and Anupam Mittal, founder and chief executive of People Group.

Gurgaon-based The HR Fund claims to be the first HR-focussed private investment firm in India. Founded by Varun Talwar and Pankaj Bansal in 2011, The HR Fund typically invests between $500,000 and $1 million. It is an investor in Sheroes, which provides jobs and career advice to women.