Swiss private markets investor Partners Group and American private equity firm KKR are jointly leading a $140-million (about Rs 1,217 crore) round of investment in Indian human resource technology startup Darwinbox.
Gravity Holdings also participated in the round, which is a mix of primary and secondary capital, Darwinbox said Wednesday. It plans to use the fresh capital for international expansion.
“With top-tier investors backing us, we are poised to amplify our global momentum and deliver innovative AI-powered solutions for thousands of enterprises worldwide,” said Jayant Paleti, coâ€founder of Darwinbox.
The startup did not disclose the size of the primary and secondary components or the valuation at which it closed the round. However, the Mint reported thathe round valued the company around $950 million. This suggests a markdown from its last public valuation, when it entered the unicorn club in 2022.
The company did not respond to VCCircle’s queries till the time of publishing this article.
The latest round comes more than three years after Darwinbox announced its $72 million Series D fundraise at $1 billion valuation. Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) had led the round with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, 3One4Capital, JGDEV and SCB 10X. Microsoft also picked up a stake in the company in 2023.
Darwinbox was founded in 2015 by Paleti, Chaitanya Peddi and Rohit Chennamaneni. The company offers automation of employee lifecycle including recruitment, onboarding, attendance, expense management, payroll, employee engagement, performance management and people analytics.
Since the last round, Darwinbox has expanded into North America. It has presence in multiple markets, including Asia Pacific, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Over the last two years, Darwinbox claims to have achieved fivefold growth in revenue in international markets, with over 60% of new revenue coming from international markets.
“Darwinbox operates in the rapidly growing HR tech market, which we have been tracking through our thematic research. The company is acting as a key disruptor to legacy platforms in this space, investing heavily in product innovation, generative AI, and global expansion, and is well positioned to take market share,” said Cyrus Driver, Managing Director, Private Equity, Partners Group.
Avendus Capital acted as the financial advisor and investment banker on this transaction.